Destiny (Volume I: Shur'tugalar)

Chapter Seven Part LXIII (ED)

"No no no no no!" Nicholas howled in anguish, finally reaching the spot where the girl had been crushed before their eyes. "No no, Ren, no! Oh gods, please, no! Ren, Ren, Ren!"

His sobs were loud enough to be heard over the devastation still going on around them as he clawed at the boulder. "Ren, come on, come out! You can't be - you can't. Please, Renata! Please don't do this!"

Nathan stumbled forwards, eyes dry and face hard. He placed a hand on his brother's shaking shoulder, squeezing gently as he said, "We have to move on, Nick. It's too dangerous here."

"She's gone, Nate!" Nick shouted at him, green eyes fierce with pain and anger. "Gone! First Nia almost...and now Ren is...now she's - "

"Dead," the older boy finished, and the other drew in a ragged breath at the word. Swiping away a single tear, he stood taller and continued in a firmer tone, "And it won't help anyone if we die, too."

"I don't care!" Wrenching away, Nicholas turned his face upwards. "She isn't worth it!" he screamed to the destruction. "Losing her isn't worth any one of those dragon eggs!"

Everything that was falling halted in midair at his words, hovering for a moment before slowly reversing direction to reattach to the ceiling. The cracked surfaces of the both the roof and the ground mended themselves; debris that had already landed also began to steadily rise upwards.

In front of the two brothers, the gargantuan broken stalactite trembled before lifting into the air with a groan. Nick scrabbled forwards as the ground beneath it was revealed, his eyes searching desperately for his beau.

What they saw left them all silent, except for one.

"Where is she?" Rosaminda asked, speaking up for the first time. Her eyes were so wide they dominated her face, all other features frozen except for the trembling bottom lip. "Where's my twin?"

"I - "

"You lied," she cut Nate off, her voice shaky and high. "You said she's dead, but she's not here. Why would you lie about her being dead?"

"Rose," he began slowly, moving away from Nicholas, who was now bent over the ground. Nathan's brown eyes flickered with the slightest bit of worry. "I thought she was, but you know I'm happy that's not the case, right?"

"Of course I do!" the girl snapped suddenly, eyes abruptly narrowing into thin blue slits. "No one should be happy if Ren was dead!"

A hand rested on her shoulder, and she spun to find Nia standing there, dirty and bruised and tearful. Stepping closer, her godsister raised a hand to her cheek and laid it there; the eclipse stone glowed against her skin fiercely as the light above dimmed. "It's okay to cry, Rosie."

"Why would I be crying? She's not dead." Rose smiled, but her eyes remained blank. "So let's find her, alright?"

Startled, Niaomi nodded in agreement as the blonde strode forward to stop beside her godbrother.

"Nick." The boy looked up at his name, eyes haunted, and she offered him a hand. "Let's go find Ren."

He stared at her for a moment before taking the offered hand and letting her pull him to his feet. His eyes were still moist, but now a fierce determination lay in their burning forest depths. "Let's."

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The reminiscence fast-forwarded to show the four walking across the expansive chamber. The roof was still high above them, while the obsidian floor beneath reflected the light held Nick's hand as well their own images. Nate was walking just behind his beau, not making a move to touch her even though it was obvious to Eragon that he longed to.