“You’re on,” she answered.
Minutes later, Fen and Greeve joined us without Lichen in tow. Apparently, the banshee had scared him from coming any farther, and I didn’t mind at all. I didn’t want to have to watch out for an old fae who would likely get us into deep shit the minute his childlike curiosity peaked.
“Should I stay with him?” Wren asked, ever the mother hen.
“He’s not a child,” Greeve answered. “You can do what you want, but I’m sure he can manage just fine. He will be there when we get back.”
“Shall we?” Fen asked me.
In that moment, I realized Fen was about to walk into The Mists. His mated father had lost his wife, and this was where widowed fae came to die. He had probably spent the last fifty years hoping his father would never stand in this exact spot, and here he was, ready to walk in for me. I forced away the lump in my throat.
“No time like the present.” I stepped toward the wall of doom.
Fen grabbed my hand, and I reached for Kai’s. He took Wren’s, and she held Greeve’s. As one, we took a single step into the Mist.
Nothing happened. I looked back and forth through the glow of the unknown, but aside from the weight of moisture in the air, we were fine. Still gloomy within, there was nothing to see beyond thick fog.
“That was anticlimactic,” Kai said, dropping our hands. “I thought for sure we were going to die.”
“We’ve taken one step.” Greeve pulled his sword out. “This could go on forever.”
“Just stay together and keep walking.” Fen drew his own blade.
We separated enough for everyone to be properly armed and moved as one through the legendary Mists. It grew denser as we moved, and after an hour, I realized the sun should have risen. Nothing had changed except the fact that I could barely see them beside me as we walked farther into the abyss.
“Fen?” Wren’s worried voice pierced through the silence.
“Still here, baby bird,” he said.
I pushed away an annoying ping of jealousy at their long history. I didn’t even know she had a nickname, and I blamed myself for not being more observant and not trying to get to know them better.
“We should talk,” Greeve said. “To make sure we’re staying together. I can’t see shit.”
“How far do you think this goes?” Kai was farther from me than he should have been.
“You’d be the one to ask, tracker.” Fen answered.
I heard the sharp sound of his sword sliding into the sheath and felt his hand brush mine. I grasped it tightly but felt the pull of him slipping through my fingers.
“Kai,” Greeve shouted in the distance.
“Here,” Kai answered from farther away.
“Ara?” Fen’s hazy voice was frantic.
He was right beside me a moment ago, and now I could barely hear him. In fact, the last sound I heard was the distant scream from Wren before the entire world was a massive cavern of empty moisture. Chasing my destiny had inevitably led to chaos, as I knew it would.
“Fen!” I screamed into the emptiness.
No answer. I turned and ran backward, closing my eyes to focus on sound alone. My heartbeat filled the emptiness like thunder. He was gone. They all were. I turned and ran back the way we were going, or at least the way I thought we were going, hoping that we might have been near the end and would soon come out the other side.
I wandered for hours with my hands held before me. I couldn’t see my fingertips. I screamed and screamed into The Mists until my throat was raw. No one answered. I wished for a drink of water so badly, if I wasn’t so deathly afraid of whatever The Mists were made of, I might have started sucking on my damp pack.
I walked and walked and ran and ran to no avail. I felt like I was moving along a wheel on a spindle. I had never been so grateful for Nadra’s mother as I was in that moment. Her magic was keeping the moisture away from my skin, and the warmth never left me. I was sure the others weren’t so lucky.
Eventually, I became so tired I realized I must have walked alone the rest of the entire day. I wouldn’t stop to sleep, but my feet dragged along the ground, and it became difficult to keep going. Still I walked. I yelled as often as my tattered voice could.
I was desperate. I had done this to them. If they would have just listened and let me go alone, they would all still be safe and not lost within the fog. But maybe they found each other and I was the last one left. My emotions were erratic as I walked. Anger bled into fear, carrying me step by step as I wondered if it would ever end.
