Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter Sixty-Three: Blinding

The ball of light I had created darted forward as we moved through the tunnel. I could feel pressure in my mind from the Eldunarí that had been held captive by my father as we neared the chamber with the dragon-headed human-machine operated by the Eldunarí, Cuaroc.

Some were excited to be in a place that was familiar to them, others were just abuzz with a burning passion for finding out what had happened to them. I took my time to soothe their emotional turmoil, promising that answers were only minutes away.

Eragon and I paused when the first signs of the enormous room appeared. We both turned to look back at Murtagh and Thorn.

"He was wrong." Eragon murmured.

"Who was?" Murtagh asked.

"My father," I answered. "he was completely wrong. When he took the last of the eggs, he thought it marked the end of the Rider's as Saphira and Alethea were the last of the female dragons. As it turns out, my father did not outthink the Rider's like he thought."

Letting my words sink into Murtagh's mind, I continued forward until I reached the very edge of the room. I lowered the bag of Eldunarí before opening the bag and pulling out Umaroth's heart of hearts.

His heart of hearts pulsated brightly in my hands, happiness flooding from the Dragon. With extreme gentleness, I slowly walked over to the alcove Umaroth had previously occupied as Cuaroc watched me.

"We have a long journey ahead of us, Umaroth-elda," I said as I set his heart of hearts where it belonged. I stepped away from the alcove and backed up. "What do we do now?"

"First, we help those that have been in Galbatorix's clutches," Umaroth answered as the others entered the room. I heard a keening sound and turned to see Thorn ducking his head. Alethea nudged him with her snout as Murtagh swayed on his feet.

"They weren't—"

"The last eggs?" I finished for him; his eyes met mine. "No, they weren't. A select few built this place to ensure that the Dragon's and their Rider's would live on. Of course, that meant that those who built or visited this place would forget that eggs were hidden here, including Eragon and I."

I looked up at the wall of Dragon eggs and smiled at what had to be at least a thousand different variations of colors.

"Beautiful isn't it." Murtagh set the bag of Eldunarí he had been floating, down before walking over to me and dropping his head on my shoulder as he wrapped his arms around my body. His whole body was shaking.

Reaching up, I ran my hand through his shaggy brown hair. If I had been in his position, I would react the same way, or maybe worse. After thinking I had caused so much destruction, finding out that there were thousands of Dragon eggs sill surviving would be such an emotional relief I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

"It's not the end, but only the beginning," I said softly. "We make the rules now, no more hiding in shadows of a dictator."

"How do I get rid of the guilt?" He asked. "it consumes my mind and eats away at my consciousness. Having you around me helps, but it's not like I can chain you to me for the rest of your life."

"As if a chain could keep me." I shot back with a huff.

"True," Murtagh responded, a hint of a smile finally appearing on his face. I slapped my fingers against his cheeks.

"Now that we have settled that, we should probably help Eragon unload the rest of the Eldunarí," I said with a teasing grin.

"Always a taskmaster," Murtagh teased back before going to help Eragon.