I nod, absentmindedly. What is it that Elder Arcon wants me to see? Unease coils in my stomach like a snake getting ready to strike.
Elder Arcon opens the door, but doesn’t enter. He turns to me. “She doesn’t allow any visitors. Only you.”
I enter the dimly lit room. The fireplace crackles, casting a shadow over the double bed in the middle. Kazh rests between white linen pillows, pale as a ghost.
“Kazh.” I breathe out her name.
Slowly, her eyes open.
“Kazh, what happened? What’s wrong?” I rush to her side. “Was it Caligos? My Ezkai were supposed to protect you!”
“Will you shut the fuck up,” she snaps at me, but it lacks her usual fire.
I blink, taking her in. She’s so…frail. Much more fragile than she was when I left. I don’t understand. Her arms are thin as a stick, blue veins popping everywhere. Once in a while her fingers spasm uncontrollably.
“Kazh, what’s going on?” My words are barely louder than a whisper.
She swallows hard. “Sit.”
I look down at the crisp sheets. I’m still in my travel clothes, my leathers dusty and ragged. I must smell awful, too.
“Sit,” she repeats, harsher this time. “You took your sweet time returning. We may not have much of it left.”
Without protest, I obey her.
Kazh’s breathing is labored. Each breath she takes makes her lungs rattle.
“Are you…are you dying, Kazh?”
It’s a useless question. Deep down, I know the answer. But I want to hear her say it. I need to hear it.
She sneers. “What do you think, shithead?”
My shoulders sag. “Did they poison your food or water? How come my men couldn’t?—”
Words die on my lips when she reaches for my hand. Her fingers are cold as the depths of winter as they wrap around my leathered hand.
I squeeze her gently, holding her frail hand between my palms. The tremor, the spasms that come and go are hard to miss.
“It wasn’t Caligos,” she says slowly. I frown. “It’s the cycle of life.”
I shake my head. “You’re a fae! And a Decarios. You’re not even that old!”
“I’m old enough, General. Fae live long, fae Decarios even longer. But sooner or later even our bodies crumble to dust.”
I refuse to accept that.
“I need you,” I say, throat thick. “You can’t leave me. Not now.”
A corner of her mouth twitches upwards. “That’s not up to me. I’ve already lived long enough on borrowed time. I wanted to make sure you’re ready before I retire.”
The backs of my eyes burn. “But I’m not ready.”
She squeezes my hand. “You are, General. You know everything I know. You’ve mastered the blessed trinity. You’re able to be the leader Ekios needs.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to try and stop myself from breaking down.
I can’t believe this is happening.
