ALAR
"The body may falter, but it is the mind that decides when to quit."
—Commander Darius Hawke, Elite Forces' Vedona Academy
Ifought to keep my breathing steady as we continued our upward trek, but the thin air made every step a struggle. My legs felt like lead, and despite the cold mountain air, sweat trickled down my back. The herbs Lysara had given me helped, but the effects were beginning to wear off, and I considered taking another dose.
Beside me, Codric was starting to show signs of fatigue as well. His stride had become more labored, and he'd stoppedmaking jokes about an hour ago. Nevertheless, he wasn't in as bad a shape as I was.
"Water break!" Lysara's voice carried down the line. "We are stopping to refill canteens."
Shovia turned to look at Codric over her shoulder. "There's a stream ahead. Can you smell it?"
I couldn't smell anything, but Codric nodded and forced a smile.
Kailin sighed. "It's about time. My canteens are nearly empty."
Mine were both medicated, and I wasn't sure what to do about that. Should I discard what remained of Kailin's grandmother's tea and refill it with water? The herbs Lysara had given me were more effective, but the taste was awful, so I used the tea to mask it.
"I'm so drakking hungry," Codric murmured when it was finally our turn at the stream.
I chuckled. "I see that you have adopted Elucian expletives."
It wasn't as if there was a shortage of Elurian cuss words.
He shrugged. "Seems drakking fitting."
Lysara walked up to us, holding out a canteen. "I got you another one so you don't get dehydrated. Keep it just for water."
That was a surprisingly nice gesture. "Thank you."
Perhaps I'd been too quick to suspect her of sabotage.
She nodded curtly. "Keep it separate from the medicated ones so you know which is which." She turned on her heel and walked over to another group.
I crouched down as close to the bank as I could without wetting my boots and leaned over to fill the new canteen she'd given me.
Codric did the same next to me. "I'm so hungry that I'm already starting to hallucinate. How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine," I answered automatically.
The word fine could have many shades of meaning, so technically, I wasn't lying.
"Sure you are." He finished filling both of his canteens, got up, and walked over to Lysara. "Any chance I could get some of the miracle brew you gave my cousin?"
She shook her head. "I have limited supply, and I need to save it for the more severe cases." She pulled out one of the leaves she'd given me earlier. "You can try this."
Codric eyed the leaf with distaste. "I'd rather have what he got."
"Here." I offered him my medicated canteen. "We can share."
"No." He pushed it back toward me. "Keep it. You need it more than I do. I'll manage without."
His stubborn pride would be the death of him one day, but I admired him for it. Despite his easygoing nature, Codric had steel in his spine when it mattered.
As we prepared to move out again, my gaze was drawn to Kailin. She looked tired, more so than the other Elucians, and I wondered if it had anything to do with what I had noticed on the trek.
When the path had narrowed to barely two people across and the drop-off had become a sheer cliff that disappeared into the mist, she pressed herself so close to the mountain face that sometimes her pack had scraped the rough stone, and while other pilgrims had occasionally peered over the edge or gestured at the view, her eyes had remained rigidly fixed on the backs of those walking ahead of her.
