Shattered Kingdoms | Book 2 ✔ (REWRITTEN AS 'THE EXILED KING')

Chapter 15 - Spirit of a Lion

"Aelron," Ryhon repeated, shock lacing every word. Her bluish black hair fanned her pale face and the scars stood out starkly against her pale skin; she had never looked closer to death than at that moment. Heresh only accepts you once - squander your chance, and you will never again stand in the halls of Heresh. Death comes to all, and Death was coming. The lord of the Ether, Ziocrat was merciless. To have a heart, to give even a fraction of mercy, would bring the dead storming down the doors of his keep, determined to get that mercy. So Ziocrat shut his frosty heart to all, his eyes losing all life as he had once lost all warmth, all the liveliness of the living. Ziocrat had been a Mortal, once. A dark mage who worshiped Aeliyas. As a result, when he died she granted him godhood, and jurisdiction over the dead, and of the Realm of the Ether.

The Ether was formally called Endon, after Endon, the Serpent of Life. It was said that where he went, life followed in his wake. It was said that Dargon was populated by Endon, not the Gods. Endon lives still - Cast out by the Gods for betrayal. The thirst for power, and the Draconic Madness drove him to betray the Gods, and for that, they removed his eyes, and locked him in a cavern under Dargon. Wondrous treasures are said to be there, buried by the Gods because the Gods feared anything more powerful than they. Many an adventurer had taken a map, sold by an untrustworthy source, and gone in search of the legendary Cavern of Endon. None returned.

"Dey?!" Lirya cried, her eyes widening as she beheld the sight of Aelron, dying in her brother's arms.

"DEY!!!" She screamed, tears pooling in her eyes.

Eryna knelt by their sides, as did Jason and Aidan and the rest of the group.

"Rynhiel?!" Jason exclaimed.

Although Aelron's hair had been held back by the mask, there were obvious similarities between Aelron and the boy she had been posing as.

"Gods... no!"

"How could I have been so foolish? Heresh doesn't take anyone twice... I'll never see her again..." Ryhon muttered.

Bright anger flared up in Lirya.

"So you wish her to live only for your own gain? Ryhon... how DARE you?"

"I..." He stuttered, then fell silent.

He'd never thought of it that way before.

"Maybe it's time... every spirit leaves eventually. You can't keep a spirit in this world forever, against their will. If Dey... I mean, Aelron, wants to leave..."

"What? What should I do? Let her go? Remove her from my memory, forget her like she was another name with no face?" Ryhon snapped, feeling helpless.

Aelron couldn't go.

"Ryhon... let her go. Let her go free, but keep her forever in your heart, as I will. Don't ever forget her, because she'll still live on, in our hearts," Lirya said gently.

"I... You ask too much of me. I can't! She's the only reason I live!"

"You... said you had a twin? Daryn?"

Ryhon looked at her with pain filled eyes, "He can never understand. You can never understand. Nobody understands. She understood," He whispered miserably.

"Don't speak of her that way! She's not dead! I'll not stop a spirit from departing, but I can keep her here a little longer... so you can speak," Jason said quietly.

He placed his hand gently on her forehead and closed his eyes.

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