Shh..I'm here now..

The blast from the shattering prisms was still ringing, fresh in her ears; though now the haunted snarls of the Dead Queen had begun to drown them out. Issar was cold, and tense; her ethereal flesh unlike any other mortal enemy; the chill of the spirit world was enough to make her own soul twist, and writhe, as devastated as it already was. The world was blurring in and out of reality; for in one moment Issar; a flurry of fangs and feathers thrashed on top of her, while in another the spirits moaned and howled and she was waiting; listening; abandoning the battle field to pause and look out over the wreckage, to where she knew he lingered; somewhere… out there…

Her reverie would be shattered by the sensation of choking; her eyes would snap open only to find that Issar had hold of the bottom of her nape, just above her collar bone. Her weight was digging, burrowing into her, her teeth finding a firm grasp deep within her tender neck; talons ripping at her sides. As soon as her vision came, it was blessedly gone, and Namasté was filled again with the fire that she needed, purely to survive. Flashing blades of obsidian erupted from her chest in a smoky veil, sliding cruelly through the spirit; and Issars furious cry brought a grim, and bloodied smile to her chiseled face. For but a second, Issar buckled and fell away, righting herself just as Namasté did the same, giving her a chance to lunge.

I’m fine, Hush. Her voice was harsh, grinding with a feverous effort, vocals splayed by sheer exhaustion, and yet they choked with the pale, transient aura or pure, exemplary love. His eyes were on her face, and she had never seen him shine this way; it was as if the birth of their newborns, nestled at her side, had cracked open the vast, dead surface of the man, and exposed a treasure unparalleled to any other wonder in this world. The smile on his dark muzzle was soft, threatening to break into a feverish, triumphant grin; and still, those eyes; ever laced with worry for her. He felt soft, and warm, and right against her tired skin; and there was no moment that could match it. They were a family.

Ripping; searing flesh. The tang of warm, wet blood; hot and putrid splashed across her face, dripping from her fangs as the venom pooled; the piercing sounds of hideous snarls; cutting the air as the Alphas clashed. Two goliaths; twisting she wolves; one a serpent and the other the vulture, neither breaking, neither bending, as they drove their bodies into tooth, and claw. The blood was running in her eyes; moments of blurred vision that gave way to vivid memory. Burning, a trail of fire scorched their path, lit by the Red Queen; now licking at the edges of their arena. The air was growing dark with shadow, as the earth moved and the air shivered; quivering with the intensity of Namastés fury; swaying in a sickening array of twisting, and contortion. Of course, it seemed that they were alone, two beasts in one divine moment; with skill that bordered true, and utter madness. Feathers burned from their skin, flesh falling from the bone; and they danced; like dragons.

Do you hear their screams? Issars voice; it shook with a passion demented by her suffering. Feathered ears now thick, and heavy with blood pinned hard against her skull. I live only for yours; Issar. Somewhere, rain poured; certainly by magic; it cooled her wounds and let the blood flow down, trickling through her coat and dripping lashes of deep crimson. Her shoulders contained the worst of her injuries, yet a massive gash tore its way down her side, ending snug against her spine. There was no pain; not now, not while the toxic fires in her blood burned so ferociously. Issars left side was scorched, her neck and shoulder bare of skin, where instead lay sickly, angry, bloody boils of torched flesh, deep, and nearly to the bone. Namasté was sure her own wounds had ventured just as far. The pair were circling each other, alone in their own world; and the balance hung by but a thread. She lunged forward, and found purchase on her wing; close to the shoulder; her fangs dug deep into the already burned flesh; and a blood curdling scream erupted from the Issars throat. With a merciless tug, she felt her teeth break through the bone, cracking through the muscle and the tendons, shearing; tearing it away; and in a moment she was tossing the limp appendage to the ground, feeling its warm feathers and jagged shards of broken bone piercing between her feet. Her eyes were wild; hot, writhing pools of the most venomous beryl, her chiseled maw twisted into a bloodied grin; warm, fresh blood splattering her once beautiful face.

