Page 16 of Devour
We are always in a state of slow suffocation this close to the desert, and this is only on the edge. I cannot imagine the pain of a sandstorm on the dunes.
There is no sign of Drak’yn anywhere in the following hours. We walk, ignoring the pain in our legs and the burning in our lungs.
When Astella begins coughing deep, I worry for her health. The sands burn through everything it touches, including your body, if you remain in it for too long.
If the poison begins to harm our bodies, we can heal it later. We cannot escape if we are taken by the death cult. So, we keep pushing beyond the warning signs our bodies send. We continue pushing through the biting winds and soft earth beneath our feet.
Astella and I are quiet as we walk beside the imposing lands that have suffocated everything we knew.
In the south, there are some remaining free towns. There are villages taking in refugees, like ours did years ago. But much like Lorraine’s former home of Ruthend, they are only able to sustain based on trade from Ayrinth. Their time may be limited too.
But Astella has family, aunts and uncles, in the mountains between. It’s there we’ll find a home. Astella assures me that we are going to survive. Somehow.
Astella says she can see it—our future, safe in the mountains with her people. Because she found her blessing in me, we’ll make it to the safe lands, hidden where the magic of the Morteres and the curse of the Drak’yn cannot reach us.
I choose to believe her.
“We won’t make it far at this rate,” I mutter, my voice muffled by the wind.
Astella sighs. “No, we won’t.”
Will we sleep in another hollow beneath a fallen tree tonight? We will need water soon.
She squeezes my hand, a gesture that is supposed to be comforting, but it’s too tight. She holds it too long.
I study her face. She is too focused, brow pinched and gaze distant.
I stop. “Astella?”
“Hmm?” She continues walking, her hand slipping from mine.
“What is it?”
“We have to keep moving, Lina.” She doesn’t want to answer at all. Is it because she simply doesn’t like the truth she must share?
I groan. It’s frustrating to be the caretaker of a girl with more knowledge than you could ever hope to gain. I rely on her too much.
“If we keep moving, will we find a safe place to sleep tonight?” I ask as I rush to catch up. My calves are already burning from the extra effort of pushing through the soft sand.
She doesn’t respond.
“Astella,” I bark. I grab her arm and force her to face me.
“I don’t know,” she finally admits. “Our… our path is not certain.” She blinks rapidly. Even that is a half-truth.
“Tell me,” I say, voice too quiet. I need to be firmer to be taken seriously. Instead, I beg. “Please.”
She shakes her head. This time, the tears in her eyes cause my stomach to churn.
“Are they near?”
“Not yet.”
My brow furrows.
“Something changed,” she forces out, voice strained.
“I don’t know what, exactly, but… I don’t know if we can escape it.”
