The next morning never came.

Not properly.

The sun rose somewhere behind the storm, but its light was weak and sickly.

Aetheria should have been golden.

Instead, it was gray.

Kael stood at the edge of the island, staring toward the kingdom.

Lyra stood beside him.

"What are you seeing?"

"The lanterns."

She looked.

From this distance, Aetheria appeared like a constellation.

Except half the stars were gone.

"They're still disappearing."

Kael nodded.

"We need to move."

"To the temple."

"Yes."

Lyra looked at the map.

"The temple is beyond the Veiled Reach."

"Yes."

"And nobody goes there."

"Correct."

"Excellent."

Kael glanced at her.

"You're strangely cheerful about this."

"I'm not cheerful."

"You sounded cheerful."

"I'm frightened."

"Ah."

"There's a difference."

He almost smiled.

Then the island shook.

A deep rumble rolled through the earth.

Birds erupted from the trees.

The ruins cracked.

Lyra stumbled.

Kael caught her.

"What was that?"

He looked upward.

The sky was moving.

Not the clouds.

The sky itself.

A gigantic shape passed behind the clouds.

Lyra couldn't see all of it.

Only pieces.

A claw.

A wing.

An enormous golden eye.

Kael whispered:

"Run."

They sprinted toward the ship.

The creature emerged.

It was made of storm clouds and darkness.

Its body was enormous, stretching between floating islands.

Ancient lanterns were embedded in its skin.

Dead lanterns.

Hundreds of them.

Each one whispered.

Each one contained a memory.

The creature opened its mouth.

The sound that came out wasn't a roar.

It was thousands of voices speaking simultaneously.

Children.

Mothers.

Soldiers.

Lovers.

The dead.

Lyra fell to her knees.

She heard her mother's voice.

"Lyra..."

She looked up.

"Mother?"

Kael grabbed her hand.

"Don't listen!"

"Lyra, come to me."

Tears filled her eyes.

"That's her."

"No."

"It sounds like her!"

"It's using your memory."

The creature descended.

The island began breaking apart.

Kael dragged Lyra toward the Starling.

They jumped aboard.

The ship launched.

Behind them, the island shattered.

Chunks of stone disappeared into the clouds.

Lyra looked back.

The creature followed.

"It's coming."

"I know."

"Can we outrun it?"

"No."

"That seems like important information!"

Kael pushed the engine harder.

The Starling screamed.

They flew through a canyon between two floating mountains.

The creature followed.

Lightning exploded around them.

Lyra grabbed the mast.

"Kael!"

"I know!"

"There's a mountain!"

"I see it!"

"You're flying toward it!"

"I know!"

The Starling narrowly passed between the cliffs.

The creature slammed into the mountain.

The entire island shook.

Kael grinned.

"That worked."

Lyra stared.

"You sound surprised."

"I was."

They flew onward.

For several minutes, neither spoke.

Then Lyra laughed.

Kael looked at her.

"What?"

"We're going to die."

"Probably."

"And you're smiling."

"So are you."

She realized he was right.

The absurdity of it broke something inside her.

She laughed again.

Kael joined her.

For the first time since the lanterns began dying, Lyra felt something other than fear.

Hope.

Then Kael looked at her.

The laughter faded.

Their eyes met.

The wind moved through her hair.

A strand caught against his cheek.

He gently brushed it away.

Lyra stopped breathing.

Kael's hand remained near her face.

Neither moved.

Then the Starling hit turbulence.

They stumbled apart.

Kael cleared his throat.

"Storm."

"Yes."

"Very dangerous."

"Extremely."

Neither looked at the other.