Born of Flames

Chapter 47 ~ A Phoenix Reborn

Tarion waited, but Astaroth's final blow never came. His own guilt threatened to overwhelm him as he realized what that meant. Astaroth wasn't taking the bait. He had failed. His plan had been their last chance, but he had failed. The dark Lord's cry of victory still rang through his ears. Why did he have to drag this out? Why couldn't he just end him now before madness overtook him once more?

"Tarion!" Neeri cried behind him. Was the blow coming at last? He didn't bother opening his eyes to look. Hands grabbed him by the arms and roughly dragged him backwards. Then another set of hands joined the first.

That convinced him to open his eyes. Neeri and Gaelen each had a hold on him and were struggling to pull him away. Tarion's gaze fell to his chest, expecting to see blood gushing from it, but his jaw dropped in shock. Where Astaroth's talons had cleaved him open, there were only scars glowing with golden light.

And the warmth that he'd thought had come from the dawn... Tarion's head jerked towards the east where a blood moon blazed before the rising sun. The warmth wasn't coming from the eclipse. It was within him.

Tarion wrestled his arm away from Neeri and splayed his palm over his sternum again, disbelief fogging his senses. It couldn't be true. This was shock. It had to be shock. Maybe he was dying. Because how else could the mating bond be flooding with warmth once more?

Every trace of cold emptiness that had been left by Morana's death was being flushed out, as if it had never been. Their binding tether thrummed with light and energy, and the presence at the other end of it... Tears filled Tarion's gaze as Morana's presence washed through him, full of life and love and acceptance.

She had come for him. He would get to see her again before Durga flung his soul down to Hel where he'd live under Hadeon's iron fist forever. But he would see her again. That was blessing enough. Tarion tilted his face up, scanning the heavens for any sign of her but before he could find any, a flash of light near Astaroth had him shielding his face with his free arm.

"Impossible," Gaelen breathed beside him.

Tarion let his arm drop and his jaw fell further. He stumbled to his feet as Gaelen's hand slipped from him. He didn't even notice when Lonan and Rehema joined them. His gaze was riveted on Astaroth and the scene unfolding around him.

The dark Lord's shadows were plunging into the fallen corpses closest to him, reanimating those that were still mostly intact. But without the aid of Rhidian's body, they were only puppets, limited to Astaroth's range of attention.

And his attention was being constantly divided as dozens of shining bodies appeared out of thin air, each one shedding a golden glow across the desert sand. Sorrow and joy split his heart in half as two more figures materialized nearby. His parents didn't look at him, but he couldn't tear his gaze away as they launched themselves at Astaroth's corpses and reduced them into rays of heavenly light with a single touch.

Then a choking sob came from beside him. Neeri's hands covered her mouth as a shining panther came into sight. His claws left several corpses as nothing but golden sparks in the air. Another flash of light followed and Arlon was himself once again. His head turned towards them, but he came no closer.

A sharp tingle filled Tarion's right palm just as a fresh wave of energy burst through the tether within his chest. He peered at the scar and his breath caught, spying the now familiar brilliant light. "Tarion," Neeri whispered again.

He glanced at her, then followed her gaze back towards Astaroth. His eyes grew wide and his knees gave out beneath him. He could only watch in stunned silence as Morana's ashes took on an ethereal glow and a silent wind swept them off the sandy ground. Faster and faster they spun, glowing ever brighter as they began to create a familiar form.