Page 96 of A Legacy of Storms and Starlight

Zylah huffed a quiet laugh, the rhythm of Holt’s footsteps lulling her closer to sleep. Or maybe it was the state of her back, she couldn’t be certain. “Technically, that was rule number six.”

“Six, seven, pick any number you want. The rule still stands.” He ducked to miss a low branch, his hand cupping the back of her head for a moment.

“Mmm.” She was so cold and so tired, but if she stayed still enough, she couldn’t feel the pain in her back. She focused on Holt’s warmth, on each of his steps, sure and steady despite his speed.

“Zylah.” Holt’s voice sounded so far away. “Stay awake. Raif will be here soon, he’s in the forest looking for you.”

Raif. She hadn’t told him how she felt. And now she would probably never get the chance to. The world was slipping away from her; she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on.

“Zylah.”

She thought of the words she would say to Raif if she got the chance and remembered Saphi’s story. “Saphi said you were in love once.” Zylah’s voice was barely a whisper as she spoke.

“Saphi does a lot of talking.”

“Tell me about her.”

Holt sighed. “What’s there to tell? We were together, and then we weren’t. She wanted children, and I wasn’t ready. We went our separate ways.”

“Do you regret losing her?”

“She’s happy now. She has a family. So no, I don’t regret it.”

An immeasurable sadness settled over her at the thought of him alone. That she’d never see him happy.You deserve to be happy, Holt.

“Wake up, Zylah.” Holt shook her gently. “Hey,hey.” The urgency in his voice jolted her awake. “I thought you wanted to live.”

She groaned, shifting in his arms so she could look at him. His mouth was set into a firm line, his brows pinched together in concentration. “I do. But no promises, remember.” She couldn’t tell him how afraid she was, how the thought of dying stole the air from her lungs. At least now, she wouldn’t die alone.

His eyes darted down for a moment, and he swallowed. “And what would Kopi do without you?”

Zylah rested her head against his shoulder, too weak to hold herself upright. She shrugged against his neck. “Stay with you. I hereby leave you my owl that isn’t mine to give. He’s a terrible pet, but an excellent friend.”

“Pallia would never approve.”

“Gods, not you as well.”

The briefest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Holt’s mouth. “What?”

Zylah rolled her eyes, looking over Holt’s shoulder to the path he’d cut through the snow. “If I had a copper for every time someone has told me Pallia had an owl just like Kopi.”

“You’d have three coppers?”

“Shut up.” Zylah patted her hand against his arm in the most pathetic attempt to punch him.

Holt huffed a laugh into her ear, and if it wasn’t for the trees blurring by, she could almost forget for a moment that he was running. Could almost forget that she hadn’t just been starved and whipped. If she let herself focus on the pain, even just for a second, it was all consuming, and she involuntarily dug her fingers into Holt’s shirt.

She focused on his steady steps again, breathing through the pain. “Holt?”

“Yeah?”

“Look after him for me.”

Holt’s arms tensed, and he shifted her against him. “We’re almost there.”

Too late, Zylah thought. Darkness was pressing in, so consuming it drowned out every sound in the world.

“Zylah.” Holt’s thumbs pressed against her thighs again. “I’ll make a bargain with you.” His voice was stretched, strained, and she wondered if he needed to rest.

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