A warm animal scent tells me I’ve reached ground level. The air stirs.
‘Briar?’ I call gently, not wanting to startle the cragstalkers.
There’s a rustle. The sylvanmare’s warm muzzle noses into my hand.
‘I need the pack to help us tunnel out of here.’
The cats appear to understand something of the shared tongue, perhaps I should have asked them directly. But I can’t risk any margin of error. Not with this.
It’s too dark to see clearly, but I think Briar nods. She leaves my side and soft nickering erupts in the far corner of the stairwell. I wait in the darkness, chest so tight I can hardly breathe. Or perhaps the air is finally running out.
Something warm brushes my leg. The cragstalkers, filing up the stairs.
It takes every ounce of my remaining strength not to crumple to the floor in relief.
The candle inside our lantern flickers, spits, snuffs out as I arrive. We haven’t any more. A last tendril of smoke curls upwards, fading with all hope of escape. Without light, how can the cats dig?
‘I can help.’Orthriel answers my silent question.‘It’s time I play my part.’
Opal flames flicker as they materialise before us. Their aura flares, till I have to shield my eyes to look at them. They might not be able to wield an axe, but by radiating Star-Aether, Orthriel can allow the cragstalkers to continue their work. Not indefinitely, though. The tincture restored their heartcrystal, but flaring like this will soon drain it again. And then…
We don’t speak as the cats claw the ice. The cold has robbed us of the power to move our lips. We press close together, eking out what little warmth we can.
The mood in the tower plummets the longer the cragstalkers continue to dig. I can taste it in the fast-cooling air. It reeks of despair.
This is taking too long, and we all know what that means.
I’ve failed to fulfil Noelani’s prophecy, but that’s hardly surprising. I’ve been disappointing people as long as I can remember. The understanding that my time here might be ending dawns on me as a strange kind of a relief.
I’ve been fighting since the moment I was born: fighting to fit in, for validation, for respect, for forgiveness, for freedom… I can finally stop. Stop fighting and close my eyes.
A faint buzzing tickles my ears.
Darkness closes in, but for once, I don’t flinch from the shadows.
I let the darkness take me.
INKLINGS
LEILANI
SOMEONE’SSHAKINGME, rattling my skull.
‘Leilani, wake up. Please, wake up!’
Where am I? It’s dark and cold. Something scents the air, bitter like smoke. Am I dreaming again? But no, there’s something spiced behind it. Bay cut with bramble-berries.
I want to sink back into sweet oblivion, return to that other place where my whole body didn’t ache.
A stinging sensation spreads across my left cheek. There it is again. I stir, flutter my eyelids, try to prise them open. They’re so heavy. Another sting. Creeping over my right cheek this time. Why won’t they let me sleep?
I force my eyes open a crack. It’s dark in this place too, though not so dark I can’t see the large blue eyes peering down at me from the halo of turquoise braids. Maris. Her hand is drawn back, ready to slap me again, but she lowers it when she sees I’m awake.
‘We thought we’d lost you. Blayze, come quickly and take her. Take her first.’ She clasps my hands. ‘They’ve broken through, Leilani! We’re getting out of here.’
I try to sit up, but the world spins.
Everything goes dark again.
