Page 88 of Roaring Spell

“You’re insane.” He shakes his head. “Completely insane. Leire is going to lose her mind when she hears about this. She’s been worried sick since we lost contact.”

“Tell her... I’m fine.”

“You are visibly not fine. You look like death warmed over and then frozen again.” But Aslan’s hand clasps my shoulder—gentle, careful of my injuries. “You saved the town, Torin. The Warding Line is damaged but holding. Whatever you did, it worked.”

Relief floods through me, warm despite the lingering cold in my bones. It worked. The Line held. Sakura is safe.

Worth it. Always worth it.

“We need to get him to the healers.” Anouk appears at the edge of my vision, her expression clinical but concerned. “The magical corruption needs to be purged before it spreads. Sakura’s stabilization is working, but he needs proper treatment.”

“I’ll carry him.” Aslan shifts, and suddenly a massive tiger crouches beside me—larger than any natural cat, muscles rippling beneath striped fur. He lowers himself, offering his back.

“Can you hold on?” Sakura asks.

“Think so.” I don’t mention that my grip is barely functional. That my vision is starting to gray at the edges again. That every breath feels like lifting weights.

She helps me onto Aslan’s back. The tiger rises smoothly, taking my weight without apparent effort. Sakura walks beside us, her hand never leaving my arm.

“Stay awake.” Her voice is fierce. “Keep talking to me.”

“About what?”

“Anything. Your poetry. Your cabin. What you’re going to cook me for dinner when you’re healed.” A pause. “Tell me about the poem you were writing. The one about lightning in honey.”

I blink at her. “You read that one?”

“I read all of them. While you were recovering from the last stupid, heroic stunt you pulled.” Her grip tightens. “I’ve been waiting to ask about that line. What does it mean?”

The journey through the Overgrowth stretches before us—wild magic still restless, paths still shifting, but the forest seems calmer. Less hostile. Maybe it knows the threat is neutralized. Maybe it’s grateful.

Or maybe I’m hallucinating from blood loss.

“Lightning in honey.” I focus on the words, using them to anchor myself in consciousness. “It’s... you. The way you move. Dangerous and sweet at the same time.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s accurate.” I lean into Aslan’s warmth, fighting the pull of darkness. “You’re the most dangerous thing I’ve ever encountered. And the sweetest. And I want to spend... the rest of my life... figuring out how both can be true.”

Sakura makes a sound that might be a laugh or a sob. “That’s also ridiculous.”

“Probably.” My eyes want to close. I force them open. “Still true.”

“Stay awake.”

“Trying.”

“Try harder.” Her hand slides into my hair—a gesture that should be too intimate for witnesses, but I don’t think either of us cares anymore. “You’re not allowed to pass out until we reach the healers.”

“Bossy.”

“Someone has to be.” But her voice softens. “Please, Torin. Stay with me.”

The Overgrowth parts before us, and in the distance, I see the lights of Mistvale. Home. Safety. The place I’ve protected for years, the community I’ve served, the town that’s become infinitely more precious since a weather witch arrived and turned my world upside down.

“I’m staying.” The words come out slurred but certain. “Not going anywhere. Too much... to stay for.”

“Good.” Sakura’s lips brush my forehead—brief and fierce and final. “Because I’m not letting you go. Not now. Not ever.”