Chapter 183: In the Hands of the Inquisitors
The angel’s wings beat steadily, releasing shockwaves with every thrust and propelling us as fast as any airplane in my previous world. As the sun began to set, dying the blues and whites of the sky in brilliant colors, the ground abruptly disappeared, transforming into the endless blue of the seas.
When the sun settled beneath the horizon, we were swallowed in darkness. The soft luminescence of the angel’s wings illuminated the clouds about us, but outside of our little world was endless night, devoid of the comforting stars I’d grown so close to.
After several hours, a distant light appeared in the void of darkness beneath us, growing swiftly until it split into thousands of tiny, individual lights. They swept beneath us, briefly flashing by, and then faded into the distance.
"We’ve reached the southern continent," Elek said, "only a few more hours."
Cities continued to appear and disappear with irregularity, occasionally broken up by rising masses of black mountains. Over the last several months, we’d traveled throughout the Kingdom of Radia, yet that same distance passed by in the blink of an eye. I’d hoped to journey back on foot, to get some extra time, but the speed of the arbiter made even thinking difficult.
Gray began to flood the eastern sky, spreading out to herald the coming dawn. As the distant stars evaporated, a new cluster of lights approached, spreading out wider than any city we’d passed. Towers that once seemed to pierce the heavens were barely more than pricks on the ground, but their grandeur was recognizable even in the early morning light.
The Divine Throne sat amid Roann, the capital city of the Kingdom of Radia. Elek slowed as we passed over the walls of the city, dropping low enough to give the buildings clear form. Early morning residents crawled through the streets like ants, some looking up and pointing at us, visible only as a streak of light crossing the sky. A soft breeze lifted the banners of the Divine Throne, greeting our return with spread pennants.
The arbiter snapped his wings open, catching our descent and alighting in the sprawling gardens of the inner courtyard, directly before the main entrance. His soft eminence radiated out over the flowers and trees, chasing away the shadows. We were on the cusp of winter, yet they hadn’t changed at all. Every petal, leaf, and branch was in its proper place, vibrant, yet hopeless at the same time.
"See?" Elek asked, gently setting me down, "that wasn’t so bad, was it?"
"It was," I groaned.
My legs shook as my feet touched the grass, forcing me to cling to him until my body realized we’d made it safely.