MAEGYA | xx. "YOU WOULD'VE LIVED HERE." A HOME FOR GHOSTS
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WHILE RHAEON VALARYEN faced off the God of Thunder with the Valoqar at his side and died in the River Thames, Thea Valaryen battled a million flying drones and walked on the bridge above that river. Each step down the walkway haunted Thea. Thor's journal never mentioned what they did with her brother and father's bodies and Serafina didn't know either. For all Thea knew, Rhaeon's bones were decomposing on the riverbed and the rubies on his chest plate glimmered beneath the waters.
She couldn't dwell on that for long, not with how destroyed London looked. The once lively streets were completely abandoned, with slow winds blowing papers and dust around like they were in a Western movie. In the river, the Scorpion's Sons ships had sunken but plumes of smoke rose from where they were incinerated. Thea could see massive clouds swirling together from a mile away. Abandoned cars were clustered on the bridge, some with cracked windows and busted windshields and others half charred by dragonflame. The Elemental—or the sonic blasting drones— shot through the concrete and created gaping holes in the barrier between the river and the road. Thea scoffed bitterly. All this because Little Beck wanted a medal.
The three exhausted superheroes were silent, drinking in the sounds of broken glass and debris beneath their trudging feet and the blaring of sirens in the far distance. Rhaegon and Vissera's screeches echoed in the gray-tinged sky and Thea remembered she had to meet up with Serafina and Daaryo to count their losses and figure out their next plan. Then Peter's thumb rubbed her hand gently and she sighed. They could wait.
He was slightly limping beside her but said he was okay when she asked if he wanted to lean on her. Thea often forgot that Peter could take a hit, even after witnessing him lift off an entire ceiling that fell on him. She was sure of that by the way his secure grip on her hand never faltered.
The three kept their masks off but close by after Serafina confirmed there were no more civilians left on the premises. Still, they didn't drop their guard. Thea looked over at Bex who was looking every which way for a random drone to pop out of nowhere and she felt her Fyre stirring in her veins restlessly. They searched quietly for their friends, desperately wishing Happy was able to find them. Thea was usually a glass-half-empty person but she refused to lose hope for one second. They were okay, she chanted to herself. They gotta be. Bex was blinking rapidly like she was holding back tears and it didn't take a mind-reader to know that there was only one person in her mind: MJ.
Footsteps pounded on the cracked asphalt. Thea saw a smudge of green and black weaving through some of the abandoned cars on the other end of the bridge. It sharpened to the figure of Michelle Jones rushing towards the trio. Her chestnut curls bounced behind her and she barely had time to throw aside—a mace?— before she threw her arms around Bex.
Bex breathed heavily into MJ's shoulders, hugging the taller girl even tighter. She clenched her eyes tight as if she was in a dream. "Oh thank God," she whispered.
