Drecca and Lilith take Hayley back to the portal, or where it had once been. But it is no longer.
Hayley rests in his arms, and he'd used his magick to remove the gross gore and blood from his body. He looks at Lilith, a silent question on his face. She steps ahead of him, kneeling down to the ground and placing her hand on the sands. She lifts her head, turning it back to him.
"It was closed," she says. "It was.... shattered."
"Shattered? How?" Drecca asks.
Lilith shakes her head. "I'm not sure. There's some other dark being in this place, and they sealed and shattered the portal."
"I did that," says a deep, gruff male voice.
Lilith draws twin daggers, whirling around and unfurling her wings. The man who stands there is tall, his broad shoulders covered in heavy, black metal armor. He glares at them with glowing gold eyes, his dark face lined with tribal tattoos. He smirks, his teeth flashing in the fading light of the bloody sky above them.
"Who the fuck are you?" Drecca demands.
The strange man touches a massive hand to his broad chest, over his heart. "Oh, Prince Drecca, you wound me."
"You know me? How?"
"Call me Lorcan," says the strange man. "And I am not here to hurt you.... Yet."
"Wait, Lorcan?" Lilith asks, lowering her daggers.
"Yes," says the man, tilting his head. His white hair falls over one of the tattoos on his face, and he brushes it aside. "Do I know you, girl?"
"In fact, you do," she says. "You are my uncle."
Drecca looks at Lilith. "What?"
Lorcan's glowing eyes lock on the girl in Drecca's arms, and Drecca summons his big, black wings, curling them around the two of them. Hayley has been unconscious since he healed himself, after he was feeed somehow from the dragon's belly. He doesn't know what she's done, but he senses how much pain she's in. She needs her tonics, her meds. She needs to return home, to his home.
"Why did you seal the portal, Lorcan?" Lilith demands.
"Because, I am looking for your cousin," he says. "Have you seen Lyrrha?"
Drecca wonders why they all have names beginning with L, but he decides to not ask. He just states back at Lorcan, and the big man folds his arms over his barrel chest. Lorcan frowns at Drecca, but then turns his golden gaze back to his niece.
"No, I thought.... I thought her dead," she says.
"No," Lorcan growls. "Lyrrha did not die."
"Is she here?"
"I believe so," says Lorcan. "And I had hoped that she would be found here, before this portal. I closed it because I thought it was hers. Now, I see it is yours, Lilith."
Lilith nods. "We need to get back home, Lorcan."
"Could you help me, first? Help me find Lyrrha?"
"No," says Drecca, just as Lilith says, "Yes."
Drecca looks at her, but she won't meet his gaze. She just watches her uncle, her fierce, red eyes daring him to say she can't help. But Lorcan, upon realizing that he is not going to convince her otherwise, he nods once. He steps back, then kneels on the sandy ground, picking up a handful of scarlet sand.
"What are you doing?" Drecca demands.
"He is a hellhound," says Lilith. "He can probably smell her scent. He's trying to find her trail."
"Indeed," says Lorcan. Then, he stands up. "Follow me."
Lilith begins to follow, but Drecca remains where he is.
"My Prince, we should help him," says Lilith.
"No," Drecca says. "Hayley is in pain. She needs her tonics. She needs to go home."
Something he cannot name crosses Lilith's face, but she sighs. "We cannot go home yet, my Prince. Lorcan, can you please give us a portal, once we have found Lyrrha?"
"I will do my best," says Lorcan. He looks at Drecca. "I know you have no reason to trust me, Prince Drecca. But maybe this can help." He walks over and raises his hand, ready to touch Hayley's forehead, but Drecca snarls. Lorcan falters, looking at the Prince. "I will heal her, Prince Drecca."
Drecca looks at Lilith, who nods.
"Trust him, my Prince," she whispers.
"Fine," says the Prince.
Lorcan rests his large hand on Hayley's forehead, and then, her whole body glows a golden color, before it fades into her skin. Lorcan steps back, smiling. "She is free of pain for now. It is a temporary thing, but for now, she will be fine."
Drecca nods once. "Thank you, Lorcan."
Lorcan smirks. "I know that had to hurt."
Lilith chuckles, and Lorcan turns and leads them along, and this time, Drecca begrudgingly follows him. He doesn't know where they are headed. He just hopes that wherever they end up, they will all be okay.