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The ether struck us with a rush of energy so furious that it flattened us to the floor, my hair whipping out around me and a thousand tiny kisses of power pressing down on my skin like pins and needles, seeking out every piece of me.

I could barely draw breath as it rushed past us, the only real thing besides the ether and the press of Bastian’s chest to my spine, the grip of his arms around my waist.

And then it was gone. The spill of energy settled and faded to a constant trickle before us, pouring through the keystone which was once again whole, the lion proudly returned to its glory.

“Your hands,” Bastian breathed.

Though I feared looking at them, I dropped my eyes to my palms and gasped as I found the flesh there healed entirely, every inch of them whole once more.

My thoughts spun to my other wounds, the ones I hid and never spoke of but despite the hope that blossomed in my chest momentarily, I didn’t truly believe my blessing had gone so far as to heal those too.

“We should leave,” I said, my voice stilted, but I couldn’t help but smile at the lingering tingling in my skin where the ether had blessed me in thanks for its freedom.

Bastian made no complaints about that, hauling me to my feet as he stood though he did turn me around and take hold of my wrists, inspecting my hands for himself and running his thumbs down the centre of my palms.

I swallowed roughly, his touch far too intimate for what we were, the intensity in his expression damning me for what would come next for us. But our paths were already set.

“Satisfied?” I asked, my pulse still hammering from whatever the fuck that had all been and he raised his eyes to meet mine as he answered.

“Not even close.”

The edge of humour to his voice made me blink then I was struck with the desire to smile, looking at this man who I had every intention of imprisoning again as soon as possible.

But he had moved to protect me throughout that encounter several times over.

I hadn’t needed his help, likely never would require the help of any man.

He might have been the first to ever actually offer it to me.

I swallowed back the maddening thoughts, tugging my hands free of his grip and reminding myself of what had come of the last time I’d trusted a man from Avanis. But for some reason it was very difficult to align Bastian with Cayde in my mind. They were very different beasts indeed.

I sent my Faelight ahead of me, using it to guide us back through the crevice which Bastian had widened in the stone wall and to the base of the endless fall we’d endured to get here.

I twisted my wrist and coiled a whip of air magic into existence around us before hurling us skyward with my magic.

Bastian barked a laugh as he hurtled through the air and I threw a confounded look at him through the streaming strands of dark hair which had broken free of my braid.

“Do you know how long it has been since I flew properly?” he called over the howl of air magic, his words salt on a raw wound.

“No doubt you believe it’s been hundreds of years,” I called back. “You do realise that isn’t possible though, don’t you? I think you lost your mind chained up in that cavern.”

“I lost a lot of things while chained up in that cavern,” he called back. “But never my mind.”

The passage at the top of the chasm appeared above us and I guided us into it, landing lightly on my feet and letting Bastian fall a little more dramatically in hopes that he might stumble onto his ass.

Unfortunately, he managed to stay upright too and the taunting grin he offered me said he knew what I’d just attempted.

“Let’s find a piece of that comet and get out of here,” I said firmly. “I don’t want to remain in Pyros a moment longer than I have to.”

Bastian seemed content to go along with that plan and we navigated our way back through the mine, Bastian using his earth magic to find the correct route.

I didn’t thank him for it, but I would have been lost in the dark down here a hundred times over without his help and we both knew it.

A weight seemed to have lifted from my shoulders as we traversed the mine on the way out, the climb somehow easier than the descent had felt.

Perhaps because I didn’t have anything urging me along the darkened path towards that ley line anymore, the whispers having finally fallen quiet.

A glimmer in the rocks ahead of us made me pick up my pace and I tugged my dagger from my belt as I spotted the pieces of shattered comet in the wall there.

I started digging them out but Bastian reached around me and pressed his hand to the rock face. He gave me a cocky smirk as he pressed his magic into the wall and turned the rock surrounding the two chips of comet into sand so they fell freely into my palm.

I looked down at my prize, wanting to call upon the stars right here and now and beg an answer from them as to Cayde’s whereabouts so that I might put myself on the trail which would end in his demise.

But we’d wasted enough time and I couldn’t be certain how long Zayad would be held captive by the magic of my gifts, humping the soft furnishings and making a sticky mess of everything in sight.

We needed to leave and get far away from this place by the time he roused.

I didn’t care if he figured out what I’d done and wanted to hunt us for retribution or simply sought us out in hopes of another night of carnal bliss in our company – we needed to get away from here and head back to the road so I could find a way back to Stormfell.

I glanced at Bastian who was eyeing me curiously and held out one of the pieces of comet in offering.

He opened his mouth to say something but I held up a finger to halt him. “One word and I keep both for myself, captive. I don’t want a single comment on this. We made it out of that pit together. So take your reward for survival or don’t. Your choice.”

He pinned me with that silver-shot gaze of his, the corner of his mouth curving to reveal the dimple in his cheek as he reached out and took the piece of glimmering comet before depositing it in his pocket in utter silence.

I turned away from him without a word, placing my own stone away too.

We found the door which led back to Zayad’s chambers but as we reached it, the pounding of many booted feet echoed through the iron to taunt us with the presence of far more Fae than I had any desire to encounter.

“Find them!” Zayad shrieked, his fury spilling through the walls as his gifts poured from him, the Siren magic infecting everyone within range with the desperate desire to track us down. “They’re here somewhere and I want them brought straight to me!”