Page 128 of The Last Remaining Light

“A Null does not herald the end of the world. They herald the weakening of the barrier that protected it.”

— Pre-Vigil translation fragment

I will die before I let anything happen to you.

Damn him! Damn his heart and his words.

She didn't want him to die! She didn't want him to go off on some noble sacrifice! He was her best friend! No. No, he was more than that. She knew he was. Felt it in her very soul that he was more.

So much more.

But there was no time to dwell on this further.

The corridor outside Elowynn’s chambers looked like the end of the world.

Smoke rolled thick through the upper halls while shattered lanterns sparked erratically beneath fleeing crowds. The tower groaned around them like something dying.

Every few moments another resonance wave surged upward through the foundations and the entire structure trembled hard enough to threaten collapse.

Elowynn had never seen Veylspire afraid before. She couldn't help but stare.

Was this what it had been like in Astermere?

She couldn’t remember.

“Move!” Alyra barked.

Elowynn had shoved the astrylite crystal she had been using as a light into her pocket and followed behind Alyra and Lora. The resonance blade in Alyra’s hand burned bright like a star. It was what helped them see through the smoke while she shoved open the hall doors leading toward the eastern stairwell.

Lora stayed close behind, clutching the stolen resonance crystals against her chest.

Caelyn had deliberately remained several paces behind Elowyn; the realization hollowed her out.

He feared hurting her. The way he would not touch her before leaving the room—

Another scream echoed from somewhere below, then there was a wet crunch.

Lora went ghostly pale. “Nope! Nope, nope, nope! Not looking!”

Too late. She looked. A strangled sound escaped her throat.

The councilman no longer resembled a man so much as the aftermath of violence. One side of his chest had been torn open to the bone, ribs exposed beneath shredded robes and dark, clotted blood. His face was an expression of pure terror, though much of it had been obscured by the damage. One arm lay several paces away from the rest of him, half buried beneath a smear of blood that stretched across the stone floor.

The worst part was his face. Elowynn was shaking, unable to tear her gaze away.

His eyes remained open, staring into nothing. His mouth frozen in a silent scream. Whatever he had seen in his final moments had frightened him more than death.

Lora made it three steps before doubling over and emptying her stomach beside the remains. Alyra was there with her, her eyes feral while her partner heaved.

After a short moment, they were all running again.

“Elowynn.” Caelyn’s rough voice cut through the chaos of the descending corridor. “Stay close to Alyra.”

She turned toward him and felt a wave of anxiety sink into her belly.

He looked awful.

Blood soaked through the back of his ruined coat where crystal shards remained embedded beneath the torn fabric. Blackened veins were glowing in faint pulses beneath his ashen skin. Frost crawled wherever his hands brushed stone and his eyes—