Perhaps this is it. The end of my race. The final stop of my life’s journey.
Something within me revolts against the thought of giving up, but it’s growing quieter with each passing day. And maybe giving in to the cold wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe there would be a sense of peace if I let everything fade away.
Even though I do not remember my name, I know that I have lived a hard life. That my body bears the evidence of what has been done to me. No one would fault me for giving up. For being done, after everything I’ve endured.
The voice is the only reason I am still here. That quiet whisper speaks to the deepest parts of me, anchoring me here.
“Please,” she says. Begs.
And I know I cannot give up. I cannot let the darkness take me because that voice, whoever it belongs to, needs me.
So I start moving again. I pick up my feet, and I stagger towards the rope. I keep going even though my body aches and the cold is getting worse.
The shimmering thread is a star, calling my name. I plod forward for what feels like hours, heading towards the light.
“Please, please, please.” The voice is the faintest whisper, a barely there murmur, but it reverberates in my bones.
Hours pass before the rope is finally in front of me. It’s thicker than I thought it would be. More resplendent.
Extending my hand, I half expect the cord to vanish before I can touch it, but it doesn’t. I hold my breath, wrapping my fingers around the gilded cord. It’s rough to the touch, and before it can disappear, I yank it as hard as I can.
28
IT’S NOT OKAY
WREN
“Please, Gabe.” Clutching the Hunter’s hand with both of mine, I press my forehead against his fingers. “I know I’ve said it a thousand times, but I need you to wake up.”
The responding silence is mockingly loud, just as it was this morning, yesterday morning, and the morning before that. I keep waking up and rolling over, hoping to see Gabriel’s emerald eyes peering into mine only to find nothing there.
He has been in a deep sleep for over a month. According to Eva and Gallan, he should be awake, but something is wrong.
I sigh, a deep, shuddering exhale that racks my whole body, and scrub my hand over my face. Sunlight is shining through the windows of our small cabin, casting yellowed rays on Gabriel’s skin. Gone is his once healthy complexion. Even the day I found him broken and injured in the woods, he hadn’t been this pale.
“They keep telling me that you should be waking,” I whisper, kissing our joined hands. “No one knows why you’re still sleeping.”
His chest rises and falls, but that’s the only sign of life. After several minutes, I tear my eyes from him and look out the window to the trees beyond.
The camp, as it turns out, isn’t a city of tents at all. Rather, it’s a collection of log cabins deep in the Dark Forest. Gabriel and I were placed in a small cabin with an attached bathing room, which I’ve been grateful for since it’s allowed me to keep my promise and stay by his side.
A knock. “Wren, are you awake?” Skyler asks from the other side of the door.
Honestly, sometimes, I wish I weren’t. It would be easier if this were all a dream and Gabriel hadn’t been injured in the battle.
But it’s all achingly real. I’m here, Gabriel has yet to wake, and I am alone. Even Mist’s return a few days ago after we got to the rebel camp didn’t soothe the emptiness inside me.
I suspect that nothing will except for Gabriel.
I don’t want to burden Skyler with that, though, so I call out, “Yes.”
The knob turns, and the wooden door creaks open. She pops her head in, her hair in another crown braid, and she smiles softly. “Any change?”
“Nothing yet.” I shift on the bed, jostling the small amulet around Gabriel’s neck.
The silver token is an oval, the size of a coin, and it hums like the rubies inside the mountain. He was wearing it under his shirt when Gallan and Eva first healed him, and there didn’t seem to be any reason to remove it.
“I brought food. Can I come in?”
