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"Unfortunately, I have no medicines with me, barely any water, and hardly a sliver of energy to conjure any sort of magic... So, this is the most I can do for you. I've never seen someone sweat so much."

"What's going on? What happened?"

"You've been out for several hours. Five, I think."

His other hand urgently goes to his pregnant stomach.

"Don't worry," I tell him. "Your baby is safe. So are you."

His grip on my wrist loosens. "Jesus," he says with a relieved breath.

I smile, thinking of Kalistratos. "Yes. Cheesus."

I help him sit upright. He sniffs the air and crinkles his nose. "God, I can still smell those things."

"There's a puddle of them right over there."

Jackson leans over to look, then sighs again and pushes his hand through his dark hair. "Everyone else?"

I shake my head. "They haven't come."

"Five hours, and they haven't come? That's not good." He tries to stand, but he can't get himself off the ground. He's too weak. "Shit..."

"Neither you nor I have the ability to do very much, not until our powers have recovered."

"And how do we do that?"

I've forgotten how little he knows about himself. Phoenix energy is most quickly regenerated through the heat of desire, but I'll keep that to myself.

"Rest. Food," I say, uncorking the water skin. "We don't have much, and only a few mouthfuls to drink. There's no point in worrying about the others while we're in this condition. Before we went for you, we agreed that if we became separated, we would find each other in Kausos."

"How about, uh, Al'Phaer? That name mean anything to you?"

A tingle goes through my body as my mind conjures up a memory of Al'Phaerean merchant flyers moored in the waters off the coast of Tassos, and the dread I'd felt seeing them arriving from the distant horizon.

"Why do you know of this place?"

"That's where they were taking us on that ship."

It feels as though a winter's chill has descended on my thoughts, numbing them into stasis.

"They want him in Al'Phaer." The voice echoes out of my memories and repeats over and over in my head until it becomes a screeching roar, more deafening than the buzz of the hunter insects' obsidian wings.

"Hey. Airos." Jackson claps his hands in front of my face. "You good?"

"Yeah," I say, but my voice comes out unsteady and thin, and Jackson looks at me questioningly. "Apologies. I'm exhausted."

"You haven't been awake this entire time, have you?"

"Someone had to keep an eye on you," I say with a weary smile. I wave my hand. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Like hell you are. You rest. I'll keep watch."

With a grunt he pushes himself to his feet and stretches his arms high above his head. The front of his tunic, stretched tight against his very large pregnant stomach, pulls back to reveal a crescent sliver of bare skin. I shift my gaze to the ground, then shuffle over to take his place on the spread-out cloak.

"Hey," he says. "While I was out, did I...say anything?"

"Such as?"