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“What is that face for?” Young Shep’s lilting sylvan accent drifted into Kit’s ears, and she realized her mouth had curved into a smile. “Or perhaps it would be more accurate to ask who is that face for?”
Kit tucked the letter away, then plucked a small leaf from an overhanging branch and flicked it at Shep just as he came to a stop beside her. “Wouldn’t you like to know? On your way to take over for Thraigg outside the entrance?”
“Yes indeed.” Shep grinned. “It’s nice to see somebody smiling, at least. A break in all the humdrummery.” He pursed his lips to one side. “Not that I don’t recognize there’s been good reason to be humdrum lately, of course,” he added hastily.
“It feels a little bit dangerous to be so content, doesn’t it? Like we’re tempting fate?”
“Exactly.” He exhaled. “With so many of us together again, and now that the Lady Lightbreaker—”
Kit arched a curious brow.
“Now that Elyria is back, it is indeed as though a weight has been lifted. Like it feels safe to hope again. But at the same time . . .”
“At the same time, it’s like we’re waiting for the other boot to drop.” Kit fell into step next to Shep as they roamed through the twilight woods, their soles making soft crunching noises against the leaf-strewn ground. “Ric is right to be concerned about whether Malakar will come after her here. Ellie is right to want to get ahead of the dark sorcerer, to want to stop his plans before he can enact them. I feel their urgency too, I really do. I just don’t . . .”
Shep laid his hand on Kit’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You don’t want to rush things. Don’t want this tiny reprieve, this moment of hope, to end. Don’t want to move forward for fear of the bad things happening again once they do?”
Kit swallowed. And that was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it?
She’d survived losing Elyria once.
Losing her a second time had nearly broken her.
Kit wiped at her eye with the back of her knuckle. “You’re very wise, Shep. Has anyone ever told you that?”
He huffed a quiet laugh. “Well, they don’t call me ‘Young Shep’ for nothing, you know.”
“Stars above. He jokes! May Lunara freeze this moment in time so I can revel in it forever.”
“My lady, please . . .” Shep’s cheeks turned a darker shade of green, still visible even in the dimming light. His soft smile turned serious once more as they approached the gate at the end of the path. “Do you think he is looking for Elyria? Malakar, I mean.”
Kit blew a rogue lock of silver-white hair out of her eyes. “Maybe. Or maybe he’s doing something worse. All the more reason I suppose we really don’t have endless time. Alas, that’s really up to Ellie now, isn’t it? At least she’s still resting.”
Shep’s green-eyed gaze danced down the path they’d just walked, looking back toward the main part of the glade. “I spoke with some of the healers earlier. They’ve removed Elyria’s bandages and want to move away from her resting regimen.”
Kit’s heartbeat picked up. “Really? Ellie will be thrilled! That seems . . . fast? Or is it slow? What’s normal? I know the actual wounds from the procedure sealed up pretty much immediately, but the healers insisted that she leave them wrapped and resting. So this is a great sign, right? Does it mean her wings are healed? Has she already tried flying or . . . ?” She knew she was babbling, but there was no containing the excitement she felt bubbling up from her gut. At least, not until she registered the concerned expression on Shep’s face, the way the corners of his mouth had turned down. Any thought she’d had of immediately soaring back to see Elyria faded at the sight. “What is it?”
Shep hesitated.
“What. Is. It?” Kit pressed.
“It’s not not normal. Her body has healed physically, as you’ve seen. But she won’t . . . Her wings won’t . . .”
“Spit it out, Shep.”
“There’s . . . there’s no movement. No flutter. And they can’t seem to identify why that would be, because there doesn’t seem to be anything amiss with her body’s acceptance of the wings, so—”
“What are you saying?”
His hesitation felt like it lasted an entire lifetime. “They think it might be an issue with her magic. And they do not know if Elyria will be able to fly again.”
The silent woods were suddenly too silent, the trees on either side of her making Kit feel claustrophobic. Her own silver-and-gold wings fluttered with agitation where they rested against her back, like they could not stand the thought of never again feeling the breeze beneath them.
Kit’s heart cracked a little.
“They don’t know,” she said slowly, each word tasting bitter as it fell off her tongue. “But Elder Larkess said this was all unprecedented, didn’t she? Not knowing is the baseline. Any number of things could be happening here. Maybe it’s just taking a little bit of extra time for Ellie’s body and magic to catch up to each other.”
“Maybe,” Shep said softly, but the sympathy in his voice made Kit’s skin crawl.