Everything is so quiet. So many nights I hear it all; the whispers in the trees, the shadows flickering over their roots in autumn, cast by that vast, shimmering moon. I can hear the calls from the swamp, haunted voices of the owls. But not tonight. I can only hear you breathing. I wonder some nights if you can feel me watching; as I look upon your sleeping face, illuminated by soft shades of azure blue. You’re tired, so tired; and I know that; but I smile as I see your eyes shift as if you’re dreaming, and I wonder whats visiting your mind tonight. What have I ever done to deserve you? Do you know how much I love you? I smile, while you can’t see me; I admire you, while you aren’t looking. I wish that I could tell you, Hush, I wish I was not so selfish in my nature. If I could, I would tell you just how lost I would be without you, how broken it would make my world. You have always been the one; darling…

Issar was in agony; her skeleton momentarily bowed over from the pain, as one of her once beautiful wings lay splayed and useless of the trembling terrace of the Burning Veil. Her dark eyes turned again to Namasté, and her mouth parted into a quivering snarl. You insufferable, insolent bitch! She was moving now, stalking towards her with a shuddering limp, as each shoulder blade pushed and pulled against the broken skin. The bone shone, wet and glistening in the open air, crimson pouring from her side in indelicate pools. I will burn you to the ground.. The hackles on Namastés neck were rising again, as the air vibrated with Issars hatred, and anger, fury literally morphing the air around them. But she was poised; and she was ready, though the soft sting of tears had begun to swell in her eyes. It was all there, right there, so fresh in her memory. His gentle mouth; the quiet in him while he slept, his secret mind finally at rest. And then the quartz; cold, and shining, locking him away forever; alone. She was alone. She bared her teeth against the true pain; the real pain; the death of her beloved mate. I will burn Atrox, to the ground! I will leave nothing of Victus behind, only bones, only blood, only ash! She drove forward, and leaped towards Namasté. They were grappling, holding each other up. Her sorrow; her heart broken into so many insignificant pieces. Luminous magics swirled and dove around them, cascading them in an array of blinding heat, and burning light, defined by shadow and a symphony of noise that nearly drowned out their own voices.

This war; had felt like an eternity. Hours had gone by; minutes and seconds and hours of bloodshed. Her heart; it was so tired. She felt as if the last of her had run out, dried up; been swept away. Exhaustion, for the first time; was creeping in. I can’t go on without you, Hush. Her body moved, but her soul was pulling away. Hysteris’ legacy could not be snuffed out; not like this; Issar would not have her glory; nor her vengeance. Not this way. Atrox will never die. The raw severity in her voice cut through the turbulent fog of the chaos. She lunged for Issars tender neck; catching quickly over her trachea; and gargles like muffled laughter spilled from the Dead Queens closing throat. Just a little longer… A hideous crack, and a crunching, grinding noise rang all too familiar in her mind. A long ago memory; when Hysteris’ bones had been driven from his body in a painful display of strange and unusual power… As soon as the memory awoke; Namasté felt it.

A bony stake, being driven up through her chest. The bone which had protruded from Issars torn wing had curved into a deadly blade, which plummeted in, with savage intensity. Her ribs, were cracking, her lungs, pierced, and the Red Queen caught the hitch of her breath in a grim, and gruesome gasp. Her eyes widened and then sank, their brilliant glow; instead of fading, began to burn brighter still. Suddenly, Issar was screaming; a blood curdling trill that would not stop; it scoured the air unlike anything she had ever heard before. It sent the world spinning. A white hot light, it caught her eye.. She looked down upon the spear of bone, which had driven itself right through the scar that Issar had left her so many years ago. It glowed; the colour of fire; and tendrils of smoke and malicious inferno poured, with the blood, from her open chest. Issar continued to scream; to writhe in agony; and Namasté could only look on at the devastation of her face; as black shadows were pulled from within her, eaten up by the hungry flames. The bone spear retreated; suddenly; and Issar cascaded into ash, her soul devoured by the fire. The flames twirled in a last, licking dance; before they burnt up, and went out. Silence.

The breath was sucked from her lungs; and Namasté collapsed cruelly, gracelessly, to the ground, where she lay, sprawled, and defeated. She was choking, choking on the blood that filled her punctured lungs, and every breath was agony as her ribs cracked and ground against the soft tissue, grating against one another. She lay in a crimson pool; filthy with the ashes of the Dead Queen. A shrieking cry was almost distant in her mind; as Haeg’s great wings battered the earth, and he descended as a great shadow over top of her. And then, she could hear only muffled sounds, see only a blur; a fading panorama of her world; her life, her children; all the years that these long and treacherous moments; this vast expanse of time had offered her. Full of war. But not without love.

Never without love.