“The Umbral?” I guessed, pulling tighter on my cord as Bastien bellowed in pain.
Cirian seemed to pick up what I was testing and pulled on his own tether, the shadowy mass growing in size as we yanked it further from Bastien’s body. Digging my heels into the smooth stone floor, I leaned back, urging aching muscles to strain. Theshadowy mass continued to grow, Bastien’s cries increasing in volume alongside it. Teeming, horrid shapes swirled around our braided tether, the shadows attempting to swallow the light that shone from the cord. Gone was the gentle caress of Bastien’s consciousness. In its place was a presence so cold it leeched any warmth from my veins. I quickly layered protection around my mind—like I’d grown accustomed to around the Adored—trying to block that horrifying presence.
“Keep at it!” Cirian shouted, his own features twisted with effort. “We’ll tear the bastard from him ourselves!”
I redoubled my efforts, pulling what magic I had left and suffusing it into my trembling arms. I had almost reached my limit, and still Bastien screamed as more of the shadow poured from his chest. The tether grew white hot against my flesh, but I clung to it still, even as the shadow itself began to coil around the braided cord, moving closer to the two of us on the other end.
With a final shout from Cirian, something gave on the other end, sending us both reeling backward against the hallway wall. Pain exploded across my back, sending fragmented stars across my vision.
“Bastien!”
Cirian’s voice rose over the ringing in my head as I staggered to my feet, the blurry shapes of the redhead moving towards a second figure slumped on the floor a few feet away.
My hands still clenched around the tether, now detached from Bastien altogether, dangling aimlessly in the space above our heads. Stumbling forward, I made it over to the others, my head pounding, but my vision clearing with each step.
Cerulean light filled the space around me as Cirian’s hands lit up and he ran them over Bastien’s crumpled form.
“Speak to me, Bast,” he pleaded, pausing at different sites of his body to reset a fractured bone or seal a gash.
How did he still have the strength to carry on like that? I was ready to fall over at a breeze.
Bastien let out a groan as Cirian snapped his wrist back into place, his golden eyes rolling in his head. That was a good sign. At least he was still with us.
“Could you be gentler?” he croaked, eyelids fluttering.
Cirian huffed a breath, his lips trembling. “If you asked nicely, I might consider it.”
Bastien reached his other hand out, latching onto Cirian’s vestments and pulling him down on top of him. Arms wrapped around one another, Cirian began to weep.
` “I’m sorry,” Bastien muttered into Cirian’s ear, then repeated it over and over as if it were a balm, working over a wound. Cirian didn’t reply. He simply wept harder, obviously in no rush to untangle himself from the other man.
“Does it hurt, Azrael?”
I turned, expecting to find someone watching us, but the hallway was empty besides the two on the floor.
“Does it sting, knowing that no one would mourn you?”
“Who’s there?” I called into the tunnel, conjuring the orb of light into my hand once more.
“Azrael?”
Bastien looked at me with a puzzled expression. Cirian braced himself against the wall with one hand, wiping at his face with the other.
“Look at you, half-dead on your feet and not a soul around to hold you. I could fix that.”
Above my head, the braided cord of Cirian and my tether unraveled, the lavender colored string dimming in brilliance as a coil of shadow twisted its way around it. I tried to pull the tether from my chest—to sever the connection—but it held fast and the shadow quickly spread across my flesh?—
“Come on, Azrael! Dinner will get cold!”
The crackling fire burned warm against the dark night sky. Two forms sat in the fire’s glow, the taller of the two resting his leg on top of the other’s lap. Above the fire bubbled a gleaming pot, and the air was rich with the smell of spices.
We’d been on the chase for three days now, and our target had vanished without a trace. Rudderkin would have my head if we returned to camp without a confirmed kill, so we pressed on into the Expanse’s wilderness, hoping that we’d get lucky.
I cast one last glance across the rolling hills, then let the magic drop from around me, the shimmer of my cloak rendering me visible once again as I turned back to the warmth of the fire.
“We should keep going through the night,” I said, lowering myself to the ground across from the pair. I kept my eyes trained on the fire, ignoring the shrinking proximity between the others. “The target can’t have gone far.”
The taller one reached over to the pot, lifting the lid and releasing a burst of delicious steam that curled in the air. “You can carry on if you like, Azrael. But Rem and I won’t be joining you. No matter what Rudderkin threatens, we’re not going to run ourselves to death.”
