The Forsaken Hero

As the Elemental continued to lope across the spire, I shared everything I could think of with Fyren, from the dragon’s attack patterns to their powerful abilities. There was so much more to say, but with this, he would have enough to figure out the rest. I was relieved to see he listened with rapt attention, occasionally stroking my hair as he continued to shelter me in his arms.

He frowned as I finished. "I don’t like it. If everything you’ve said is true, we don’t stand a chance to defeat them. It would be better to flee and wait for the descent, then take them with full demon backing."

"I won’t abandon them when they need me the most. And even if we lose, you’ll just return to the demon realm. You can just find another cause to be devoted to in some other world.

"It’s not like that, Xiviyah. If you stay and die, everything we’ve worked toward will–"

"You said the devoted randomly chose a cause to support, and that I was that cause. I know I don’t matter to you, and I’m just something to keep your immortality from getting too boring."

He hesitated, his fingers digging into my shoulder. "Xiviyah..."

I placed a hand over his, giving him a sad smile. "It’s okay. I’m so happy you’re with me, even if it’s just for a little while. But until then, please stay and fight with me."

Something flashed through his eyes. Guilt, regret, frustration- it didn’t matter. What I was saying was unfair, relying only on the things he’d shared and none of the greater purposes I’d glimpsed in my visions. He didn’t know that I knew, but saying it like this made me feel gross inside, like I was manipulating him. It was, in a way, but nothing else I said would convince him to allow me to stay.

"You’re too much, you know that?" he said with a resigned sigh. "There’s more at stake than that."

"So you’ll stay?" I asked.

"For now, but we’re fleeing if it gets too dangerous. I refuse to risk everything just to save a few people. Are you certain I shouldn’t assume my demon visage?"