"Yes, I know," he ground out.
Gently he took the lantern bulb from her and reached to place it on the ground near them. At least that would give themenough light to keep the small area they were in safe. She had tucked it against her body, and that gave the creatures behind her too much of an opening.
Her gaze softened when she looked at where he'd put it. Then she asked, "What are they?"
"We call them the black sunder. They are..." He cleared his throat as it was a little too thick to speak still. "Pests. Horrible, annoying pests."
"It was going to eat you."
"I felt it. I was awake the whole time." He glanced over the swarms of them. "We must have stumbled onto one of their breeding grounds. They aren't usually quite so aggressive."
"It looked like it was exactly as aggressive as it usually was. That creature knew how to hunt you and eat you." She shuddered. "You don't know what it looked like, Gunnar. If I had woken only a little while later..."
He knew. He knew he would have been devoured whole by a swarm of them, and she would have been next. Paralyzed. Listening to the sounds of them gorging on his viscera.
It was a terrible way to go, and a mistake of his own making. If he had been more careful, perhaps he would have recognized the signs.
Gunnar tried to roll into a crouch, pausing only when she placed her hand on his chest. "Wait, just... wait. Rhydian says you need to regain your strength. Walking out of this alcove isn't going to be easy. He said there are many above us."
He frowned. "Rhydian?"
"How silly of me." Rose waved a hand behind her, as if there was supposed to be something there. "Rhydian, meet Gunnar. Gunnar, Rhydian. He's the elf that I met while I was in the labyrinth. From that other realm in my head, the one I like to disappear to?"
Oh.
She'd lost her mind. She'd been down here too long in the dark and she'd completely lost her head.
"Rose," he said quietly. "There isn't anyone there."
She frowned and glanced over her shoulder. Then she seemed to be listening to someone. Like she had when she had spoken the black tongue, and he still didn't have an explanation for all of that either. She muttered a few words, but he had turned his attention back to the black sunder that were swarming ever closer. He feared that soon enough they would ignore the threat of the light.
"All right," Rose said, and then put a hand on his knee for his attention.
That certainly got it. He stared at where she touched him, her fingers warm, relaxed, spread wide as though she didn't have a single fear in the world of what he would do to her. He couldn't stop staring at that touch and marveling at how far they had come in such a short amount of time.
She trusted him. By some miracle, this beautiful, wonderful woman had learned how to trust him.
"All right, I'm not sure that he'll agree to that," she muttered before turning to him. "Rhydian said now that we're bound, you should be able to access my magic as well. Give it a try."
"You said your magic is in disappearing. I don't need to soul walk right now, Rose."
"Apparently that's not my magic at all." She tilted her head to the side, clearly listening to whatever lived in her head, before her attention returned to him. "Rhydian said to use your illusions, but to focus not on what you want to see, but on what I am seeing instead."
"That's impossible."
"Not now that we're bound. Just give it a try. For me?"
With those big eyes blinking up at him, long lashes framing the prettiest pale eyes he'd ever seen, he couldn't deny her anything. Sighing, he gave her a curt nod.
Why not? Magic was meant to be used after all.
Conjuring an illusion was easy. It took little for him to focus and want to build something there. He just wasn't very good at making complete figures. There were a lot of details that went into making a person seem realistic.
Then he could feel her magic too. Vibrant and brilliant, so bright it was almost hard to look at. And with a little tug, he could cast an illusion in its entirety.
A man stood behind her. Or, sort of a man. He was taller and leaner than anyone Gunnar had ever seen. More delicate in his build than a troll or a human would be. His eyes were too far apart, his nose and mouth far too thin, and he had ridiculously long ears.
An elf. An honest to gods elf stood in front of him.
