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He was sitting with his back against a door that had been shut and locked for almost a full moon�s turn now. There was a heavy stench that no human could detect coming from that room, and he feared the worst. His black hair was bedraggled, though he had not slept in weeks. His tanned skin was pale and sickly, and he was developing a cough. It felt as if something was eating away at his chest, but it was probably worry, probably� There was still a weak cry coming from beyond the door, the cry that could only be that of his son; the same boy who had only seen two summers in his lifetime, the boy who had begun to walk and say small words� he was in there, locked behind metal that not even magic could break. He was probably going to die, soon. And how badly Corey wanted to burst in there and hold him, rock him, tell him it was going to be okay� even if he knew that it would never be okay.
The patch that was meant to cover his left eye and the glove to hide the adjacent hand were long forgotten, cast aside because he didn�t plan on leaving the castle any time soon; at least, not until either Litas emerged with Suderi or the boy died. His hand and eye were mutated, changed to appear more like his dragon forms because of a battle he lost; a battle waged while his Queen was stealing herself and their son away into this damned room.
It�s my fault, he was thinking. If only he had stayed, if only he listened to Exarious and looked for the legendary firegryph. He had gotten himself far too deeply into the War of Sticks and Circles, and he was paying for it now. No, his son was paying for him.
He slammed into the door behind him with a clenched fist. Why did he have to pay? Damn that gryphon. Damn Sui, damn the plague.
Felgons generally didn�t entrap themselves with the happenings of Dragons, but Sui was half-brother to Corey, and could easily take over the throne with the heir out of the way. Not if Corey could help it�that black furred dragon couldn�t get past his talons or sword if his precious boy died. Sui battled Corey; it was supposed to be fair-and-square, but that damnable creature poisoned his blade with Draksylrosis and Corey caught the virus. But he didn�t know that� he didn�t know it until Suderi became sick and his wounds failed to heal correctly.
There was a noise behind him; a crash, then silence. Corey scrambled to his feet and turned toward the door. There was a clicking, then nothing, and the door creaked open only slightly. With a rush of blood, Corey lunged into the room.
The putrid smell assaulted his senses before he could understand what he was seeing. There was a four-poster bed pushed into the corner with bloody bed sheets and rags piled upon it. There was a blanket that lied on the floor; it was blue, and Corey knew it was Suderi�s. He rushed over to it weak-kneed and lifted it, bringing the bloodied cloth to his face and inhaling the scent deeply. Tears flooded his eyes and he brought the cloth down, focusing on a tiny hand that lied half-cupped from underneath the bed. Corey fell to his knees and clenched his teeth together, one hand grasping at the blanket as his changed claws dug deeply into the side of the bed. He could not take his eyes from the lifeless hand for a long while.
The young king lowered his head, eyes tightly shut as the first tears trailed down his cheek. His teeth were tightly clamped and the cry was threatening to rip through his throat. His entire body trembled and he sighed heavily, clenching and unclenching his fists. Slowly his body began to relax and he reached down and touched his son�s hand gently, his heart breaking all the more at how cold it was, how unlike its normal state.
Slowly came the realization that Litas was not in the room. Corey brought himself to a standing position, though he only fell back onto the soiled bed. He held his head in his hands for a moment, unable to clear his mind from the intruding thoughts. How could he have stopped this? How could he have gotten in? Why� why Suderi?
Enraged, Corey quickly forgot all thoughts of Litas. His anger overcame sadness and he rose, pulling the heavy bed from the corner with great strength, and he lifted the tiny body of his son. He walked out of the room, down a flight of stone stairs and out the large doors that protected the mighty castle in Nexus. He walked out into the courtyard and continued down a worn path through the grove of trees, pausing only to peer into the boughs of an ancient weeping cherry tree. Its boughs were touching the ground, the tiny pink flowers open and some had begun to shed their petals, leaving the grass around it in a soft pink layer of carpet. It was here, under the dome of willow branches, that Corey chose to bury Suderi.
Hours passed; the Star had begun to set and the White Moon was already rising by the time that Corey completed his task. He sat in solemn silence, his sudden rush of anger finally overcome with numbness to the whole issue. His limbs ached and his throat hurt from restricting his cries. The tears he couldn�t stop were dried onto his cheeks and neck, his eyes dry and tired. He was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, though he felt that he would never sleep until his revenge on Sui was satisfied.
A heavy talon was placed on Corey�s shoulder, but he did not turn to see who it was. The lightning dragon Exarious had been his companion since he could remember, and they had a connection that no one could understand. Corey lowered his head, eyes closing slowly.
��Tis truly a pity,� said the dragon softly. �He is in a better place, where the trials of war and hate cannot harm him.�
�I can only hope, Exarious,� Corey whispered, his voice raspy. He turned his head and glanced into the white eyes peering through violet-blue scales. Exarious, my friend.
The lightning warrior crouched next to him, reaching out with a talon on the newly spread soil. He inscribed arcane symbols of the ancient dragons onto the soft dirt and a dark cloud loomed over the starry night, a rumbling in the distance. He withdrew his claw and a bolt of blue lightning struck the ground there. When the light and noise faded, a single blue stone lied embedded in the ground, the Nexian characters spelling �Suderi� upon it. Corey looked his friend in the eyes again and smiled sadly.
�Thank you, my dearest friend,� he said with deepest gratitude.
�I live only to serve, my lord.�
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