The rain hissed all around them. Tendrils of water trickled down his face as he peered at her severely, daring her to look away from his black eyes. She was an honest one -- beautiful, innocent, unaccustomed to war. She didn't realize what she was saying. It was one thing to want to help others. It was quite another to offer one's life for the sake of feeble hope. His jaw set, almost angry with her for risking her life as much as she had just by speaking to him.

"You'll get yourself killed by your own king," he growled. "Siding with me is treason."

[i]Whr-r-r-r-r-r[/i]

A soft, distant rushing noise pulsed in the distance, masked by the rumble of thunder and rain.

Raln looked up between the buildings, toward the mountains that separated the City of the Valley from the broken kingdom he had fled.

The soft silhouette of an airship drifted between the mountains, partially hidden by fog. It was headed directly for the city.

"It's too late." He stiffened with anger, every breath a hiss of defiance. "They're here."

The walls around the city were being shut down. The doors locked, the bridges raised, the bars crossed. No one would leave.