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Nico shook his head, then pulled Will along once more, desperate to get past this awkward moment. ‘We’ll figure it out when we get to that point.’

He could tell Will had more to say, but his boyfriend fell back into silence.

So Nico filled it as they walked. He started with the stories they’d told Gorgyra, even recounting Will’s own past to him. His companion didn’t speak the entire time, but Nico knew that Will needed this more than he did.

He reminded Will about the infirmary.

The trading of trinkets.

That first kiss.

Nico then shared parts of his childhood he’d never talked about before – good parts. He spoke of Bianca, his Mythomagic set, the Lotus Hotel.

Nico described as much brightness as possible. He imaginedhimself as a sun that shone on Will and cast him in warmth. Hehadto, because shadows swallowed them on all sides, gnarled roots threatened to trip them up, and thorny vines hung menacingly from the branches.

They walked.

Finally, Nico couldn’t keep talking any more. His throat was dry, and his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth. He so desperately wanted all this to be over.

But the swamp kept going on and on and on. The only sound Nico heard aside from their footsteps was Will’s laboured breathing.

It was getting worse.

When Nico was certain that he was actually going to collapse before Will did, Small Bob started yowling repeatedly.

Nico’s eyelids were drooping again and again, as if they weighed half a ton. His vision was beginning to blur at the edges, too. Sleep threatened to take over his body, but he couldn’t stop here. Everything was dark and wet and muddy, and Nico had no idea where he was. What if Small Bob got too far ahead? What if they had doubled back the way they had come?

So when Small Bob’s cries reached Nico’s ears, he let go of Will’s hand, then began to lightly slap his own cheeks. ‘Stay awake, Nico,’ he said. ‘Stay awake.’

‘Is that Small Bob?’ said Will. ‘Or is there some sort of cat monster calling out to us, announcing that we’re about to be its next meal?’

Nico walked towards the sound of Small Bob and found him perched on an enormous root. The calico looked up at Nico and purred loudly.

‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘What did you find?’

Small Bob turned his head to the side.

The trees were sparser in that direction. Beyond them, there were no more mangrove roots and no more yellow mist.

‘Will …’ Nico said, practically vibrating. ‘Will, I think we’re here.’

Small Bob bounded forward, and Nico chased him, dragging a stumbling Will behind him. The trees parted, and Nico gasped as they burst into the clearing.

To his right was an enormous oak. It leaned so far to the left that Nico wasn’t sure why it hadn’t completely fallen over. He noticed it grew not from the ground but out of a frighteningly large drakon skull.

But there, in the direction the tree pointed, was a hut. It had a strange dome made of green leather and … were those bones? Maybe. The dark entryway was on the side facing where they’d exited the swamp, and Nico almost slipped on the mossy rocks as he scrambled towards it. Two large femurs were situated on either side of the door, their top ends stained black.

‘Damasen!’ Nico called out. ‘Damasen, we are friends! Are you here?’

He heard Will say something behind him, but Nico didn’t stop. He needed this.Theyneeded this. After so much pain and suffering, they had to have this win.

Nico skidded to a stop in front of the hut. He tore free his sword, holding it aloft so it would illuminate the darkness, and stepped inside …

His heart dropped to his feet.

Will shuffled up next to him. ‘Where is he?’ he said. ‘Where is Damasen?’

Nico wanted to cry.