He found a shallow rise just beyond the tree line where the ground curved slightly upward and offered a view of both the river and the path behind us. It wasn’t ideal—nothing about this situation was—but it was defensible.
I sank down onto the forest floor while Damon pulled two dehydrated food kits from his pack. He worked fast, creating a small fire pit with a flick of the lighter and a little air magic, coaxing embers to life. I was grateful for the distraction, even if the warmth hadn’t touched my skin yet.
“Here,” he said quietly, dumping some water into one of the packets and handing it over. “You’re pale.”
I stared at him. “I’m always pale.”
“You’repaler.” His tone left no argument. “I wish I could give you something more substantial than this?—”
“It’s all right. We’re both stuck here and doing the best we can. Thank you,” I motioned with the bag of barely edible food. “I appreciate this.”
Damon sat opposite me, the flicker of the firelight painting shadows across his face. “You want to talk about it?”
“No.” I didn’t even hesitate.
He nodded once, then tossed another stick into the flames. “Okay.”
Silence stretched between us. Not uncomfortable. Not quite.
“I didn’t think it was possible to see my own memory from someone else’s perspective,” I finally said. “And yet, there it was. That moment with the snake—like a vision but twisted somehow. I could feel emotions that weren’t mine in reaction to what I was seeing.”
His gaze was steady. “And you said it focused on your blood?”
“Yeah.” I looked down at my palm again.
“I don’t like it.”
I snorted, but it lacked any humor. “Tell me about it.”
“Maybe Corvo will have some answers for us,” he said with a tight smile that didn’t meet his eyes.
“Maybe,” I agreed, equally unenthusiastic.
“Sleep, Meera. I’ll keep watch.”
I wanted to argue. To say I didn’t need watching. But the truth was, I didn’t feel safe. Not from what was out there ... or from what I had seen.
So I lay down and stared into the flames until the warmth finally found its way to my bones.
But even then, I didn’t close my eyes.
I wasn’t sure what I’d see if I did.
Chapter 26
Vareck
The body hit the sand with a wet thud, its limbs twitching once before finally going still. The sound was swallowed by the canyon’s walls. The air hung heavy with the stench of rotten blood, cloying yet foul, and just thick enough to taste. Flies were already circling; their buzzing just audible under the slow wail of wind between the cliffs.
I dragged both blades across my pants, the black smear vanishing into layers of older stains, marks from the countless fights, before sliding the swords home. The motion was muscle memory now.
Sadie rested one axe against her shoulder, the other hanging loose at her side. Her breath came in steady bursts, though her face glistened with sweat. “That’s the last of them?”
“For now.” My gaze tracked along the jagged walls, searching for the flicker of movement in the cracks. The Nameless had a habit of coming back when you thought you’d won. But this time only the wind answered, low and constant, carrying with it the faint scent of salt and minerals.
We started forward, boots grinding the grit and sand underfoot. Shadows stretched long in the dying light, reaching ahead of us toward the darker parts of the canyon. This was quiteliterally the edge of a world and the only place on Eversus that shadows existed.
The air shifted, cooler now, the breeze picking up a foreign yet familiar scent.
