We Are All Drawn to What's Broken & Beautiful

Chasm

Alec grabbed for Magnus, yanking him to his feet just as the stone beneath their feet made a terrible grinding sound. Somewhere in the distance, he heard a woman's enraged scream.

"Alexander!" Magnus' voice was tinged with fear, his heart fluttering impossibly fast against Alec's chest. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Alec said, tightening his grip on Magnus' arm.

Chills shivered down his spine when an inhuman roar filled the room. Smoke curled in through the windows as the castle shook hard enough for them to lose their footing. Cracks appeared in the stones, tiny hairline fractures that grew bigger and bigger as they scrambled to their feet.

"Let's go!" Alec reached for Magnus, biting back a scream when the crack between them widened, little pebbles rolling into the abyss.

A green gleam cut through the room and all the hairs on the back of his neck stood up at once.

The green stone on Camille's finger-.

"Alexander!" Alec looked up to see Magnus on his knees, a shelf of rock cleaving away from the crack just inches from him.

The ravine was still small enough to jump even as the castle rumbled. Cold air blasted them both when the roof was lifted clean off, showering them in a spray of tiles and pebbles.

Alec's blood chilled when a shadow blotted out the sky. A black talon flashed towards his head, barely missing him. Magnus leapt out of the way just in time. The lumbering dragon above them roared again, shaking the castle once more.

"Magnus, you have to jump!" Alec cried, his heart in his mouth when the ravine between them widened even further.

He held out his hand, beseeching.

Magnus' face paled as another shelf of rock fell away, crumbling into little pebbles as it skittered down into nothing. A muscle in his jaw twitched and he backed away, ducking the dragon's second swing.

"You will not have him!" The screech was a female's voice, Camille's.

"Jump, Magnus!" Alec yelled, reaching for his bow.

Every step he took made the ground shake, little rocks clacking together as they fell away. Alec's breath caught in his throat when Magnus ran for the edge, only for an onyx tail to slam straight into his chest.

"Magnus!" The scream left him breathless as Magnus flew backwards, striking the bed hard. He crumpled onto the ground in a heap.

"I- I'm fine," Magnus gasped, ducking another careless swing of Camille's talons.

Alec gritted his teeth, drawing his bow. An arrow flew straight, burying its head in a crack between Camille's scales.

Camille's shriek of pain pierced through his ears, like glass scraping across a chalkboard as Alec fitted another arrow to the bowstring. He fired again, the arrow bouncing harmlessly off her obsidian scales this time.

"Foolish little boy," Camille hissed, turning her attention onto Alec.

Alec's blood roared in his chest as he raised his bow, pain exploding through his nerves when a black tail sent him flying backwards into the wall. Something cracked and he yelled aloud, gasping when a thousand knives pierced his chest at once.

-

"Alexander," Magnus gasped under his breath. His chest was on fire and his back felt as if a nightmarish creature had reached into it and pulled out his liver.

Alec did not look any better. He was hunched over on his side, a bone sticking awkwardly up through his shirt. A rib must have broken.

Fire burned in his veins when Magnus tried to sit up. He only succeeded in rolling over on his side, blue sparks crackling on his fingertips. They tingled, growing larger when he concentrated.

A shadow fell over him. Though it was a dragon, it was Camille's face, had her glowing green eyes and contempt. Razor-sharp talons stretched down, reaching for Magnus as he backed away, shuffling until his back hit the bed.

The chasm between him and Alec widened when Camille lashed her tail, baring her teeth.

"You will never have him, little prince," she hissed, smoke curling from her lips. "If I cannot, no one else can."

Magnus cringed away, the sparks in his hands growing ever larger until he was holding a bright blue ball the size of his fist. Strength surged through him, boiling through his bloodstream like someone had lit a match inside.

Alec made a sound, just loud enough for Magnus to turn. His bow still clutched in his hands, the stupid, brave prince notched an arrow, pain twisting his features. His eyes were fixed on his target, too distracted to see the blue flames that began to pool around Magnus.

Magnus planted his hands into the ground, saturating it in blue. The floor shuddered, an awful grinding sound raking through his ears as his magic poured into the stone, seeping into every crack and pore.

It surged through the chasm, licking up Alec's boots and climbing higher until his arrow was a living flame, throwing blue sparks.

"Do it, Alexander," Magnus said under his breath.

The arrow flew, straight and true as Camille reared up, a sweep of her wings sending Magnus toppling forward. He screamed when a stray talon caught his cheek, tearing through skin.

Blood dripped onto his hands just as Camille screeched in fury and pain. Magnus looked up just in time to see the flaming blue arrow bury itself up to its shaft in her chest, past the onyx scales. Blue flames reflected in horrified green eyes as the massive dragon tipped back, screaming what would be her last cries to the sky.

Magnus crawled under the bed, breaths coming out in terrified pants as his flames consumed her, Camille's scream echoing in his ears. More blood dripped on his skin and he raised a hand dazedly, touching the scratch on his cheek.

The world swam briefly, a curse word on the tip of his tongue. Fucking poison on her talons.

"Magnus?" The cry of his name was enough to ground him, even briefly. Magnus turned to see Alec, still on the other side of the chasm calling his name.

"Magnus, are you alright?"

Black spots danced in front of his eyes when the blue flames finally died, taking with them a part of Magnus.

Exhaustion seeped into him and it was with the last of his strength that he crawled out, collapsing at the edge of the ravine.

"Magnus!" Punctuated by a cry of pain, the last thing he saw was Alec struggling to his feet, dark eyes full of concern.