“How long can you stay?”

“Only as long as the sun is dark.”

“It isn’t fair. Who makes these rules?”

He laughed so deeply I thought I saw him breathe—a fine trick for a soul. I shouldn’t complain. Even a fleeting moment with him was a blessing. “What could be fairer than death.” he said, to me, an immortal. Though I had thought the same of him. Death finds a way.

“Are you safe on the other side? What’s it like for you?”

“Don’t ask me—the gods will seal my mouth.”

I nodded.

“We’ll be together again, soaring, I promise.”

Though I was never able to read his kind well, there was a way about his stance. A serenity. His gaze met mine, giving me hope; the other side must be good. Maybe there was a place for sorcerers among gods and dragons, and his soul would live on in the way I wish he had. Light burst from the edge of the moon, and he was gone again. I filled the sky with fire enough to make the sun jealous.