The fire has burned down to coals. Hrolf still snores. Garrett has rolled over with his blanket and Aelfric remains slumped against his tree. None of them stirred while I was gone.
I settle back into my spot, back against the twisted tree. My hands are shaking. I clench them into fists to stop the trembling.
Blight has her own candidate. Someone who can give her everything I can't.
None of it matters if she doesn't survive.
I'll find this healer and I'll save her. When this perfect candidate appears and fate tries to tear us apart, I'll face that choice when it comes.
Until then, I have only one goal.
Keep Rhianelle alive.
Everything else can wait.
29
Chapter 28 Landon
Dawn breaks cold and gray. Around me the others are already stirring, the sounds of a camp waking up. Garrett works the stiffness from his shoulders with a wince. Hrolf rises with a groan that could wake the dead. Only Aelfric is already fully upright, checking his weapons in silence as if he never slept at all.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Garrett says as he straps on his gear. His eyes search my face with concern.
"Let's keep moving," I say, avoiding the question.
Hrolf watches me differently now. His keen eyes note something changed. But he doesn't ask and shoulders his pack.
Elli's warning echoes in my mind as we prepare to leave.
I don't know what waits at journey's end. All I know is that every moment we delay is a moment stolen from Rhianelle’s dwindling time.
"Stay on the path," Hrolf warns as we begin our descent into the valley. "No matter what you see or hear, stay on the path."
"What happens if we don't?" Garrett laughs under his breath.
Hrolf glances sideways at him. "Best case? You get lost and wander until you starve. Worst case? The forest decides it'shungry. These trees have developed a taste for elves over the centuries."
"Could be worse," Aelfric mutters. "At least it's not Astefar."
The mention of that forbidden forest makes both knights shudder. It makes me remember Rhianelle. Six years old, thrown into that nightmare alone. Fighting for her life every day for nine hundred years.
She survived that forest.Please hold on, Nel.
Every step is one closer to the healer.
We follow Hrolf down into the foothills and the world quietly stops making sense. The air thickens, sweet and faintly rotten. The trees grow large, their branches spiraling to the sky. Something moves beneath the ground like a pulse. I keep my eyes on Hrolf's back and try not to think about what I'm walking over.
"How much farther?" I ask after hours of walking.
"Soon," Hrolf replies. "We'll reach his refuge before nightfall."
"How did you meet this healer?" I finally ask as we navigate a particularly treacherous ravine.
"Long story."
"We have time," Aelfric says.
Hrolf is quiet for so long I think he won't answer. "I saved his life once. During the early days of the rebellion."
