" and you, my father, there on that sad height,
curse, bless me now with your fierce tears i pray.
do not go gentle into that good night.
rage, rage against the dying of the light "
blood runs thicker than water.
| dying of the light by kona |
|...
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IN THE DARKNESS, HALO FOUND HIM.
sweat lined the taut curve of her neck. her vibrant hair spread about the flat surface beneath her in a wild array, almost as red as the blood that began to peak through the fabric on her stomach. the cool hours of the deep night hung around her relentlessly, and her hazy unconsciousness was becoming painful. every time she closed her eyes, he was there. the dark way of him was everywhere, the fury in his eyes on her, the feeling of his scarlet weapon tearing through her vulnerable flesh. it consumed her.
these memories had cemented themselves to her dreams, twisting them and warping them so far that she could hardly recognize herself anymore. the night spent the peace she spent all her days acquiring.
a feeble whimper left her dry lips, a cry for something, anything, to save her from this reverie. her fingers, pale and clenched, tangle themselves in the blanket around her. burgundy liquid pooled along her stomach.
she could see his face. the deep lines of self-hatred, the burning imprint of loss and regret. she could feel him. like he was right there.
and then, in only a moment, he was gone.
her red eyes opened flush against the inky air, wide and fatigued. she could not see much of her surroundings, and in a moment of forgetfulness, she panicked. where was she?
but then, a cool metal hand was on her forehead. words were being spoken to her that she could not decipher, but the voice was there all the same. and all her thoughts were her own again.
her breaths were drawn from her impatiently, chest heaving with the weight of her nightmare. slowly, the edges of the walls around her were made plain, and the darkness began to fade.
"halo, what happened?"
the voice is tired, but worried. it's one she has not gotten used to hearing, one she longed for for so long, but one she feared would fade. it was the voice of her jedi master. of luke skywalker.
"nothing," she forced through her teeth, her voice raspy with the early hours of the morning. "just a dream. it was just a dream."
in the darkness, she could barely make out his face. his light eyes were trained on her with nothing but worry, a look she had seen only one other time. she never thought history would repeat itself in this way. she never thought she would face death at the hands of kylo ren, twice.
"it looks like you reopened your wound," luke said, his voice growing distant as he moved farther and farther away from her. "i'll be back."
her eyes turned to her stomach. red blossomed along the bandages that were already set there, and a dull ache was beginning to spread through her abdomen.
she let her head fall back against the wall behind her. since coming to ahch-to, this had become a nightly occurrence.
nothing had gone as planned since rey and her had arrived. luke was still spiraling in the abyss ben solo had left behind, he had shut himself away from the force, or anything that reminded him of all he created, and destroyed. she couldn't feel anything from him. nothing at all. it left a void in her soul.
and when he saw rey, his panic came to fruition.
he had only seen such raw, untamed power once before. and it scared him. he was frightened of all that rey could become, all the ways she could hurt the one's he loved. halo did not feel the same. but she did not condemn him for his feelings.
she knew his mind had been just as tainted by kylo ren as hers had.
but she also knew that luke skywalker's return was necessary. that if ben solo was truly gone, there was no hope for them left if luke was gone as well. every minute that past, the first order took more and more lives away. halo could feel it.
when she came to ahch-to, she had intended to stay there with her jedi master until she died.
now, she knew that was no longer a possibility. for the sake of the galaxy, she had to try. for lor san tekka, and for han.
the saga of kylo ren was coming to a close.
and though it would not be so by her hand, she would see it through.
to the burning end.
[ hehehehehe here's this super short filler to kick off book two.
