38 - Hayley

                                    

                                          
A portal takes us to the outer edges of Tempyria. Kieran and Indari split up from Tiber and I, and we search the rubble of the castle. Tiber is across from me, sitting on a fallen piece of debris, and I'm searching through a thick portion of ashes and dust, when voices shout out. 

"Halt! You are trespassing!" 


We both look up, and see a group of soldiers clad in the armor of the Tempyrians' royals. They raise weapons, aiming at us. Tiber stands, and the soldiers all turn to him, aiming their blades and arrows at him. Aldrea swirls within me, and I know she's getting ready to unleash our power on these men and women. My cloak hides my wings, but as I also stand, clutching my cane right, the soldiers turn to me. 


"Stop! Who are you?" demands one of the guards. 


"We are just looking for our friends," says Tiber. "That's all."


"Oh? And why would your friends be here?" 


Tiber glances at me. Then, a massive wolf tackles one of the soldiers closest to me, ripping his arms off, then tearing out his throat. The men and women shout, and get ready to attack Kieran. But that's when I'm ready. I raise my hand, and purple flames burst free of it. 


The flames sing in my veins, like another pulse. It surges forward, and slams into the soldiers. They scream and cry out as I burn them all, as I feel their lives extinguish. I am on fire, and it licks my body like a pleasant wind. But as I walk toward the soldiers, my body on fire, the purple flames casting black smoke into the sky, the soldiers scream. 


I reach the edge of the shattered castle, and I burn them all. 


Once they are dead, I collapse onto the rubble. My fire has burned out, for now. But I feel as though I could fall asleep and sleep for many days and nights. Tiber and Kieran are there, Indari right behind them. 

Exhaustion coils its way around my body, and I'm barely able to hold open my eyes. 


"Fuck," says Tiber. "Hayley. She's hurt."


I barely feel the "real" pain as compared to that of the chronic pain I'm trapped in. Aldrea whispers to me, her voice so soft. 


"Sleep, Hayley. You need to heal."


I raise my gaze to Tiber's.  He digs in his satchel, pulling free several things to help me. Things to heal me. But I'm unable to thank him. I'm still unable to keep my damn eyes open. 


"Hayley, don't resist this. You'll just hurt worse. Go to sleep... go to sleep, Hayley."


Just as I look at Tiber, Indari, and Kieran, Aldrea seems to summon forth her own power, and within moments, I'm asleep.