A narrow stream cut through the trees ahead, clear and softly bubbling, and relief washed through me as I lowered myself onto a fallen log. My muscles protested as I finally allowed myself to rest.
Aster stepped toward the stream before I could even comment further. From his belt, he unhooked a worn leather flask, darkened with age and use, the strap creaking softly as he worked the stopper free.
He leaned forward, letting the clear water spill into it, watching the current for a moment, then rising to his feet. Whenhe pressed it into my hands, the leather was cool and damp, and I barely had time to murmur a thank you before lifting it to my lips.
The first swallow was heaven.
The water was crisp and cold, so clean it almost startled me, and I drank greedily. The ache in my throat was easing with every mouthful as I realized just how parched I had been. I hadn’t noticed how dry my mouth had grown, too distracted by everything else. But now it felt like life itself was being poured back into me, and I didn’t stop until my lungs finally demanded air.
I lowered the flask, exhaling softly, then glanced up at him with sudden suspicion creeping in around the edges of my relief.
“Please tell me,” I said, eyeing the stream behind him, “there were no bones or dead bodies in that water.”
Aster barked out a laugh, the sound surprising in the quiet clearing, and he folded his arms across his chest as he looked down at me.
“It’s a bit late for that question, isn’t it?”
I wrinkled my nose in immediate disgust, my stomach flipping as I looked back at the flask in my hands, which only made his laughter deepen.
“I’m serious,” I said, grimacing. “I just drank half of it.”
He shook his head, still smiling, and reached out to tap the side of the flask lightly, as if to reassure me. “Relax. You’ll be happy to know it was just water. No bones. No bodies. Just clean, cold mountain runoff.”
“Oh, thank god,” I muttered, relief flooding me so hard it made me dizzy for a moment.
Without thinking too hard about it, I lifted the flask again and took another long drink, swallowing even as I rolled my eyes at myself, the cool water washing away the last of my hesitation along with my thirst. His mouth twitched.
“You also need feeding.”
Despite everything, a weak laugh escaped me.
“Try gathering some firewood,” he added, already shrugging off his pack. “I’ll go hunt.”
“Don’t go far,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them. His expression softened.
“I won’t.”
Moments later, he vanished into the trees, his presence swallowed by the forest with unsettling ease. The clearing felt wrong without him. Too quiet. I moved to gather fallen branches, the feeling of being watched creeping back in full force, and when a twig snapped behind me, I froze.
“Aster?” I called, straightening.
But there was no answer.
I crouched again, tugging at a stubborn piece of wood tangled in vines, and when it came free, something pale rolled into view.
Another skull.
I screamed, stumbling backward, colliding with something solid.
“Oh, thank gods,” I breathed, forcing a shaky laugh as I turned. “That scared the hell out of me.” However, the relief died instantly.
It wasn’t Aster.
I had just enough time to register unfamiliar eyes before the world tilted violently sideways…
Then everything went dark.
Iwoke slowly, drifting up from a sleep so deep and heavy it felt unnatural, like my body had been forced into darkness rather than rest. For a long moment, I didn’t move at all. I simply lay there, taking stock of the fact that I could breathe, that my chest rose and fell, that my limbs were warm and strangely comfortable beneath me.
