So far, I'd been doing well, utilizing all the little tricks I had learned over the years to keep my phobia in check, but just thinking about the growing incline and the sheer slopes below was making me anxious.
"Look at Morek," Shovia said, nodding toward our friend who was practically bouncing up the trail while talking to the girl walking next to him. "You'd think he was going on a pleasure hike."
I was glad that he had overcome his obsession with Erona and was pursuing someone else, but I was envious of how easy the trek was for him.
"Unlike me, he's having fun," I murmured under my breath.
A grunt of discomfort from behind made me turn. Alar was starting to show signs of strain, which was worrisome. The air would become much thinner the higher we climbed, and if he was already having difficulty, he wouldn't make it to the top, let alone have any hope of becoming a rider.
Not that I believed he'd had even a sliver of a chance even before seeing him struggle so early on. The poor guy was setting himself up for disappointment, and so was his cousin, even though he seemed to be faring better.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
Alar managed a tight smile. "Getting used to the air up here is tough."
It occurred to me that his pinched expression was the result of worry more than difficulty. He'd never experienced altitude sickness before, so he might assume that the shortness of breath was a sign of its onset.
I slowed down and waited for him to fall in step with me. "We haven't climbed high enough for you to experience altitude sickness. You are just out of breath."
He cast me a questioning look. "I thought shortness of breath was part of the sickness."
"It can be, but there are also other symptoms. Do you have a headache? Do you feel dizzy or lightheaded?"
"I do, but I've felt like this since I woke up. It must be the lack of sleep. Or maybe I drank too much of your grandmother's tea."
I frowned. "How much did you drink?"
He patted one of his canteens. "It was Codric's idea to fill one of them with it."
I shook my head. "Stick to the water from now on. Staying hydrated is important."
The problem was that we had a limited supply, and Alar had stupidly filled one of his canteens with tea. I hoped we would get to a water source soon so he could dump the tea and fill both of his canteens with water.
"You are such a flatlander," Shovia teased him. "Better not let Lysara see you struggling."
As if on cue, our guide dropped back to check in on us. Her stern face showed no emotion as she assessed Alar.
"Try to keep up, Elurian." She must have concluded that he was fine.
"Doing my best, ma'am."
Shaking her head, she produced a small packet from her vest. "When you start to get dizzy, chew these leaves, one at a time."
I recognized the deep green hue and purple stem of the herb she handed him—another of Gran's remedies for altitude sickness. The fact that our guide carried them suggested that Alar and Codric hadn't been randomly assigned to her party. Most young, healthy Elucians didn't need herbs to handle the altitude.
What Lysara had given Alar was potent, but so were the side effects, which was why Gran hardly ever prescribed it, and I wondered whether our team leader had given it to him not to help him but to hinder his progress. Many Elucians were purists who were opposed to allowing Elurians with just traces of Elucian blood to join our pilgrimages, and Lysara could be one of them.
"Thank you," Alar said, popping a leaf into his mouth before I had a chance to stop him.
His face scrunched up at the bitter taste.
"You are welcome." She gave him a crooked smile that held a hint of cruelty in it. "So that you know, there are some unpleasant side effects."
When she moved ahead to check on other pilgrims, he turned to me. "What side effects?"
"You'll feel them soon enough." I patted his arm. "They are nasty, which is why Gran gave you the tea instead. You should have waited to check with me before putting the stuff in your mouth."
Behind him, Codric shook his head. "That would have been the smart thing to do. What were you thinking? What if the woman is an assassin? Many of these people don't like Elurians."
