The look upon Lia's face made even Terrene shiver.
Slowly, she approached her sister, Kushi's unconscious body hovering silently beside her.
Lia's eyes seemed devoid of life.
Almost hollow.
They remained fixed upon Myles' limp body as though nothing else in the world existed.
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks before dripping from her chin onto the floor beneath her.
Terrene knelt beside her.
For a moment, she glanced towards Myles, checking whether he still lived.
His chest rose.
Barely.
Relieved, she turned back to Lia.
Nothing.
Lia did not react.
She did not acknowledge Terrene's presence.
Nor Kushi's.
She simply stared.
A low groan finally broke the silence.
Myles stirred.
His fingers twitched before he slowly pushed himself upright, wincing as every muscle protested.
His vision swam.
Blurred shapes gradually sharpened until the first thing he saw was Lia.
Her eyes.
They looked utterly lost.
Like someone who had stayed awake through endless nights until even exhaustion had forgotten how to claim her.
His heart sank.
Slowly, he surveyed the lodge.
The scorched walls.
The shattered furniture.
The lingering heat.
Then he noticed Kushi suspended unconscious nearby.
Terrene remained kneeling beside Lia.
Watching.
Waiting.
Countless questions burned within her.
She swallowed them all.
None of them mattered right now.
Myles forced himself onto trembling legs.
Each step towards Lia felt heavier than the last.
When he reached her, he quietly dropped to his knees.
"There isn't anything I can say that'll make this better."
His eyes lowered to the floor.
"I'm sorry."
His voice cracked.
"It's all I have."
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"I'm pathetic."
"I froze."
"The moment I saw you..."
He clenched his fists.
"I couldn't even speak."
"Kushi had to do it for me."
He looked briefly towards Kushi.
Then forced himself to meet Lia's vacant gaze.
"I love you."
The words came quietly.
"It's the truth."
His eyes drifted back towards Kushi.
"I love her too."
The final sentence almost refused to leave his throat.
He practically choked on it.
Silence followed.
Then...
Terrene's eyes opened.
Brilliant purple light exploded from them.
The entire lodge disappeared beneath its radiance.
An instant later she stood over Myles.
His body lay charred beneath her.
"You..."
Her voice trembled.
"...what?"
She brought her foot down.
The impact severed one of his limbs cleanly from the rest of his body.
Myles screamed.
Black flames immediately enveloped the wound.
Gentle.
Silent.
Almost beautiful.
His body rapidly began repairing itself.
Before Terrene could strike again, he launched himself backwards into the air.
"Wait!"
He held both hands out towards her.
"Please!"
"I know it's only been a year..."
His breathing was ragged.
"But what else can I say?"
His expression twisted with guilt.
"I fell in love."
His eyes drifted towards Kushi's unconscious body.
"I never imagined..."
A sad smile appeared.
"...that it could happen again."
"But here we are."
Terrene answered only with a scream.
It carried anger.
Pain.
Betrayal.
Frustration.
Dozens of brilliant violet spheres erupted around her before launching forwards.
Each blast tore through the air faster than sound itself.
Each one carried enough destructive force to level cities.
Myles' eyes widened.
Not because he feared for himself.
Because of where they might land.
"No!"
He thrust one arm forwards.
From his palm erupted an enormous mass of black criole.
It spread like liquid night.
Within moments it swallowed both him and every incoming projectile, forming an immense dome around them.
Inside...
Silence.
Outside...
Terrene's fury evaporated almost instantly.
Reality caught up with her.
"What..."
She stared at the dome.
"...have I done?"
Thin streaks of violet light escaped through tiny fractures in the black shell.
Her heart sank even further.
As though responding to her despair, the dome slowly unravelled.
The darkness peeled away into countless drifting strands before disappearing completely.
Myles remained standing.
Physically unharmed.
Emotionally...
Far from it.
He collapsed onto one knee, breathing heavily.
"Please..."
He struggled to catch his breath.
"Just listen."
His eyes returned to Lia.
She still had not moved.
Her lifeless gaze remained fixed upon him.
"It was my fault."
He swallowed.
"Kushi respected my feelings for you."
"She held herself back."
"She kept trying to bury her own."
"But as we spent more time together..."
He lowered his head.
"I realised I longed for the warmth that was Kushi."
"I couldn't deny it anymore."
His fist tightened until his knuckles whitened.
"Call me whatever you want."
"I deserve it."
"What I did..."
His voice faltered.
"...is wrong."
He took one final breath.
As though preparing himself for whatever punishment awaited him.
"But it doesn't mean I love you any less, Lia."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"I love you."
His gaze drifted towards Kushi.
"...and I love her."
Terrene shuddered.
Her hand slowly rose to her chest, clutching at it as though trying to stop something from breaking apart inside.
Her brows furrowed.
Not only with anger.
But with hurt.
"So..."
The whisper never reached another soul.
"...why not me?"
"I... have... heard... enough."
Lia's voice finally broke the silence.
Each word carried a crushing weight, as though forcing itself into existence.
She slowly rose to her feet.
Her movements were mechanical.
