Chapter 52: Shadows of the Aftermath
The air in the chamber hung heavy, the echoes of the battle reverberating through the silence. Eryndor lay crumpled against a jagged column, his breaths shallow, each one punctuated by a wince of pain. Kaelina knelt near him, her hand pressed against the bloodied remains of her left eye. The crimson streaks running down her face were stark against her pale, dirt-streaked skin.
The ground beneath them was scorched and scarred, a testament to the ferocity of the fight that had just ended. Illarion's still form remained where he had fallen, his lifeless body bowed in a kneeling position, as if in reverence to a god only he had served.
Kaelina's fingers trembled as she tried to assess Eryndor's injuries. His arm hung at an unnatural angle, and his breathing rattled in a way that made her chest tighten. "Eryndor," she whispered, her voice hoarse, "stay with me."
Eryndor cracked one eye open, his lips curling into a weak smirk despite the pain etched into every line of his face. "Still... here," he managed, his voice a rasp.
She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to focus. "We need to get out of here. You're not dying on me, not today."
He let out a weak chuckle that turned into a cough, blood flecking his lips. "You've... got a way with words, you know that?"
Kaelina didn't respond. She couldn't. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions—grief, anger, confusion. Illarion's words still echoed in her mind: The Trojan horse. The knight. The bishop.
What had he meant by all of it?
Her gaze drifted to the lifeless body of their former comrade. She had trusted Illarion once, had believed in his loyalty to the Vanguard. But now, as the weight of his betrayal sank in, she realized how much of their journey had been a carefully orchestrated lie.
"Kealina," Eryndor said weakly, drawing her attention back to him. "What... now?"
She glanced at him, then at the chamber around them. The flickering remnants of the corrupted energy Illarion had summoned still lingered in the air, a reminder of the power they had barely survived.
"Now?" she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "We regroup. We heal. And we figure out what the hell all of this means."
Eryndor nodded faintly, his eyes slipping shut again.
Kaelina's gaze hardened. This wasn't over. Whatever game the Corruptor had been playing, whatever Illarion had been a part of, she wouldn't let it end here. She had lost too much—her eye, her trust, and nearly her only ally.
With a grim determination, she rose to her feet, dragging Eryndor with her as best as she could. Every step was a struggle, but she refused to falter.
As they left the chamber, Kaelina cast one last glance at Illarion's body. For all his power, for all his manipulations, he had fallen. But his words, his warnings, and his secrets still haunted her.
And she knew, deep down, that this was only the beginning.