"Is that Riba?" Ragen asked, pointing off into the distance. "On the horizon?" Elora followed his hand, staring at a distant dot along the cliffs.

"I believe so," she said. It had only been a day or so since the fight with the serpent and despite being uninjured, Elora was still tired. They had stayed along the cliff line just in case they saw anyone else in trouble. They didn't see a single other mermaid. Elora could only assume that the serpents had killed them all.

"Yeah, that's it," Nyal said from behind her. She had almost forgotten that it was where he'd been born, that it was his home.

She turned when he let out a sigh. "Are you worried?" she asked, staring at the troubled expression on his face.

"Of course, I am," he replied. "I can't trust that it's still going to be standing when we get there. It's my home."

He'll be lucky if it is. Her father's voice rang through her mind. She hadn't heard him since before they were attacked by the serpent; she'd wondered when he would speak to her again. His words confused her; wouldn't he know if Riba had been destroyed or not? Perhaps, he just wasn't looking anymore.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Mikhail said from in front of her, his first words in a long while. He spoke the words Elora didn't want to. She couldn't promise something like that to Nyal, not when she didn't know if she would be right. If anything, she was almost sure that it wouldn't be there anymore.

It would take them another few hours to reach Riba, and Elora knew those hours would be long and tense, filled with Nyal's worry and anticipation about his return to his home. She hoped there would be someone there for him, some survivors. As far as she knew, he didn't have much family, so they wouldn't have to worry about them being alive.

Lost in her thoughts, Elora stared out onto the water below them. She didn't notice Nyal speed up to walk next to her. "Do you think it will be okay, Riba, I mean?" he asked, drawing her away from her thoughts.

She looked to him, to the furrowed eyebrows and the teeth chewing on his lip. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "I could fly up and look for you if you wish."

"No," Nyal replied. "I think I'll wait. It won't be much longer anyway."

He was far from wrong. They stopped only two hours later when Riba slowly began to fill their vision. There was a dirt road not far from them leading towards the city, weeds creeping their way across. The city itself was still quite far away, but close enough that they could see the damage done to it.

The farm houses dotted about on the outskirts had been obliterated, only scorched wood told the group that they had even been there in the first place. Towards the city walls, the destruction only worsened. Every single watch tower had been blown to bits, the remains becoming piles of rubble on the outside of the city. The gate had been broken into, but Elora was unable to see what had become of its remains. Smoke billowed from within the city, and she could see ruined spires of the castle.

It was exactly what she had wished not to happen, but a part of her had known from the start. There was a feeling in her stomach, like a heavy weight. She could only describe it as guilt. If it hadn't been for her, Nyal would still have his home. So would Ragen and Mikhail, so would everyone in the realm.

"No," Nyal whispered next to her. "No." He darted forwards, scrambling towards the dirt road. Elora cursed, following after him. She heard Ragen and Mikhail call out behind them, and then footsteps in the grass as they hurried to catch up.

She could feel the wind in her wings as she ran, ruffling the feathers. Nyal ran ahead, clothes flapping in the wind. He hit the dirt and kept running, a blur in the bright sunlight. Elora didn't bother too much with trying to catch up to him, she just wanted to keep an eye on him. He would stop eventually.

Riba grew on the horizon, the destruction growing with it. The closer they got, the more of it she could see, and the heavier the lump in her stomach got. That's called guilt, my dear. She ignored the whispered words of her father in her head and continued running, hitting the dirt road with a gravelly thud.

The splinters of gate lay around the walls, most of it falling into the city itself, as though something had burst straight through it. She shuddered, there were many creatures that could cause that amount of damage, and she didn't want to have a run-in with any of them. Chunks had been taken out of the huge stone walls, leaving crumbling bricks in their wake.

Nyal didn't stop running until the broken gate and crumbling walls loomed up ahead of them. Elora panted as she tried to catch up to him, listening to the struggling breaths and pounding footsteps of the pair behind her. She didn't know how long they had been running for, or how far, but they were much closer to Riba than she had expected them to be.

She slowed, coming to a stop near a bent over Nyal. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, hands on his knees and breaths coming out short and quick. She leaned back, stretching out her arms and wings and trying to get a better look at the fallen kingdom in front of her.

"Feeling better?" she asked Nyal, staring into the city gate. The buildings she could see had been ripped apart, and she could only assume the rest was the same.

"No," Nyal replied. "I thought maybe there would be people out here, but I kept getting closer and there was no one here."

"There might still be people inside," Mikhail panted from behind them, voice ragged. "They might just be hiding. I know I would be."

"I hope so," Nyal muttered, staring into what once was his home.

"Well, if we're going to check it out, we should probably go now," Ragen said, still trying to catch his breath. Elora hadn't quite realised how much the running would have exhausted them. "It will be dark soon."

Elora nodded in reply, stalking ahead of the group and towards the splintered remains of the gate. Ragen and Mikhail could take a break and catch up later if they needed to. For now though, her and Nyal needed to get going and see if there was anyone left.

Nyal kept to her side as they walked, staring up at the walls as they passed under the gate. Her boots thudded dully against the grey stone paths. Riba had been a very circular city, the roads either running in circles or leading towards the centre, where the castle stood.

As soon as she passed through the gate Elora was struck by the silence. Every time she had entered a new kingdom one of the first things she noticed was the sound of people bustling about. Never before had she walked into a kingdom to find it completely silent. It was unnerving, eerie, a place she wanted to leave not even five minutes after she arrived.

