The Raven Flame [The Crown Saga III] (First Draft)

Seeds of Chaos

A stronger ripple of pain sent my mind spiraling into a blinding haze as Pangea grabbed my shoulder tighter, the gauntlet slowly draining me of blood.

Another flicker disturbed the boundless darkness behind the widening rift, dancing as if it could sense the breath of freedom drawing closer. It grew, blooming into a silhouette of white flames with a core of pure shadow.

"Yes," the dark, raspy voice said again, the slow laughter grinding across my bones. "More! I shall devour the light and bathe my master's world in the peace that once was."

"As was once written between the stars," Pangea said as if a bridge had been forged between her mind and that of the creature lurking behind the rift. "The world shall be reborn."

My limbs had suddenly gotten impossibly heavy. I barely had any power left to try and fight my restraints. Pangea was draining my body of blood, of energy, of life. Even my eyelids threatened to fall shut just as an ebony talon as large as a human penetrated the rift, hooking into the ground before it.

"No," I whispered, but I could barely hear it myself.

This couldn't possibly be the end. We had a plan. Why wasn't Tarkan doing anything?

"Mother," Tarkan suddenly said, as if he'd heard my desperate thoughts.

I forced my eyes to crack open, once again revealing the blurred outline of our ending world—one last glimpse.

Pangea glanced at me from the corner of her eye, reluctant to let her eyes leave the rift. "I am truly sorry, Son," she said, her brows pinched as if she actually meant it. "I understand that this Iridis meant more to you than my iced heart could probably fathom, but her sacrifice is necessary to save Heliac from the Star's unjust grasp. Say your goodbyes."

Her head twisted back to view the rift as another curved talon dug into the ground, leathery skin drinking the light hitting it. I groaned as another surge of power was stolen from the well inside me.

Footsteps sounded behind me, moving from my left to my right until Tarkan crouched in front of me. He reached out for me, brushing a lock of hair away from my sweaty brow.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his icy eyes tracing every contour of my face as if trying to memorize every edge and crease. "I never intended for it to come to this, but I need to do this–for you and Heliac."

I weakly clenched my jaw, keeping my eyes locked on his. They looked impossibly soft and filled with sorrow.

His fingers gently traced the line of my jaw from my chin toward my ears, settling at its curve. I shivered from the chilled touch. He leaned closer, turning his hands so that his palm cupped my jaw.

"P-please, T-Tarkan," I stuttered, once more trying to talk some sense into him. "D-don-n't d-do–"

"Ssh," Tarkan hushed, resting his brow against mine. "It'll be over soon. Trust me."

I think I could hear Caiden's voice screaming something in the distance, but my powers weren't working, and my field of hearing didn't reach that far.

"I'm sorry, Willow."

With that, Tarkan closed the dwindling distance between us, covering my lips with his.

I clenched my eyes shut, too weak and restrained to resist him.

He sucked in a breath through his nose, tightening his grip on me, entangling his fingers with my wild hair. I gasped when he parted my lips, his tongue slipping into my mouth with ease despite my feeble attempt to keep him out.

I couldn't believe I was going to leave this world behind, caught in Tarkan's arms and reminded of his lips instead of Caiden's burned into my senses. I needed to do something; I needed to–