Page 17

Leaning in, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Taly, you’re burning up.”

“Well, I did just spend all morning hiking up a mountain.”

He forced another burst of aether into her lungs. Talked her through another breath. “You should’ve told me to slow down.”

She shook her head, the motion barely more than a wobble against the tree. “If we keep going at this pace, we’ll be back in Ryme by nightfall. It’s not that bad.”

Another push. Her lungs expanded, but the relief was fleeting. A tightness lingered in her chest that wouldn’t fully release. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on each breath.

Just aether sickness, she reminded herself—but it didn’t feel like what she’d read about. There was a… sharpness to it, a…twisting. The books had really undersold how bad it could get.

Something wet nudged her cheek, and she absently reached up to pet Calcifer. So far, he’d spent the journey out scouting, occasionally checking in only to leave again. Taly had a feeling he was the reason they had yet to cross paths with anything hungry.

“Uh-uh. Get away from her.” Skye waved a hand at Calcifer. “She barely has enough aether for herself, let alone for you.”

“He’s fine,” Taly wheezed between breaths. “He won’t feed when I’m low.”

Calcifer’s tail whipped around, catching Skye on the back of the head.

Skye didn’t even flinch. Just exhaled through his nose, giving her a look that clearly said,Do we really have to bring that thing with us?

Needless to say, Skye and Calcifer’s relationship had gotten off to a rocky start.

“Be nice,” Taly said, breathing in with the next push of aether.

Skye’s mouth twisted, as if tasting something bitter. “You already know my feelings on the matter.”

She did. No matter how many adorable glamographs she showed him, he remained convinced that Calcifer was merely waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

She wrapped her hand around his wrist. “I think I’m fine now.”

“Are you sure?” Green eyes simmered with concern as he looked her over. “I can give you as much as you need.”

“No,” she said, biting back a groan as she sat up. It was easier to breathe now, but Shards almighty her body stillhurt. “I’m better.” He arched a skeptical brow, and she amended, “Mostly better. Besides, you can flood me with as much aether as you want. That’s not going to make me acclimate any faster.”

Better to let him conserve for when her legs inevitably gave out and she had no choice but to be carried like a sack of dead weight.

With a jerk of her chin, she said, “Someone should probably tell Kato you can’t start a fire by staring at it.”

“I heard that,” Kato grumbled, crouched over a little pile of leaves and twigs and failing to produce a spark.

“Your kindling’s wet, asshole.”

“I knew that.”

“Did not.”

Skye touched her cheek before going to rescue their campfire. A few strikes of flint later, and they had a small flame.

Lunch consisted of dried meat, hardtack softened with honey, and a handful of berries they’d gathered along the way. They sat in a loose circle, the muted sounds of the forest around them blending with the quiet scrape of knives and the occasional crunch of bread.

Once the meal was finished, Skye came to her and knelt, his eyes meeting hers with that familiar steadiness. “While Kato and I scout ahead, you’re going to stay put. That means no wandering off, no getting into fights, no going on suicide missions, and no getting kidnapped. Again.”

Kato scoffed. “Seriously, she can barely sit up straight. Unless trouble falls from the sky, I think she’ll manage.”

Taly smirked. “Yeah, Skye. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I’ll just be here, staring at the clouds…”

Skye’s frown deepened. “I’m serious, Taly. Rest, meditate, do whatever it takes to get a bit of your aether back, butdon’t move.”