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It’s becoming almost impossible to see.
My toes snag on something. I trip and reach out to steady myself, pulling pale purple light into my hands and casting it in front of me to illuminate the way.
I am about to keep walking when I realise what I tripped on.
A hand.
“Alana?” a choked whisper drifts up from beneath the fog.
“Raine?” I drop to my knees.
“Please help me.”
I drop to my knees beside Raine, my heart pounding. Her skin is ashen, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Cuts and burns mark her body, and her wings are tattered shreds.
“Eldrion!” I call out, my voice cracking.
To my surprise, he’s by my side in an instant, and he looks concerned.
I didn’t expect that; I expected him to shrug and look coldly past her. To tell me we need to move on quickly, and to leave her where she is. But his eyes drift to her pregnant belly, and I see his breath thicken in his throat.
“We should get her back to the castle,” he says, his voice grim. He turns to Briony. “Can you take her?”
Briony nods, her face pale but tinged with relief that she does not have to progress any farther through the woods. “Of course.”
“What if there are more survivors?” Maura asks curtly, looking at the horses.
Ignoring Maura, but speaking to Briony, Eldrion says, “When you return, tell the guards to send more horses to the woods. And send for my healer, also. She is a Sunborne. Elys. Send word and ask her to bring supplies and help to the castle.”
As Eldrion gently lifts Raine into Briony’s arms, I watch him and catch myself feeling a surge of warmth that takes me by complete surprise.
One show of tenderness doesn’t undo all the hurt he has done, but it does show that there is something beneath his facade.
Something I didn’t expect to see.
Briony takes the reins and looks back over her shoulder, nodding at me.
I catch Raine’s hand. “Hold on, Raine. Please.”
Before they leave, I close my eyes and reach out for her fears, and I soothe them with my mind. Raine visibly sighs. Her body relaxes. She turns towards me and her eyes flutter open.
She manages a weak, “Thank you,” before Briony takes off, wings fluttering furiously behind her as the horse carries her and Raine back towards the castle.
I stand, my legs shaky. “We need to keep going,” I say, dreading what we will find if we go farther.
Eldrion nods, and gestures for me to lead the way. Maura says nothing, but her eyes are hard as she follows us deeper into the forest.
As we approach the camp, the swirling fog beneath our feet thickens, and an eerie silence settles over us. No birdsong, no rustling of leaves – just an oppressive stillness that makes my skin crawl.
As we enter the clearing, though, the fog parts like a curtain.
My breath catches in my throat, and I hear Maura’s sharp intake of air behind me.
A few days ago, the camp was teeming with life. There was noise, and chatter. Pen played his harmonica. The scent of our rations being cooked filled the air, and the playful crackle of the campfire danced in the background.
Now, there is no harmonica.
Bodies litter the ground, their forms twisted and broken, and bushes simmer, burning silently and filling the air with smoke.