Through the gate was a courtyard that once doubled as a marketplace. Tattered stalls littered the circular courtyard, fabric flapping the wind. Buried under the fallen and destroyed market stalls were bodies. She could only see arms or legs or even just blood, but she knew they were there. The more she looked around, the more she could see. They leaned against walls or lay spread out on the ground like fallen rocks.

"By the gods," Nyal whispered, his voice breaking on the last word. Elora turned towards him, not knowing what to say to him. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked around. This was only the entrance to the city, only the Gods knew what else Riba had in store for them.

She placed a hand on Nyal's shoulder, trying to be as sympathetic as she could. She ignored the gnawing feeling in her stomach as she spoke, "Nyal, I'm sure there are survivors deeper in. We need to go."

"I know, I just- Look at this," he started, gesturing at the destruction around them. "We did this Elora, we did. These people are dead because of us."

"I know," Elora whispered in reply, looking down at the ground. She heaved in a long breath before looking back up at him. "Are you coming?"

"Of course," he answered, looking around. "Towards the castle, or away?"

"Away," Elora replied after a moment. "There'd be more of a chance of finding survivors that way. I'd say whatever Zlohiel came here went for the castle." She would have to go up there eventually, either way, to see if there was anything that could help them, but finding survivors seemed more important.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elora watched Nyal run his hands over his face, brushing away any sign of his tears. "Good idea," he replied. "We should wait for Mikhail and Ragen first. I don't want to leave them behind, not here."

The other two men didn't take long to join them after that, Ragen complaining about the run as soon as they came into view. Elora only shook her head when Mikhail scolded him, turning and walking down one of the nearby streets that ran around the perimeter of the city. She heard the footsteps of the others following close behind her, echoing loudly in the silent streets.

As they walked the destruction only worsened. Buildings had toppled to the ground, leaving dust and rubble in their wake. Everywhere she looked she could see the bodies of those who hadn't escaped the Zlohiel. The gnawing feeling in her stomach, the guilt, never left her as they walked.

Nyal called out every now and again, voice going more frantic every time his cries were met with silence. There weren't even Zlohiel in the kingdom anymore, only rubble and silence. They moved from street to street, slowing making their way towards the centre. They searched the buildings that still stood, finding the remains of lives that had been disrupted suddenly. Rotten food sat on tables, half eaten. Books lay open on tables, candles had been burned down to the stubs and groceries had been left out on the roads.

They wandered until it was dark, and the only light came from the full moon above them. No one came out from hiding in the buildings that still stood, despite how much Nyal called for them. Elora didn't, couldn't, believe that everyone in Riba been killed, it just wasn't possible.

Ragen stopped first, leaning against the still stable wall of what looked to be a stone house. Elora spun sharply when she could no longer hear his footsteps behind her, thinking the worst had happened. He waved at her, running his other hand through his hair.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, loud enough to make the others stop and look back.

"Tired," he replied simply. "We've been walking too long. We should stop for the night."

"But-" Nyal started, moving back towards him.

"We're not going to find anyone in the dark like this, Nyal," Ragen interrupted. "We can try again in the morning."

"He's right," Mikhail added. "There are plenty of houses around here, we can stay in one of them. We need to sleep."

Nyal let out a defeated sigh, looking to Elora. She glanced at their two companions, at the bags under their eyes and their drooping eyelids. "We should get some sleep. Anyone who's here now will still be here in the morning."

Her friend only nodded, following along behind them as they searched for a stable house. It didn't take them as long as Elora thought it would; they only needed to turn one corner. The house was neat and tidy, as though the person who owned it hadn't been home when Riba was attacked.

Ragen and Mikhail, completely exhausted, quickly took the only bed, leaving a small love seat and the floor for Nyal and Elora. She waved Nyal away when he offered to take the floor, telling him she would keep watch. While they hadn't been attacked, they didn't mean they shouldn't be wary. She would stay awake for a while and wake Nyal up later.

He fell asleep quickly, obviously more tired than he had wanted to emit. She huffed out a fond laugh at him as he slept, glad that he was getting some rest. She sat on the hardwood floor against the wall facing the love seat, legs stretched out.

She had desperately wanted to find survivors, but as the day had worn on the Nyal's cries went unheard, she grew more and more doubtful that there would be any. She didn't want to believe that the Zlohiel had killed everyone in Riba, didn't want to believe that they were that powerful, but she couldn't argue with what she saw. If she was right, it would be her fault, their fault.

She let the Zlohiel out, she killed the people in Riba. The blood of every single man, woman, and child was on her hands. She needed to fix this, to stop Gaizma and the other Zlohiel before they could cause more destruction. There was a part of her that knew she was too late to save the other kingdoms, but if she could just put the Zlohiel back, or just save Nyal and Ragen and Mikhail. She just wanted to save someone.

An inhuman scream rang out and Elora shot to her feet. Nyal mumbled in his sleep but didn't awaken. She panted, looking in the direction of the scream. It continued until it hurt her ears to listen, but she could tell it wasn't nearby, wasn't going to hurt them. It was far away, most likely from outside the city. It would not harm them.

She sighed, sitting back in her place. If she heard it again, she would wake someone, but for now, she knew it would be okay.