And it hit me again, how many threads we were trying to hold together.
How close they all were to snapping.
I jogged back across the Ascension Grounds where Jax and Ferrula stood waiting, side by side in silence. Ferrula’s arms were crossed, but her eyes tracked me closely.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as I approached.
Before I could answer, Remy appeared behind her, sliding into our small circle with that effortlessly casual gait of his, though his eyes were sharp.
“Yeah,” I said with a breath, “but Quinn confirmed it. We’re going to need to find those ingredients if we want to enhance the fae elixir. According to Quinn, the Purging Flame spell won’t cure the king, but it will give him more time.”
Remy exhaled through his nose. “Been working on it.”
I arched a brow. “You have?”
He nodded. “I still need ashes from a living flame tree—those are native only to the Wilding Wastes.”
“I know that, but I have no idea where that is,” I said.
“For water,” he continued, “we needed pure river crystal. Which I acquired from the Order.”
“And for air, it’s the skyroot,” I said, slightly surprised Cyran would work with Remy.
Remy lifted a small satchel from his side. “I’ve already got the skyroot, the river crystal, and—” he tapped the bag gently, “bloodroot.”
My eyebrows shot up. “How did you get bloodroot? That’s sacred to the fae.”
He shrugged. “I asked them. While we were there.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, guilt pricking at the edge of my breath. “I should have thought of that.”
Remy smiled, easy and genuine. “You had enough to worry about. We all did.”
“Thank you,” I said, meaning it more than I had time to express.
“No problem,” he said. “Are you ready for a short trip?”
I looked between him, Ferrula, and Jax—then nodded once. “Cover for us.”
They nodded before I turned slightly and reached for the bond.
Kaelith,I whispered across the thread of magic.I need you.
Her answer came not in words but in the sound of wings—thunder and promise—as she circled down from above.
We were going to the Wilding Wastes.
And we were coming back with ash.
Kaelith descended first, her wings slicing through the sky with elegant precision, the air beneath her vibrating with power. Katama followed, emerald hide gleaming in the late afternoon light, his massive body gliding through the clouds like a river of jade and storm.
They landed side by side, their talons digging into the soft grass as the wind kicked up around them.
Remy was already moving toward Katama when he glanced back at me with a smirk. “No saddles. We don’t need them.”
I raised a brow. “You sure about that?”
His grin widened. “You afraid of falling, Rebec?”
