For somewhere along that rushing road, she heard a voice say,
“Oh, that’s no fun.”
She fell and crashed into a mad cacophony, a clash of blurred images, discordant senseless screams, a firestorm of pain.
“Stop—!”
“Seize—!”
Kaelan’s voice. “Stay with me.”
Darkness swept around her, and with it, relief.
The fight, the quest, was over.
She had failed, she had lost, but at least, she was done.
She fell into the sweet silence of the shadows.
AFAINT, HIGH-PITCHEDCHRICK-CHRICKbroke through the thick dust of silence that had settled upon her.
Why couldn’t she move? Where was that sound coming from?
Chrick-chrick-chrick.
Fighting through the leaden darkness, forcing her eyes to peel open, they immediately tried to shut against the burn of light. Though it didn’t take her long to realize, as far as light went, this was not terribly bright—little more than a soft orange-ish ebbing glow. Still, her eyes ached.
A terrible silty scum coated the inside of her mouth and swallowing hurt so much she groaned, though she’d meant to scream.
“Off. Damned pest,” a haughty little voice ordered.
The movement drew her eyes to it, allowing her to focus on something in a room of nothing but fire and shadows.
A slim tiny man with a wild tuft of hair and pointed ears flung his hands at a grasshopper, which leapt away, dropping out of sight.
The sandpapery scrape of her vocal chords made her wince as she forced out the name. “Kirk?”
He turned towards her, standing on a night table. “Oh, you’re finally awake, I see. Wonderful.” Though he sounded mostly disgruntled, there might’ve been a note of relief in his voice.
She blinked, attempting to clear the hazy film from her vision. Blinking hurt. Everything hurt.
As she began to feel out her body, each bone and muscle ached in protest, fighting off her attempts to rouse them. She was heavy, yet limp, sunk deep into the mattress, but there was an extra weight across her torso and more warmth on one side than the other.
With what seemed a herculean effort, she lifted her head, pain lancing up the side of her neck, causing her to suck a sharp breath, bringing tears to her eyes.
Next to her was Kaelan.
The firelight slipped over the scar on his cheek and highlighted his paler gold locks while leaving the rest of his tousled hair dark, almost black. His arm rested over her, holding her, his head close enough that she couldn’t see all of his face at once.
“Did I hear her?” another voice asked. “Is she awake?”
“I don’t recall sending for you,” Kirk replied coolly.
“Oh, shove off, you old crank.”
Magda gritted her teeth as she turned her head again.
In that instant, Meer popped away and then reappeared next to Magda’s shoulder. The brownie held a cup as tall as she was with apparent ease.
