It was as thoughIhad been the embers of a weak fire, and my emotions had been the spark it needed to return to life.
The room filled with smoke quickly, but I had nothing left in me to carewith.
Seeing the wreckage I had caused, I dropped to my knees in the middle ofthe space, the fire fleeing from me, doing me no harm.
Finally, I yelled out.
I screamed until my voice gave out, tears streaming freely as my anger and frustration andhurtand grief became too much to bear. It was too much to hold inside, and so I was letting it out the only way I knew how.
The entire room was ablaze around me by the time my tears ran dry. I lay there, curled up in a ball, trying my hardest to not exist as I listened to the fire and emberscracklearound me as it ate what connections I had left to my twin.
All the while, the fire had not come withina footof where I lay.
Chapter Thirteen
With each step we took that brought us closer to Cairnyl over the next four days, I could feel more and more of Byn’s emotions returning to my chest.
It was a relief—a comfort—to feel that again. Ezra and I talked quietly about it at least once a day when we stoppedto restoreat. He could feel Quinn the same way I could feel Byn, andhe’dhad questions about it. Somehow, despite his time away, hehadn’tlost the spark inside that made him…himself.
By the second day, Icouldn’thold on to my shadow form anymore. Matea picked up my slack, shifting us both into shadows as we traveled,while Rayven did the same for Ezra. Not only did this help us stay hidden and unseen during our journey, but it dulled the painbothEzraand Ifelt.
Wedidn’tstop inGenisynthistime. Rayven decided to put his survival skills to the test by hunting or fishing instead, depending on what was available. He had felt bad asking me to cook whatever he caught with myfirezirilium, but lighting a normal bonfire could have drawn too much attention to us, and I understood that.
We stopped and ate twice a day, butwith each stop, the length of time weremainedin one spot grew longer. All four of us wereexhaustedbeyond belief.Even withrecharging our sun stones—and my moon stones—wehadn’thad the time to recharge ourselves.
On the rare occasion when we traveled by foot, Rayven,Mateaor I lent a shoulder to Ezra for him to lean on. He was weak,nearly skinand bones from his time in thedungeons,andhad the least amount of energy out of the four of us. I’d given him what was left of my cloak that first day, since he hadn’thada shirt, and I used my wings as coverage over mybarearms and to help keep me warm—despite the pain it took to move the injured one. Though, Ididn’tmind it much, as I was the most accustomed to the colder weather.
Fortunately, by day three,we’dsnuck back over the border into Southern territory—which now had even more patrols than before—and were in the home stretch.
Now, on the morning of our fourth day, we werenearly home.
We’dall decided to set out early that morning, our relief about being so close to home palpable. But as we soon learned, Rayven and Matea were nearly drained by that point in our journey, too. We had no choice but to set out on foot.
As we made our slow trek through the last stretch of Wittuck Woods, I couldn’t help but be grateful that Matea—who had a big hand in the route we’d taken to and from Hollis—helped us avoidanywhere near the place where the Battle of Shadows had taken place.
I wasn’t sure I could have stomached it, being back there.
I knewshe’dpickedthis route on purpose, and I appreciated her even more-so because of it.
“Are you ready to see her again, brother?” Rayven asked Ezra, drawing me from my thoughts.
Ezra, who was currently being held up by Rayven and Mateawhiletaking slow, steady steps together, sighed lightly at just the mention of his wife.
“It’ll all have been worth it once I see her again,” he said, his voice full of unyielding love.
My heart ached for Ezra and allhe’dbeen through.We’dpatched him up the best we could, but we had no more bandages or medicines left from thetrokavkit.He’dlikelyscarinsome places because of it, but at least he had made it. On the other hand, my wing pained me each time I moved it, soI’dbeen avoiding doing so.
“She speaks highly of you, you know,” Matea says, breaking the silencewe’dfallen back into.
Before Ezra could muster the strength to respond, his head snapped sideways to look at me, his eyes frantic with…excitement?
“Do you feel it?” he asked.
“Feel wh—” I stopped when I finally understood his reaction.
Byn.
He was close. I couldfeelhim—sensehim, even.
