From Sea to Sky

t h i r t y - f o u r | s k y e

She looks offended at the suggestion, and opens her mouth to reply but Skye beats her to it.

"Don't," he says, ignoring how Arlo tightens his grip around him and Vyanna returns her attention to him. "I can take it. I-"

Another flash of pain overtakes his body, and he tries to not cry out. He tries not to reveal his agony, clenching his teeth to bite back a scream, but as Vyanna cackles, the pain doubles. His world turns red. Against his will, his body crumples and a scream tears itself through him. It's unbearable. Indescribable. He's on fire and drowning at the same time.

Again, the pain disappears just as quickly as it came, but this time it's as if his body has been drained of all its strength. He doesn't struggle. He doesn't even try. He just lifts his head slightly and feels guilty as he sees Lana with tears in her eyes. He sees her considering the end of the world. Her lips purse together, her forehead wrinkling slightly in thought, and she clenches her jaw. She glances down at her hands, where her magic seems to have free reign, and as she looks back to me, she has a torn expression.

With what little strength he has, he shakes his head, begging her not to do it.

Her expression crumbles into a mixture of guilt and pain, and she looks between Vyanna and him, unsure what to do.

"I..."

Vyanna laughs. "You can't decide, can you? Love is your downfall... just like your mother."

Everything suddenly becomes quiet and Lana looks toward Vyanna, her features going slack with shock. "My...mother?"

"Yes," Vyanna says softly, with a triumphant glint in her eyes as she realizes she's touched a sore spot. "She was looking for you, searching every inch of Maris, but she didn't quite find what she was looking for."

Lana's stunned expression quickly warps into one of horror. "What did you do to her?"

"Exactly what I'm doing to him," Vyanna says casually, and with a glance towards Skye, he suddenly feels more pain ripple through his body. He cries out in shock as a new wave of daggers hits him, ripping apart his limbs with agony.

Dimly, through the pain, he hears her continue. "Then, after I got all the information I needed about you, and where you might be, I killed her."

"No!" Lana cries and starts to back away. "You-"

Vyanna's magic tightens around him and he dimly hears himself yelling, as if he's in another world, another dimension, the pain dissociating him from everything he once knew. "She screamed just as much as he did right before-"

"Stop it! Stop!" Lana screeches then says softer, her voice breaking. "I'll do it. I'll open the portal."

The pain fades away, and despite how wrong Lana's decision is, before anything else he feels relief. Then, the gravity of the situation hits him.

"No...Lana!" he croaks and despite his limbs, weak and shaking from the aftershocks of Vyanna's magic, he struggles against Arlo's grip. His uncle holds him back tightly, but more gently than before, preventing him from going to her.

Lana turns toward him, her honey-colored eyes sad and guilty. "I'm sorry." She turns to Vyanna with a grim expression. "What do I need to do?"

Vyanna steps forward, grinning maniacally. "Let me take control of you."

Lana blinks and he can't help but notice the fear in her expression, before her features smooth over and her face is stony. Then, she nods stiffly and Vyanna's grin widens as she turns to Ellerin, her eyes flickering over to her and Arlo with sheer and blunt pride of her victory. "Watch our guests for me."