Page 29 of Where the Shadows Land (Garden of Hope #1)

“It’s okay,” she cried. “I’m going to get you out. Just stay still, okay?”

Bastian writhed in the trap, tearing more of his flesh. The coppery smell of blood hit her nose and Astoria’s heart slammed hard against her chest. Her shaking fingers reached for him, but he was in too much pain to recognize her and snapped at her hand.

“Use your magic on him, Astoria,” Mairuk commanded. “Speak to him with the Orsea . Reach into his mind and calm him.”

“I don’t know how!”

“Yes, you do. Your magic has always come to your aid when you truly needed it, has it not? Bastian needs you, and you need your magic.” Mairuk knelt down on the other side of Bastian and looked to Astoria to act. “He is your familiar. He will hear you.”

Astoria held onto that hope and she conjured her magic, sending the green light out of her palms and over Bastian’s head.

Find your calm. Relax. Stop moving and I will get you out.

Astoria held the thought like a prayer, chanting it over and over again into her mind.

Bastian’s wide, panicked eyes met hers. Please.

He stilled with a broken whine. Mairuk gripped the base of the metal trap and sent their magic over her palms. “Prepare to heal him. This trap kills quickly. Once these spikes are out of him, he will bleed a lot, and he will need your magic to stop the bleeding and ease his pain. ”

“I’m not a healer. I can’t do that. I can’t,” Astoria panted, the pressure rising in her higher and higher with each passing heartbeat.

“Yes, you can. Look at us,” Mairuk commanded. Astoria obeyed, meeting their gaze through her tears. Mairuk’s magic brushed over her knuckles. “Keep your eyes on us. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Astoria hiccuped.

“Breathe with us, Astoria. In and out.”

Astoria did as she was told, following their breathing. Her eyes never left their face, even when she couldn’t see them through the thick tears.

“On the count of three, you are going to tell the Orsea to heal Bastian. To close his wounds and ease his pain. Take from our magic if you need it, but you are his bonded. Your magic will comfort him the most. Are you ready?”

Astoria nodded and blinked the tears away from her eyes. Mairuk continued to lead her breaths, and then they counted. “One. Two. Three!”

The trap snapped away from Bastian, but Astoria kept her eyes on Mairuk. She pushed her power into Bastian, commanding it to heal him. Astoria had lost too much. She would not lose the only one who kept her alive the last two years.

“You are doing well, Astoria. Keep channeling the magic. Stop the bleeding.”

Astoria reached into the power pouring out of her and followed it through Bastian.

Each of his wounds became hers and she tackled them one by one.

Close the wounds, heal. Take the pain away.

She chanted the words over and over again in her mind.

The wounds closed at her command, sealing back up one after another as she worked her magic.

Bastian collapsed in her lap, but his hot breath brushed against her wrist.

“Thank you, sister.” Bastian’s voice echoed in her mind, then faded back into silence.

“Bastian?” Astoria cried .

“He is fine,” Mairuk said, their voice clear and calm in her mind. “Your magic healed him and now he must rest. This is normal.”

“He’s going to be okay?”

“Yes. You healed him, and he will recover in a few days.” Mairuk’s large, strong hand stroked down her back. “You did well. If we go check the area, will you stay here and wait for us?”

Astoria nodded and pat Bastian’s sticky fur.

“We will be back in a few moments.” Mairuk stroked down her back one last time, then got up and wandered deeper into the forest.

Astoria’s heart clenched as she watched them go, and worry pressed on her bones.

Mairuk was strong and healed quickly. They would be fine.

At least, that is what she told herself as she sat in the dirt with her slumbering familiar.

Bastian was no normal forest creature. Astoria always understood that.

Whatever cloth her soul was cut from also made up Bastian.

He was more than a furry companion. He was her guide, her tether, part of her spirit.

Astoria had little information about the Orsea .

She didn’t know why she could change her form, but according to Mairuk, such a thing was common among humans with the Orsea.

She always sensed that Bastian was some sort of Divine gift, a guardian spirit, and he carried a part of her soul, too.

For the first time in all of her life, Astoria reached out to the Spirit of Mieotsy in prayer.

“Thank you for Bastian, and for granting me the power to heal him,” Astoria said. A gentle breeze rolled by, lifting her braid, twirling around her, then it faded back into the aether as fast as it came.

Astoria stroked Bastian’s fur over and over again, and tracked his every breath against her wrist. Mairuk returned a few moments later, a small wild boar and a strange ferret-like creature slung over their shoulder. She stood and cradled Bastian in her arms. “You hunted for me?”

“Of course. You needed to stay with Bastian, and you need to eat. So will he.” Mairuk gestured for her to head back up the hill and she did as they bid, falling in step beside them. “We also wanted to see if we could find the one who set them. We are far from any other garden.”

“Did you find anyone?”

Mairuk tensed and hung their cap. “No.”

Something uneasy whirled in Astoria’s stomach the entire way back to Bostrai.

~

They arrived back in Bostrai shortly before sunset. Mairuk hung the boar from a hook in the tool shed, then opened their arms to receive Bastian. Astoria tilted her head as she glanced between the creature in her arms and Mairuk.

“Take care of your meat. Eat something. We will take care of Bastian and get him cleaned up and fed.”

Astoria clutched Bastian close to her chest. “I don’t…”

“Put your trust in us, Astoria. Allow us to help you.”

She held their gaze for a moment, then passed her sleeping companion into their arms.

“When you are ready, Bastian will be with us in the apothecary.”

Astoria watched Mairuk until they vanished from her sight.

Her chest squeezed, but she went about the messy task of butchering the boar and preparing the meat for storage and use.

She finished well after dark, bathed, and changed into a soft, loose dress.

She took a large hunk of boar meat with her to the apothecary and stepped inside the small building.

Mairuk sat on a large cushion with Bastian curled up in the crook of their arm.

His coat gleamed in the low candlelight, cleaner than it had ever been.

His little face rested on a large purple cap on Mairuk’s forearm, as content as can be.

Bastian’s tail twitched along with his nose when he smelled Astoria and his eyes opened, soft and at ease.

“He’s awake,” Astoria said as she approached .

“Here and there. He will sleep for the next few days, but he will recover.” Mairuk pushed back Bastian’s fur in the places where the spikes tore through him, revealing a handful of stitches over each wound.

“The Erlumi we bathed him in should keep the rot away, but we will check him every morning and night.”

Astoria’s heart flipped in her chest as she sat down on the cushion beside Mairuk.

She curled up against their side, and their fingers danced over her shoulder.

Each gentle stroke of their fingers pushed more tension out of her and eased the tightness in her chest. Bastian was fine, and he would heal under Mairuk’s careful attention.

Mairuk saved her life twice, and they helped her save her familiar.

They hunted for her and Bastian, knowing that neither would want to leave the garden again for several days.

They tended to Bastian so she could work to sustain herself.

A flicker of warmth burst into her chest and she buried her head into the crook of their neck. “Thank you.”

“You do not need to thank us. We are almost as fond of this creature as we are of you.”

That warmth burned brighter and Astoria giggled softly into Mairuk’s neck. Little did they know how close their feelings matched hers.