Recovering with the speed of the Anahera, the half-blood surged to her feet to meet the Old One, turning aside a blow meant for the human. Maya stumbled, and light lit the darkness as the human raised her gauntlet. This time there was no mistaking her target, and Maya snarled as the power of the ancient humans struck.
Adonis had already seen Maya resist that terrible power, but roaring, the half-blood ignited her own weapon, the matching gauntlet she wore. Too late, the Old One realised her peril, as the half-blood queen unleashed the magic of the second gauntlet.
A terrible scream shook the tunnels beneath the earth as Maya fell to her knees, hands clasped to her ears before the assault of the twin magics. A snarl hissed from her lips, and even as blood spilt from her eyes, she tried to rise, to leap at one of the two, to bring them down.
But even the strength of the Old Ones had its limits, and Maya’s failed now, her feet slipping on the smooth stone, sending her crashing back to the cold stone.
Only then did she turn, her bloodied face twisting, her desperate eyes searching the dark, finding Adonis. They shone as their gaze met, as she looked upon his fallen figure. Even through layers of his mind, the defences Adonis had raised against her, he heard Maya’s call as she placed a hand to mound of her stomach.
Adonis, please! She begged. Please, save me! Save our children!
His heart wrenched at the words, and despite everything she had done to him, to his people, Adonis almost went to her, almost stood and struck down the human and her awful magic.
But he resisted. He knew it could not be, that the Old One’s words were but ash upon the wind, her lies greater than any humanity had ever told. She would see him dead, would murder his people, slaughter thousands to feed her hatred. Even the children she carried would be consumed by her cause, discarded in her pursuit of her revenge.
No, Maya could not be allowed live, or she would doom them all.
And so, though a part of him was breaking, Adonis bowed his head and sat back. Closing his eyes, he waited for the end.
Until finally, the vibrations of the Old One ceased, and silence fell over the ancient tunnels. Her presence, her touch, vanished from his mind.
It was done.
The threat to his people, his world, was dead.
And all it had cost was his own future.
Voices whispered in the darkness as the humans conversed. He wondered if they would kill him, but finally they seemed to decide to leave him, that they would return to the surface. Still he did not move, barely breathed as their footsteps retreated, finally disappearing into a distance too great for even his enhanced senses.
Only then did Adonis finally lift his head and look upon the creature he had loved, that had lifted the hopes of his people to the heavens, that would have born his children. Weeping, he dragged himself across the floor to where Maya lay and cradled her body against him, held her tight.
And wept for the future that might have been.
Epilogue Two Weeks Later
Standing on the shores of the Illmoor, Erika looked to the north, where a fleet of ships was slowly disappearing into the morning fog. Raising a hand, she bid farewell to Nguyen and the Gemaho as they returned to their lands. What they would find there, no one could say—Amina had disappeared after the fall of the Old One, fleeing into the tunnels. She must have learnt something of her own mental powers during that desperate battle, for not even the Sovereigns had been able to locate her since.
Erika could only shake her head at the thought. Perhaps it was better the woman had vanished. Though she longed to bring Amina to justice, there were still many in Flumeer who supported her. Had the Queen chosen to resist, she could have started a civil war amongst the Flumeeren people.
As it was, a fragile peace had finally come to the four kingdoms, to human, Tangata and Anahera alike. Erika couldn’t help but wonder whether it would last, if the darkness that had so stained their history would rise its ugly head once more, but for now, she was willing to give it a chance.
And so she led her people south, back to the vast forests and wilderness of Calafe. Despite their fears of what they would find there, her people had followed, had placed their faith in their young queen and set out on a journey to reclaim their homeland.
Though, perhaps reclaim was too strong a word.
For nearby, journeying separately, yet never far from the Calafe column, came the Tangata. Their numbers were greatly reduced from the host that had marched north to assault the Flumeeren capital, numbering similar now to the Calafe. Despite the efforts of the Sovereigns, distrust still lingered between the two groups, remnants of a hatred fostered over a decade of war, and yet…
…here and there, Erika saw where the groups had combined, where children of each race played as one, drawn to one another by a shared curiosity, by a desire to discover, to explore the unknown. And where the children went, the parents soon followed, nodding greetings to their former enemy.
Watching such scenes, Erika felt hope for what they would discover once they reached New Nihelm. With both groups decimated by the Old One’s campaign, they would not want for space, and Erika’s heart quickened at the thought of seeing her childhood home again, the future she might discover there.
A shame Maisie and Cara had decided not to join her. Cara had set off in search of her people, promising