Empty.
She turned away.
She had no destination in mind.
She simply knew she could not bear to face the man she loved.
Not now.
"Hey... Myles?"
Terrene's voice called after him.
Her eyes...
Were wide open.
Lia froze.
Her own eyes widened in horror.
"No..."
She spun around and sprinted towards her sister.
Too late.
Five seconds.
That was all it took.
The brilliant purple radiance surrounding Terrene shifted.
Purple became blue.
Blue became crimson.
Tema emerged.
Not beside her.
With her.
The colossal beast merged seamlessly into her body, each becoming part of the other.
Horns forced their way through her hair.
Her body grew another two feet taller.
Beautiful scales spread across sections of her skin, glistening like polished gemstones.
A powerful tail tore free through the back of her clothing.
She looked magnificent.
Terrifying.
Her lips curled into a sorrowful smile.
The smile of someone who had already accepted death.
"Does this..."
She looked directly at Myles.
"...make me worthy of your love?"
Her voice trembled.
"I've accepted all of my emotions."
She smiled sadly.
"All of myself."
"The good..."
"...and the ba..."
The sentence never finished.
Her knees struck the ground.
A chaotic storm of criole erupted from her body.
Wave after wave exploded in every direction.
Lia, still running towards her, was thrown violently backwards before she could even reach her.
Myles stared in disbelief.
His mind refused to process what he was seeing.
This has to be some kind of sick joke.
Then another thought surfaced.
One so horrifying it made him shiver.
...Is this my fault?
His breathing became shallow.
Then...
He remembered.
The ship.
The moment he first learned to see criole itself.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
He steadied himself.
"For them."
A deep breath.
Then another.
He opened his eyes.
Pain.
The world exploded into colour.
Countless streams.
Lines.
Currents.
An endless sea of information flooded into his mind all at once.
His teeth clenched so hard they threatened to crack.
He forced himself to remain conscious.
To understand.
Looking down at himself first, he immediately noticed something impossible.
Three more cores.
Hidden within his own body.
He had never seen them aboard the ship.
But they did not matter.
Not now.
He turned towards Terrene.
The instant he saw her...
His body reacted before his mind could.
Blood poured from his nose.
Then from his mouth.
His head pounded violently.
Terrene simply stared back.
Her newly opened eyes drank in the world with childlike wonder.
She looked at him with admiration.
With awe.
As though afraid she might lose her sight the moment she blinked.
Myles barely remained standing.
Every breath burned.
His muscles spasmed uncontrollably.
His vision blurred.
He wanted nothing more than to shut his eyes.
To collapse.
To let unconsciousness take him.
But he couldn't.
Not because he feared for himself.
Because he feared for Terrene.
Something clung to her.
It was wrong.
Wrong in a way words refused to describe.
Its very existence seemed to reject life itself.
It wrapped around both of her eyes like a parasite.
Within the endless network of criole lines...
He saw it.
Two circles.
A crescent smile.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Every instinct screamed at him to look away.
To run.
His body refused.
Instead...
His arm rose on its own.
Brilliant crimson criole erupted from his hand.
Beautiful.
Pure.
Almost holy.
The creature's smile inverted.
Its circular eyes split in half, slanting inward into an expression of pure hatred.
Myles was grateful he alone could see it.
Because as the crimson flames engulfed the thing...
It screamed.
The sound never reached his ears.
Yet he felt it.
The cry shook the universal criole lines themselves.
Even the immense heavy-core currents quivered.
Then...
It vanished.
Silence.
Myles collapsed onto both knees.
Panting.
Exhausted.
He looked first at Lia and Terrene.
Both stared back in complete confusion.
Then at the towering Terrene herself.
Finally...
He lowered his gaze to his own glowing crimson hands.
A weak smile crossed his face.
"I'm..."
He laughed quietly.
"...far from anything human, aren't I?"
The words were meant only for himself.
He looked back towards the pair.
"We need to leave."
His eyes drifted across the ruins that had once been the lodge.
"There's another one on the next island."
A tired smile tugged at his lips.
"And I'd rather not spend my evening being crushed."
He planted a foot beneath himself.
Tried to stand.
His legs folded immediately.
Again.
He tried once more.
They gave way just as easily.
Even his criole refused to answer his call.
He was completely spent.
Without a word, Lia walked towards him.
She crouched beside him before effortlessly lifting him onto her back.
Once he was secure, she looked towards Terrene.
Then towards the unconscious Kushi.
A simple gesture.
Bring her.
Follow me.
Terrene nodded.
Her eyes had closed once again.
Yet somehow...
She still walked without hesitation.
Lia chose not to question it.
As they travelled between the islands, Myles barely remained awake.
He felt the gentle rhythm of Lia's footsteps.
The warmth of her back.
The steady rise and fall of her breathing against him.
For reasons he could not explain...
It comforted him.
His eyelids finally surrendered.
"I love you so much, Lia."
The words escaped him moments before sleep claimed him.
Lia's eyes widened.
Then slowly narrowed.
A thousand emotions passed silently across her face.
"We'll see."