Page 36 of Soul of Thorns
“Yeah, you’re right,” I drawl. “Those creatures don’t at all seem the kind to desire vengeance or to kill for the hell of it.”
She lets out a bitter chuckle.
“Maybe there’s another way to cure the lands like my wraith said,” she shrugs. “Like the gates implied. Maybe you could leave now, forget the wall of flames, go back to the fae world without the spell book, and...”
“And take the gamble that if I don’t have the power to cure the lands—a concept that seems pretty damn far-fetched as it is—that no one could get the spell book out of here for another decade? I won’t do that. You know I wouldn’t.”
Caelynn takes in a long breath but doesn’t give me any more arguments.
“If you die, I’ll die trying to complete the mission. Because then, maybe someone else can come after me and complete it.” I plop down on my butt and sit beside her. “Don’t leave me, Caelynn,” I whisper, voice huskier than I’d intended.
She whimpers. “Okay,” she finally whispers in return
***
CAELYNN AND I SIT STILL, watching the quiet road below us for another hour without speaking. No other creatures come by the wall of flame. No wraiths, no bears, no wolves. There aren’t even birds who fly over the barrier.
“Let’s stay here for the night,” Caelynn says, breaking the silence.
I don’t respond. We have enough time to retreat to our previous cave. It’s smaller but safer. Here, we are so close to the main road, so close to the fire. Its hot, dry heat presses in on us. Sweat clings to my clothes, making them stick. Just a mile north, we’d be significantly more comfortable.
“We haven’t seen much of anything because this is when the wraiths all sleep. If we find a place to hide, I’ll use my shadows to keep us hidden throughout the night, and maybe we’ll get the information we need.”
“You can do that? Keep up your magic to hide us throughout the whole night? Even hiding in that cave, this close to the wall, we aren’t entirely safe.”
She nods. “I’ll only need to cover the opening to the cave, which will conserve energy. We’ll be able to see out, but no one will see in.”
“It’ll mean staying up the entire night, won’t it? You’re not capable of controlling that magic while you sleep, I assume? I don’t want to underestimate a shadow fae again, but that seems—”
Caelynn chuckles. “It will mean staying up all night, yes. But we want to keep an eye on the road anyway. I already napped today. I’ll take another once the sun rises, and then we’ll decide what our next step is.”
Our next step. Caelynn still intends to experiment with the fire wall with her own life. We do need to cross the fire, but there is no way I’ll let her go alone. We’ll go together or not at all.
Caelynn
My soul aches, rawand open. Sore, like my arm isn’t the only thing that was injured in today’s adventures. And well, maybe it’s true. Darkness, toxic and scary, clings to the edges of my consciousness.
