"You're seeing them too, right?" Shovia whispered beside me. "The shapes?"
I nodded, keeping my eyes firmly on the path ahead. The morning's trek was challenging enough without adding visual distortions to the mix. The trail was slippery after last night's snowfall had turned into sludge this morning, and the path had narrowed considerably, forcing us to walk single file with a sheer drop to our right that I refused to look at or even think about.
"It's the altitude," I managed, proud that my voice didn't shake. "The thin air plays tricks with our minds."
A stumble from behind made me turn, my heart leaping into my throat as I saw Alar sway dangerously close to the edge. Without thinking, I reached back and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the mountain face.
"Be careful. Keep a hand on the rock."
"Thanks," he mumbled, his usually sharp blue eyes glazed. "The ground keeps moving."
I frowned at his pale face and the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead despite the cold. "When did you last drink from the medicated canteen?"
"I'm trying to make it last."
"Lysara has more of that stuff." I kept my grip on his arm, noticing how he leaned into the support, and pushed him to lean against the rock. "Drink some now."
Those walking behind him grumbled as everyone was forced to stop and wait, but I didn't care.
Alar fumbled with the canteen, and I had to help him steady it so none of it spilled. The medication Lysara had given him was some powerful stuff, but it couldn't completely counteract the effects of the altitude.
Ahead, Codric and Shovia were widening the gap between us, with Codric walking behind her and keeping his hand on her backpack.
I made sure that Alar tightened the cap on his canteen before we continued, and when the path widened enough for us to walk side by side, I hugged the wall while he did me a huge favor by blocking the view of the drop on the other side.
"They seem to be getting along well," Alar murmured.
Last night, I kind of expected Codric and Shovia to combine their sleeping bags and snuggle together, but evidently even my irreverent friend wouldn't disrespect the pilgrimage that way. If we were forbidden food, we were certainly forbidden other pleasures as well.
"I hope they both know to keep it from getting serious. You and Codric are leaving after the pilgrimage." The words came out before I could stop them, and I regretted them as soon as I spoke them.
Alar stiffened beside me. "Yes," he said after a moment. "We most likely are."
As a gust of wind whipped around us, I instinctively pressed closer to the mountain face, my fingers scraping against the rough stone. I refused to look at the drop beside us, but I could just imagine how gigantic it was by now.
Alar's gloved hand found mine, and he gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't think about it. Just focus on putting one leg in front of the other."
I tensed. Had he noticed how terrified I was to even look at the drop?
"I'm fine." I turned my head carefully so I was looking at his profile and nothing else. "Hallucinations are part of the experience, but as long as I keep one hand on the wall, I feel safe enough about not walking off the cliff." Not a lie. Not the entire truth either, but it was good enough. I tightened my fingers around his. "And as long as you hold on to me, you won't do that either."
"Thank you." He squeezed my hand back. "I don't mind being tethered to you, but I don't want to pull you down with me, and since I feel like the whole mountain keeps spinning, that's not a far-fetched scenario."
We were quite a pair, an Elucian who feared heights and an Elurian who couldn't tolerate them for a different reason. For either of us to become dragon riders would require a miracle.
My only objective was to complete the pilgrimage, and I hoped Alar would make it to the summit as well, but even though he must have already realized that his dream of becoming adragon rider wasn't going to happen, he would be devastated nonetheless.
"Just keep your eyes on Codric's back," I said.
"Move along, pilgrims!" Lysara's voice carried from somewhere ahead. "This is not a weekend stroll. We need to reach the next shelter before the weather turns!"
I looked up at the sky, where the auroras were now forming proper dragon shapes that swooped and dove between the clouds. One seemed to breathe streams of multicolored fire that twisted into impossible patterns.
They looked almost real.
"Do you see the dragons?" I asked Alar.
He chuckled. "I see all kinds of things that aren't there." He lifted his hand and pointed. "That triple-decker sandwich is taunting me."
