Chapter 45

"You really think this leads out of the blight?" Finnian's face was weathered, but he wasn't as old as I'd first thought, and he had a steadiness that would come in handy if we ran into trouble.

"The stream runs east to west; it should lead us straight into Varitus. The problem will be crossing the ward. I've never tried crossing anywhere but the north and south entrances."

"Well"—he leaned closer—"better to be burned alive by a magical ward than listen to Bran's whining another minute. I swear, that boy never shuts up."

"Anyone who wants to come is more than welcome," I called to the rest, measuring the color of the sky. Dawn was a few hours away, and Anaria would require time to drop the ward if the process worked like last time. We had to put some distance between us before that happened.

"An hour, maybe, to walk three miles." I eyed the stream. "We'll be walking with the current, which will help."

"And once we get to Varitus?"

"Our reports are the blight stops at the ward. Everything to the west is still untouched."

"Thank the gods for that," Finnian muttered.

I took a breath then stepped into the current, the pressure of the water shoving against my calves. There was no hint of burning, only the freezing bite of ice-cold water.

"The water's safe enough," I told Finnian. "But I'm going to set a pace you might not be able to keep up with. If you fall behind, keep going. Only stop if you find my body. Then you'll know to turn back."

In the end,only one other male came with us—Kael, who used to sell his wares at the Tempeste market. He spoke only when Finnian asked him a direct question and kept his eyes on me at all times.

Like I'd promised, I set a punishing pace.

Since I couldn't fly and had to fucking walk, in a freezing stream, no less, I planned to make this trip as short as possible.

The two Fae kept up with not a word of complaint.

"Just happy to be out of there." Finnian mopped his brow when I turned around for the umpteenth time to check if they were still behind me. "Don't much care how I go to the Great Beyond, but I sure as fuck don't want to meet my end under a layer of festering blight listening to Bran gripe about how none of this is his fault."

Kael nodded somberly.

We reached the wall an hour later, magic turning the fast-running creek to froth. The creek kept flowing into Varitus, and I wondered if the water carried traces of blight in with it or if the ward magically filtered Corvus's rot out.

An eerie hum vibrated through the invisible yet impenetrable wall I didn't see any way through.

My skin shivered from all that restrained power, from the shredding magic contained within the nearly invisible veil separating the two realms.

"I'll go first." Chills ran down my arms, my spine prickling as I took another step forward, my face heating from the force of all that pent-up power.

Gods, when Anaria dropped this wall, the crash would be felt for hundreds of miles in both directions, and when all that wild, rampant magic hit the blighted forest…

"If this kills me, follow the stream back to the safe spot and take shelter amongst those stones where the witch used to live. Lay low until it's over." Finnian opened his mouth, and I held up a hand. "I don't have time to explain, only that witch magic keeps the blight at bay."

I stepped directly into the ward, the magic scoring my flesh like it might rip skin from my still-fragile bones. Every breath was filled with jagged ice, magic smearing my sight into a nauseating blur of light and dark and forward-falling motion. I raised my other foot, and then I was on the other side.

Insipidly stale air filled my lungs. All the color had been sucked from this realm, leaving it ashy gray and washed out. I looked over my shoulder and nodded at my companions.

Varitus was safe.

Soul sucking and magic nulling…but safe.

Finnian emerged first, and I caught the old male by the arm as he stumbled away from the cloying magic, his mouth working, for air or words, I didn't know. Kael came next, as stoic as ever but every bit as pale.

I braced my hands on my knees as what little remained of my magic withered away to almost nothing.

Between Zeph's dragonfire, burning myself out over Caladrius, and plunging a hundred feet through the forest canopy, I was fortunate I was still breathing, but…damn, I felt anything but lucky right now.

Beside me, Finnian's eyes went wide. "Not that I ever had much power to speak of, but to lose it all makes me want to vomit." Kael scratched the back of his ear and scanned the field before us, a few curious sheep lifting their heads.

A heavy dew dripped down fresh green stalks, and Finnian yanked one free and sucked out the marrow, groaning. "That tastes like paradise, right there. Been eating bark and bugs for days now."

I didn't have my bearings.

Didn't know which direction Ravenswood was, nor how far.

The only thing I knew for sure? I was fucking walking.

"We should part ways here," I told them. "You'd be best served to head west as fast as you can. These could be Descendant lands, and they're a notoriously territorial bunch of bastards. And neither of you have any magic," I reminded them.

"I think we'll stick together, stranger," Finnian said, sucking on a stem thoughtfully. "No sense in splitting up yet. Strange realm and safety in numbers if you get my drift."

I grit my teeth, measuring the position of the brightening spot on the horizon. "Then we're going this way. Keep up."