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She halted and turned around. “You always have my back.”

“I don’t like this, not at all. I think we should take time to understand what the ritual is before you agree to put your life at risk.”

“We don’t have time.”

Dryston put a heavy hand on her shoulder, the look of a brother on his face, one so foreign that it stilled the words resting on her tongue. “We can take as long as we need. Wedohave time.”

“Avenay’s sister doesn’t, though.”

The hall fell silent, and the brothers exchanged a look. Enid turned and kept walking. They couldn’t convince her otherwise. Avenay had done all this, devoted her life to saving her sister. They had a cure. Enid had seen it with her own eyes, so how could she wait around? Not when she knew that Avenay’s sister was getting worse by the day.

She found Avenay’s room, and her brothers told her goodnight, having enough sense to leave her alone with her mate and her thoughts,neither continuing the discussion nor asking her about Avenay and the clear bond between them. She didn’t want to talk to them about it now, and how Avenay had no clue. It felt odd for others to be so keenly aware before even her mate was.

Opening the door softly, she crept in. Avenay lay quietly in the bed, so still that Enid’s chest clenched until she was able to feel the breath on her hand and see the steady rise and fall of her ribs. She pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down, keeping watch through the night.

Chapter 23: Avenay

Avenay was dreaming. She had to be. She held Seraphina’s hand as they strolled through the streets of Lesern. But the vision blurred and suddenly everything smelled of lavender and soap and nectar. Then the images vanished, and she tried to wake, but her lids were so, so heavy. Feeling full of lead, she pulled her hands up to rub her eyes, slowly blinking awake.

She frowned, heart racing as the unfamiliarity of what she saw hit her. What had happened? First and foremost, she was in an ornate room of baby blue, whites, and golds. And secondly, she was alive.

Or was she?

She sat up, the satin sheets falling away, and she frantically searched her body for the wounds she distinctly remembered having. They were gone, no scars or anything in its place.

Am I dead?

The place looked like a kind of heaven, everything beautiful and intricate—perfection. She slid out of bed, limbs so stiff it took a few moments for her to stand properly. Well, that felt very real, and she hoped the afterlife didn’t keep those annoying parts of being mortal. She stumbled around the room, seeing nothing but a small glass and pitcher of water next to her bed. Her mouth suddenly felt like cotton, and she threw it back, gulping it down.

Okay, one more point towards believing this was real. Where in the darkest pit was she? And where were the others?

She stumbled out of the room, feeling slowly creeping back into her legs. The hall was large with windows on the opposite wall, natural light filling the area with warmth, hitting off the white marble floor. Outside the window was a courtyard, a story or two below, with a fountain and flowers in abundance. Elves and satyrs and nymphs milled about.

“Avenay?”

Her heart leapt at the sound of that voice, and she whipped around to see Enid at the end of the hall in her full fighting raiment, staring at her with surprise.

Avenay exclaimed and wanted to say more, but an annoying lump in her throat kept her from doing so. No need, though, for Enid broke into a sprint, coming full force towards her.

“I knew you’d wake up while I was gone,” Enid growled, a frown on her face, but only for a moment. When she reached Avenay, she pulled her into a tight hug, arms crushing Avenay.

Avenay fell against her, burying her face in her neck, inhaling the scent of her. She could weep from the relief of it all, but instead she savored the moment here, in Enid’s arms, letting calmness wash over her. Last they’d really spoken, it had been tense between them, but mortal danger had a funny way of cutting through all pretenses and leaving bare only what was truly there.

Finally, Enid pulled back, brushing a curl from her face. “You were out for two days.”

Avenay made a grumbling noise. “Oh. Are we back in Elf Glen?” She peered out the window again. It didn’t look like Elf Glen, though. Maybe a different part of it.

Enid laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, Little Bird, you’re not going to believe a word of what I’m about to say.”

So Enid told her everything she’d learned in the last two days, how Evolis was real and full of living people. How there was a cure, and it had been used on her. Avenay wasn’t even aware of the tears running down her eyes until Enid wiped them away.

“I want to see the city and the well for myself,” Avenay said.

Avenay couldn’t believe her eyes. Cobblestone streets wended around townhomes and shops. Flowers fell over balconies and roofs, spilling into the streets, the wind kicking up petals as they walked. Avenay desperately wanted to hold Enid’s hand, the urge almost compulsive, but something had shifted when she’d left Enid’s arms earlier. It was still warm between them, Enid still giving her those longing, flirting glances, but that was it. They were back to how things had been and Avenay felt the loss like a keen stab.

Still, she didn’t have time to worry about that. The cure was real. Evolis was real. She had been right and Seraphina would be cured.

Enid led her through the town square, a few people waving at her and calling out a greeting as they passed. Avenay hated that she’d missed two days here already. She wanted to pull out a pen and paper to sketch and take notes of every little detail.