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"So did it work?" Lael pressed, his enthusiasm breaking through his exhaustion. "What you guys did? Did it change anything?"

Aether looked down at him, finally letting that full smile show. "Why don't we go find out? First thing tomorrow. After you can get some strength back."

The gates of Ravenfell groaned as we passed through them, Lael leaning slightly on Aether for support. I could have sworn a slight breeze whispered across my face as the dead field came into view.

"If you're going to mother me the whole way there," Lael grumbled as Effie fussed with his collar, "I'm turning around."

"You can barely walk," Effie retorted.

"Can someone just tell me where we're going?" He shot a pointed look at Vexa, who was spinning one of her daggers through her fingers.

"Patience, little necromancer." Vexa smirked. "Keep complaining and I'll make you walk faster."

"Shall I find a dead wolf again?" Lael asked, but his lips twitched into a smile.

"Awfully sharp since waking, Lael." Rethlyn laughed, shaking his head. "You've been spending too much time with this lot."

"I do prefer the company of the dead sometimes," Lael countered. "At this point, they probably have more energy than I do."

"At least the dead know when to be quiet." Raven shrugged, and we all laughed.

The arcanite formation emerged from the gray earth ahead, essence burning bright within its crystalline structure. Though its glow had dimmed since I'd imbued it in Riftdremar, the power still pulsed steadily.

Lael’s eyes went wide. "What is that?"

"Arcanite," Aether said.

"No way."

He moved forward on his own now, drawn to the crystal's light. We all felt it—that pull, that desperation for evidence of some kind of change. But it was Lael who noticed first. He dropped to his knees so suddenly that Aether moved to catch him, but then we saw what had brought him down.

"Grass," he whispered, voice cracking on the word. His fingers hovered over the delicate green blades pushing through dead earth. "Real grass."

Vexa's dagger stopped spinning, falling silent in her grip as she knelt beside him. Among the green, spiny flowers bloomed—their crimson petals and delicate stamens reaching toward the endless gray sky.

"Spider-lilies," Rethlyn said quietly to Lael.

"They're exactly as I remember," he finally managed. "They grew near the creek beds in Croyg.” His eyes misted over. "I never thought I'd see them again."

I moved toward the crystal. As my hand met its surface, I allowed the essence to pool in my spine before directing the flow into the arcanite. The process hadn't left me light-headed before, but this time the drain hit me. Perhaps it was the weakness from my injuries taking over, or maybe I was just exhausted, but I swayed slightly. Immediately Aether was there, one hand steady on my waist while the other rested on my back, fingers intertwining with my white hair.

"Well, well," Vexa's voice cut through the silence, making us all turn. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Aether's grip on me. "Thisis new."

Aether didn't move away, if anything his hold tightened slightly.

"Seems like a lot changed on your little journey through the realms." Effie raised an eyebrow, looking between us with a knowing grin.

"I knew it." Raven smirked, gaze falling on me. "It was the glasses, wasn't it?"

I bit back a smile, but a laugh managed to escape my lips. I couldn't help it. I had entirely no idea what to say to any of them.

"You're telling me," Vexa stepped closer, her eyes locked on Aether's face, "that our brooding commander actually?—"

"Vexa," Aether warned, but that damned dimple appeared.

"No, no." She held up a hand. "Let me savor this moment."

Lael simply eyed us, a shy grin creeping across his face. When he noticed me looking, his attention turned back to the flowers.