Lady Death

FOUR

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Heat crackled in the air around her. Railynn felt her mouth go dry as if all the moisture was being pulled from the air by those distant fires. She could feel the burning heat on her face, even from her considerable distance away from the city.

Ash fell from the sky like snow. It clung to her hair and clothes, the pale color in stark contrast to the midnight blue of her hair that was so dark it was almost black. Railynn looked up at the sky, a piece of ash clung to her eyelashes as a single silver tear traced down her dust-covered cheek. The entire capital city of Leona was burning.

Railynn stared at the white stone walls of the city. They were charred black in the few parts that still stood. Other sections of the walls and even the buildings were crumbling away. The dragon's fire had melted a large portion of the city entirely. What had not melted, had been turned to ash. Entire neighborhoods were gone. Only piles of ash remaining where they once stood.

In the distance, Railynn could still see the dark shadow of the monster responsible for such destruction. The dragon's large wings cast a dark shadow across the trees and mountains it soared over.

Her eyes, once more, went to the city. The palace that had once belonged to the great Fae Queen Maeve was nothing but ruins jutting out of scorched earth. Railynn took a shuddering breath. Her fists tightening. She felt utterly and completely useless.

"Captain, we should go," the deep steady voice of Devon, one of her best warriors, came from behind her. His large hand came to rest on her arm in a loose grip. She barely registered the touch. She did not hear his words over the roaring in her mind.

"There is nothing we can do," he insisted, giving her arm a slight pull. Railynn still did not hear him. Railynn's eyes aglow with her magic, she pulled free from Devon's loose hold. The words he said finally registering in her mind a moment later.

"No," was all Railynn was able to choke out. She gazed at the once beautiful city of Norharrow in disbelief and horror. It was gone. Destroyed.

She had never realized how much she loved that Fates damned city until it was gone. In all her years, Norharrow had been her only home. Railynn collapsed to her knees at the scene before her. She had good memories there. Memories of running through the palace halls as a child made her choke on her breath. That palace, the impenetrable white stone wall around the city, they were all gone.

"Benjin, we need to go," Devon hissed to Railynn's second in command. Benjin nodded his head in grave agreement. His eyes were glued to the sight in disbelief. Kneeling beside Railynn, he gently urged his best friend to get up from the ground.

"Rae, we need to go, Devon's right," Benjin muttered. A silent tear traced down his face. Railynn looked at the males around her. They had been on and off of killing fields for the last hundred years together. She had never seen this much pain and sadness in their eyes. Pain from the loss of loved ones and friends — people that should have been safe behind the majestic white stone walls of Norharrow, Leona's capital city.

She could not lose it. Not now. Not when there were potentially survivors. There could be people they could help down there. Closing her eyes, Railynn steadied herself. She felt her magic slowly calm inside of her. It had so quickly bubbled to the surface, threatening to lash out, when she had seen the city. It retreated down into the core of her body. Another breath in and back out. She was calm. It was only then that Railynn allowed herself to opened her eyes.