Her eyes fluttered closed. Vhalla Yarl Solaris, she thought to herself. That was her name. So much had happened, but Vi was wrong. Vhalla hadn’t traded her fate. This was simply another turn of the vortex. The first Empress Solaris had died a fate connected to the Crystal Caverns; the second would do the same.
Aldrik sprinted downward. The crystals no longer responded to their presence. They stayed dull and darkened as the two Imperials sprinted through the palace. Aldrik’s fingers dug welts into her flesh.
His efforts were beautiful. He was beautiful. Even wounded, a chunk of his ear missing, that bump in his nose that had been set wrong—he was stunning to her. A shudder almost cast her from his arms, forcing the Emperor to slow.
“Aldrik—”
“Hush,” he commanded tensely. “Don’t talk, please, not one word. Save your strength.”
He was on the move again, propelling them forward. His eyes remained glued to a distant horizon. Hope flickered through them, an ever elusive beacon in their world. Her vision blurred, and Vhalla finally began to panic.
She didn’t want to lose him. Her magic was there, barely felt. But everything was disjointed. Nothing connected, forcing her into a limbo between life and death. Vhalla’s eyes fluttered closed. Victor had taken everything from her. He could not win the world, so he would settle for taking her part of it in death.
“Vhalla, open your eyes.” Aldrik intentionally jostled her in his arms. Her head lolled against his shoulder. “Open your eyes, damn it!”
She obliged, a small sliver of light returning to her. She tried to think of how much ground he could’ve covered with her, where they would be going. His chest heaved in contrast to the small swells of hers.
Imperial soldiers were ahead, a whole patrol of them. Aldrik’s feet quickened with the dangerous fuel that Vhalla knew to be hope. Her chest ached, and not just because of the beginning stages of cardiac failure.
“Where is Elecia?” Aldrik barked, his voice thick and hoarse.
“M-my lord?” The soldier was aghast at the visage of their Emperor carrying their dying Empress.
“Lady Elecia Ci’Dan! Where did she set up her triage?” Aldrik’s grip tightened even further.
Vhalla didn’t have the strength to tell him he was hurting her. She would be gone soon; no matter how much she struggled, death was a siren, and she’d fully heard its call. She missed any reply, her eyes fluttering closed once more.
“We’re almost there,” Aldrik reassured frantically. “Elecia will fix you. I know she will.”
The balmy summer hit her skin, and it was a breath of fresh air. Vhalla tried to place where she was in the palace. There were over a hundred gardens and a thousand possibilities. But chance didn’t work randomly in her world. The moment her nose picked up the faint scent of roses, Vhalla knew the Gods didn’t play games.
“Elecia’s in the hall, just here,” Aldrik said frantically. Vhalla realized he was talking to her. “She’s coming. She’ll be—”
The door to the greenhouse opened suddenly. “Let me see her,” Elecia announced.
The woman’s fingers were on Vhalla’s face and neck. They ran down her body and back. They ghosted over her wound, unafraid of the gore, and paused at her breast over the fluttering beats of her heart.
Elecia pulled her hands away, and no one said anything for a small eternity. Vhalla cracked her eyes open, turning to the Western woman. She tried to smile. She tried to be strong. Nothing was about her anymore. It was about them, those who would inherit the world they’d fought so hard for.
“I don’t know what to do,” the healer confessed.
“I know,” Vhalla whispered.
“You’re going to die.” Elecia fought for her clinical detachment, but a whimper of emotion betrayed the facade. “Aldrik, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I don’t know—”
“Start with the wound, ‘Cia. Please, please try,” Aldrik spoke with utter desperation.
Elecia obliged, and Vhalla felt the other woman’s magic pouring into her. She felt it seeking pathways that had been broken and strewn to the winds, unable to knit the broken flesh and muscle. Her magic had been too damaged by the crystals. It would have to be fixed before any other healing could be done.
The woman must have realized it in the same moment as Vhalla, because she stood suddenly. “I’m going to try to find Sehra!”
Elecia had bolted out the door before any of them could react. She left silence and death in her wake. Vhalla blinked intensely. She wouldn’t leave now without saying goodbye.
“Aldrik.” He was at her side in an instant. His long fingers scooped up hers, blood smearing across his gauntlets. “I’m so glad I saved you, back then.”
“Don’t say goodbye, please.” He was close to breaking. He was fighting the obvious.
“I don’t regret it. I don’t.” She could only hope he understood, that something she said would be enough for him to continue on without her.