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“Did you learn this from Ezra?” I asked.
“I did,” he said in his chest-rumbling tone. “After my parents died, Harper and I bounced around different families for a few years, until eventually, Ezra took us in. She looked after me and Harper as much as she could. She taught us a great deal ofthings, but the one thing she pounded into my head, more than anything, was how to treat a wound.”
A smile pulled at my lips. “That sounds like something Ezra would do. I’m happy she was there for you two.”
“She did her best for us whenshe was around. Sometimes when she’d disappear, we’d wonder if she would ever come back again, but low and behold, she always did.”
I tipped my head to the side, my brows raising slightly. “It’s funny, Kaleb and I would wonder the exact same thing.”
“Small world,” Ryker drawled as he dropped the moss into the bowl. He picked up the other one. “Incoming.”
I nodded, trying not to wince as he dabbed the sticky substance into my wound. The area was incredibly tender, but Ryker was surprisingly gentle.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” I said, glancing ahead, looking at the stark silhouette of the trees.
“Yes?” he rumbled.
“How areyoudoing?” I expanded a bit more, adding on, “After everything that happened with Fallon.”
His hand paused for a moment, before continuing. “That’s a loaded question. I suppose my answer depends on the day. Sometimes I feel anger towards myself, that I was the reason she lost her life. Sometimes I feel a bit numb to it all. And other times, I feel hurt. I spent a lot of years wondering what happened to her . . . a lot of sleepless nights too. She could have easily sought me out, but she never did. I guess she meant more to me than I meant to her.”
My heart struck a heavy beat for my friend, at the way he said the last part, like a bit of his heart had broken off and stuck to the words.
“I think those are all normal ways to feel. I’m sure if I was in your shoes, I’d probably feel the same way too,” I acknowledged softly. “What about your feelings towards Von? Knowing thathe kept Fallon’s death and her whereabouts from you all these years, I imagine that doesn’t exactly sit well with you either.”
“Yeah, that was a bit of a piss off too. He knew how torn up I was about her. But I’ve known Von long enough to know a little something about his character—when he genuinely gives his word, he means it. Fallon told me that she asked him not to tell me what happened, because she thought it would be easier for me that way. Figured the false hope of believing she was alive and somewhere out there was the kinder option than me learning that she had died. She said Von had agreed to respect her wishes, but that didn’t mean he liked what he had agreed to.”
“But he was your friend first,” I countered. “Shouldn’t that make him loyal to you?”
Ryker chuckled. “Heisloyal to me. And he’s loyal to his word too.” He sat the bowl down in the snow, his eyes meeting mine. “I know you’re mad at him right now, and knowing the bastard, he probably deserves your anger. But if there is one thing I know, it is that the turmoil I felt, wondering what happened to Fallon, was nothing compared to what I saw Von go through when it came to you. Sage, I don’t know if you’ve quite grasped this, but he waitedcenturiesfor you to reincarnate. Not days. Not months. Not years.Centuries. In all honesty, who the fuck does that?”
Ryker had a point.
Which made me feel even more confused.
That night, while I slept, my dreams were as chaotic as the tattoos on Von’s body. And although I could not make sense of my tumultuous dreams, there was a string of words that repeated, clear as rain and full of bourbon:
Please do not leave me again, Little Goddess.
And there was something about those words, the desperate way that they were said, that made my heart feel as though it were made of glass and a great mallet had just struck it.
Sage
We had been walking for seven days now, fueled by very little sleep and even less food. Those who could fish, hunt, or had the Earth Curse tried their best to provide the group with some type of sustenance, but we never stayed long enough in one spot for them to be fully able to do so.
Each morning, me, Ryker, and a few others performed the rounds—rousing the people with a gentle touch on their shoulders to wake up so we could continue towards the Cursed Lands. There was one—a man—who did not wake. The fact that I had not saved him—that I had not gotten him safely to the Cursed Lands, bothered me greatly, to the point that my eyes filled with tears. But Graiyson stuck his hand in mine right when I needed it, and told me we needed to continue forward.
And so that’s what I did. That’s what we all did. We continued forward.
One foot after another.
Today, I carried a little boy. He weighed no more than a sack of potatoes, but as time went on, he felt a lot heavier than that. His father walked beside me, the man no more than waxen skin and protruding bones. He didn’t look well. Just when I started to worry that he might fall over, his weary eyes would drift over to the boy I was carrying, and he’d make it that much further. I realized that the boy in my arms was his reason for pushing ahead—for continuing on. So, despite the ache in my burning muscles, I hoisted the boy higher on my hip and pressed on.
The sound of rushing, turbulent waters caught my attention.
I glanced ahead, past the group which had come to a slow stop.
In the distance, a river wide enough to swallow three Meristones was unfazed by winter’s frozen hold. The water rushed in violent currents, tossing and throwing itself, smashing into rocks. It raced towards a waterfall that was shaped like a horseshoe, plunging itself into oblivion below.
