Page 2 of Tears of Tungsten
The Dreamer
Selene
“Run! Run! The creature is after you! It will consume you!”
“Don’t look at it! It’ll turn you to stone!”
“The dragon! Typhon’s monster is coming! Run.”
Desperate screams echoed over the battlefield, audible only to the Heliads. The stench of scorched flesh and melting metal settled over the surface of the planet as if it had an atmosphere of its own. Clutching my sword, I hid behind a rocky outcropping and tried to find a way to escape.
The monsters had come out of nowhere. This particular group was the most vicious my unit and I had ever faced. Medusa was the one I hated the most. She didn’t have as much firepower as the others, but she didn’t need it. The eyes of the mecha held the same power her mythological counterpart had been cursed with. Wherever that energy came from, we couldn’t fight it, not like we fought the fire the rest of the chimeras emanated.
And then there was Typhon, who was practically indestructible and overwhelmed us through sheer size. Rumor had it that he could propagate a venomous aura, but nothing was certain. Very few Heliads engaged him in combat and lived to tell the tale.
I forced myself to calm down and stole a look around the battlefield. Yes, the situation looked bad. Yes, I’d lost one of my hearts. But I could heal. All I had to do was make my way to the escape shuttle. Nexus would undoubtedly send reinforcements. The Great Mother wouldn’t abandon us to die and be eaten by the chimeras.
My hopes proved to be for naught. It took one second, a single moment of distraction, for everything to fall apart.
“There you are, little Heliad,” a dark voice suddenly said from above me.
I turned and tasted horror in my mouth when my worst fears came to pass. Impossibly, Medusa had managed to sneak up on me, and now, her massive frame cast my whole world into shadow. Metallic snakes hissed from her hair. As a rule, their role was to make sure Medusa had perfect vision from every angle, at any time. But right then and there, they were completely focused on me.
I knew I shouldn’t look at her, that I should be trying to retreat. But some kind of terrible fascination settled over me, and I found myself meeting her gaze.
“Look at that,” she drawled. “It looks like I have an extra spicy meal on today’s menu. Typhon will be so pleased.”
In the dark emptiness of space, her fangs shone almost as brightly at the sun. I stared at them and remembered different times, different days, kisses that tasted like tears, the warmth of my mother’s embrace, my brother’s laughter, and the Great Mother’s determination.
I’m sorry. I failed you.
Medusa didn’t turn me to stone. She opened her mouth, ready to consume me. This was to be my fate then. I’d end up in a chimera’s stomach, to be used as fuel in the never-ending battle between two races. I’d become a tool against my people.
My end never came. Instead of plunging me into fire and death, Medusa asked, “Selene? What’s wrong?”
The incomprehensible words jarred me from my trance. I tried to look at Medusa again, to see what she meant by that. But Medusa was gone, and the planet was crumbling around me.
A distant cry reached my ears, although I couldn’t detect the source. “Selene! Snap out of it.”
My name wasn’t Selene. It was… It was… Helios help me, I couldn’t remember anymore.
“Selene! It’s all right! I’m here. Come back to me. Come on, beautiful! Open your eyes.”
I did, and just like that, the sight of the terrible destruction vanished, replaced by a familiar, metallic ceiling. At first, I was confused, still a little lost in the haze of terror. But then, that voice returned, as strong and intense as it always was. “Selene? Can you hear me?”
At long last, I realized I was in the arms of a certain chimera tamer who was far more lupine than he’d ever wanted to admit. He’d been holding me in a tight embrace, presumably trying to wake me up. “Yeah,” I croaked out. “I’m… I can hear you, Knox.”
Knox broke our embrace and cupped my cheeks, intently scanning my face. He smiled at me, but the expression lacked any kind of joy. “There you are. Good morning, beautiful.”
Judging by his tone, he didn’t consider anything about this morning good. I disagreed. The nightmare had been dreadful, but its shadows were already fading, chased away by Knox’s strength.
I plopped down onto the pillows and dragged him along with me. I couldn’t physically overpower him, but he obeyed me anyway and pulled me to his chest. “Are you okay?” he asked as he petted my hair.
I nodded and found with no small amount of satisfaction that it wasn’t a lie. My heartbeat had already started to settle. My tears had dried. The chimeras were no longer my enemies. I was safe. “I’m fine,” I answered, curling around his warm chest. “I had a bad dream.”
Knox frowned but didn’t ask what the nightmare had been about. He knew better by now. “That’s the fifth time this week,” he said, pressing a light kiss over my temple. “Are you sure you don’t want to see a medic?”
I shot him a look of disbelief. Our academy doctor was more likely to kill me than help me.
