Armageddon

Chapter 14: Welcome Aboard the Blood Diamond

Minutes turned to hours as she slipped further into depression. Silver had already taken Rahim down the mountain, but Selena didn't want to move. Silver returned for her, but he gave her what he thought was much-needed space while she dealt with her grief.

On the other hand, Ulrich retreated to his lair, his steps slow and falling with heavy dread. "I must remain in solitude and meditate on what transpired here."

Silver refused to meet the dragon god's gaze and asked for a third time, "What did you do to them?"

"The only thing that I could do. Thor needed to overcome his anger, and Selena had to detach herself from everything she knew and everyone she loved."

Silver's face boiled like a whistling tea kettle. "You can't do that—I've warned you."

Ulrich snapped his fangs and fixated his pupiled-slits on the non-flinching Silver. "As I've warned you, demigod. You insisted that I train them, and I did as you requested. You brought this upon them, not me." Silver didn't buckle down to the Divine's wrath but instead watched from the corner of his eye as Ulrich made haste and sought refuge within his cave to stay in seclusion. Even after Ulrich was gone, Silver kept his post by the entrance and watched Selena as she kept whispering and pleading for Thor to return.

When morning came, the two hadn't moved. Silver only broke their distance to offer Selena some water and food, but she denied those luxuries. But he stepped back as she shuffled to her feet and made her way towards the trail leading back to the library. His eyes widened as she marched on without regard to the danger of the swirling clouds defending Ulrich's peak. "My dear, stop."

Ignoring him, she summoned wind gusts surrounding her in a protective barrier against Ulrich's violent clouds. Thor! Thor! Her pleas and calls went unheeded; Thor's silence and emptiness unnerved her.

Selena continued her low, depressing march before leaping off the edge, tumbling below without considering the consequences. Perhaps, she believed, her impending doom would trigger her to change form. Selena didn't fear the fall, not after her first flight with Thor ended with her slipping off his back when flying without a proper saddle, unafraid but rather mesmerized by the scenery. She admired the endless green sea expanding over the horizon and the terrain moving like ocean waves.

Silver wasn't too far away. He morphed into his serpent dragon guise and dove in pursuit to catch her. He snatched her with his ivory talons, trapping her in his clawed cage, and when he brought her back to Ulrich's lair, Silver leveled his snake-like muzzle with her face and roared between his bared fangs. What in Oblivion are you doing?! Killing yourself won't bring Thor back.

Selena slipped through his tightened talons. It didn't daunt her in the least that Silver could speak to her directly through telepathy, and yet, it was the first time she heard his voice boom through her mind. "Don't do that."

Do what?

"That—talking to me. That mental bond is supposed to be between Thor and me."

Silver hissed, and Selena knew she struck a nerve, but her unrelenting emotions clouded her regard for others. You know I'm not like the other dragons, and I'm not bound to a handler. I can talk to whomever I wish and do as I please.

"I don't care."

Yes, you do. Why are you trying to kill yourself?

"I wasn't," she snapped, "I hoped that maybe I could...." her voice trailed off.

That you could do what? He paused before coming to the realization. Did you think that throwing yourself off the cliff would trigger your powers? When he saw that Selena's face flooded upon catching her true intentions, Silver recoiled and softened his tone. That's not the way to do it, my dear. You must trust Ulrich.