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“Do you suppose they’ll allow us to train with them?”

“I’m sure they will, Tolek,” Cypherion deadpanned, their mares walking alongside each other.

“Finally, you’ll all see my potential with a bow and arrow,” Tolek said dreamily.

“You don’t need to exert yourself any more than is necessary,” Santorina added.

“My dear, Rina, I understand you believe I need doting care, but while I appreciate the fawning, you need not worry.”

They’d had varying forms of the same conversation in the four days since we’d left Damenal. Tol, eagerly debating the various archery techniques he’d practice while we visited the Seawatchers. Cyph, placating his infatuation with the weapons, though he showed little enthusiasm for his friend’s fancies. And Rina, continuing to dissuade.

No matter how often we reminded Tolek we weren’t staying for long, he insisted he’d find time and was well enough to do so.

Admittedly, he was riding better than I expected, and he only needed the cane at the end of the day. He never told us when he required a break, but we read his exhaustion and stopped more than was likely necessary or smart, given the fact that Kakias was pursuing the emblems, too. But we weren’t willing to risk him.

Rina conducted assessments and exercised with him while the rest of us tended to the horses or trained. Their constant chatter was a welcome monotony amid the uncertainty of the task ahead. There was a buzz of anticipation in the air that heightened with every step. It had me leaning forward in the saddle, fidgeting.

“Eager, Alabath?” Tolek said, bringing Astania up next to us. I swept my gaze over him; he leaned a bit to the left, compensating for the side of his body that had been hurt. I tucked away that knowledge.

“I feel on the brink of something important,” I explained. “I don’t know what Ezalia has for us, but it feels like a door is about to spring open to the answers we’ve been searching for.”

Tolek smiled at me, full and brilliant, and his stare scorched all the way to my toes.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “It’s just been a while since I’ve seen you so enthralled. This hunt we’re on—you’re glowing. I missed it.”

My cheeks warmed. “Me, too.”

I missed you, I thought we both meant.

I looked over the landscape, up to the heavens. We were entering the Wild Plains of the Mystique Territory, the land the majority of our trek would consist of between cities. Rolling hills and clouds floating like whispered kisses along the soft blue skin of the sky. But when my gaze dropped, it didn’t find the lush grasses and wildflowers our territory was known for.

“Why is everything dead?” I mourned. I’d noticed it when we descended the mountains, but thought it was a fluke. Told myself it was only the one patch. But after days of travel, I couldn’t deny it.

“The mountains…” Tol’s gaze narrowed on the hills before us. As far as the eye stretched, tans and browns rose and fell where greens normally greeted travelers. “The magic isn’t keeping everything healthy as it should.”

I swallowed that truth; I hadn’t wanted to admit it to myself, but I’d been suspecting it for a while now. Every time I left the mountains, it seemed the earth was a little more dull. Sad. Dying.

“Why, though? Magic is a pillar of our lives.” Of Ambrisk. It fueled nature as it did living beings.

“Look at me,” Tol demanded. The moment our eyes met, I fell into him a bit more. The lulling sway of Sapphire’s steps no longer held me down—he did. “We’ll find answers. As you said, we’re on our way now. This is the first step, and whatever is going wrong, we’ll resolve it.”

I nodded, fidgeting in the saddle again. Tolek’s certainty reignited that hope in me, too. One that had dimmed those two months without him but was now back.

And that spark between us returned, too. The simmering fire that wanted to roar sent my heart pounding as I remained locked in his gaze and my skin heated. Now that I knew what Tolek’s lips felt like against mine, how his hands fit my body, it took everything in me not to abandon Sapphire immediately.

How desperately I wanted to cast aside my rules and indulge in him. But I had walls for a reason, and I was afraid of blowing through them rashly and hurting us with the debris—of failing before we’d begun.

“Let’s sleep beneath the stars tonight,” I breathed, fighting the urge. “If something is amiss, I want to be at the forefront.”

“Whatever you wish,” Tol promised, voice hoarse enough to make me think he felt that fire, too.

Dismounting as the sunset faded into dusk, fabled constellations winked into existence carrying endless tales. Our group gathered, and though we hadn’t found healthier land as we traveled, a little piece of my worry soothed with the sweeping night.

Six sleeping mats circled a fire, smoke curling into the heavens. Normally, we’d use lanterns to avoid screaming our location, but the plains were entirely open. If we circled up, we could see any threats coming.

Tolek lay on his mat, Santorina’s gentle hands assessing his legs. “How does that feel?”