Chapter 22
CHAPTER
My legs still felt unsteady, though whether from the cold water or him, I wasn’t willing to examine too closely. Malakai walked beside me with a satisfied look that made heat crawl up the back of my neck all over again.
It was probably afternoon already, the obscured light making it hard to decipher in the Demon Lands. The air felt cool and there was a soft silence around us, it should have felt peaceful.
It didn’t.
Not when Nate was still half-dead on the shore.
I quickened my steps. “Stop smirking.”
“I’m not smirking,” Malakai said, absolutely smirking. “You’re just very cute when you try to walk like nothing happened.”
I punched his shoulder, weaker than intended. His answering chuckle didn’t help my frustration.
The camp came into view—well, the attempts of a camp at least. They had scattered bedrolls and food cans all over the place, it was as chaotic as Ashley’s attempt at guard duty.
She was sitting cross-legged beside Nate, tapping one foot like the drumming of a woodpecker, while staring everywhere except for Nate’s unconscious face. Jaden lounged nearby, tossing little rocks into the air with flickers of earth magic just to irritate her.
Faelin sat closer to the water, braiding her ginger hair with delicate precision, Lionel was a few paces off, adjusting the sights on his rifle, while Eve pretended to not watch him do it.
A stiff knot formed in my stomach. I left Malakai behind without another word and dropped to my knees beside Nate.
“Ashley,” I said softly.
She startled like she hadn’t heard me approach.
“He’s fine.”
A too quick and sharp answer as if she was trying to convince herself rather than me. “Well, he’s not worse. Jaden says he stabilized. Probably. He’s… he’s breathing steady.” She blinked several times, then swallowed. “I’m never stabbing a demon again.”
“That was a shapeshifter… And you didn’t stab the demon,” Jaden chimed in, rolling onto his elbows. “There’s a difference.”
Ashley hurled a rock at his head, which he dodged, mostly by falling over.
I pressed my hand to Nate’s forehead, cool, but not frighteningly so anymore. His hair was damp with sweat, his expression far too peaceful for someone who usually woke everyone with jokes at dawn.
“You’re supposed to be annoying,” I whispered. “This silent thing doesn’t suit you.”
Ashley let out a shaky breath. “He’ll wake up soon. He has to. I owe him—”
“Stop rambling,” I interrupted, squeezing her arm. “You made a mistake; all of us have made plenty of those.”
She looked at me like she didn’t believe a word I said.
Malakai crouched behind me, his presence a familiar warmth.
“He’s strong,” he said with an odd softness few got to hear from him. “He’ll fight his way back.”
Ashley eyed him as if remembering he existed at all, and then mumbled, “Right. If demon-boy says it, then it must be true.”
Malakai scoffed at her. “Half-demon. Don’t downgrade me.”
Faelin glanced over her shoulder, voice barely above a breeze. “Maybe… maybe we could move him somewhere less exposed once he wakes. The forest edges still give me the creeps.”
Ashley shivered violently. “Yeah. No more forests. Ever.”
Lionel stood and slung his rifle over his shoulder. He gave me a quick look, a friendly check-in, as he always did and tilted his head towards the horizon. “We should plan our route before the sun’s fully down.”
Eve immediately stepped to his side like gravity pulled her there. “I’ll help. You always miss the good vantage points without me.”
He almost smiled. Almost.
I turned my attention back to Nate, brushing strands of hair from his cheek. My heartbeat still hadn’t returned to normal, but now it wasn’t because of the lake or Malakai and his maddening smirk, it was fear.
The kind that stayed in your lungs.
“Come back to us, Nate,” I murmured. “We’re not done. None of us are.”
As if sensing the falter inside of me, Malakai placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, not possessive, or teasing this time. Just steadying.
“We’ll keep watch,” he murmured. “You should go get some rest, firecracker.”
Ashley grumbled something unintelligible about not needing rest as Malakai settled Nate’s jacket more securely around him.
But she didn’t move away. She kept sitting there…
leaning… until she slowly tipped over onto Nate’s good shoulder.
Within minutes, her breathing evened out.
Soft, almost timid, snores escaping. She looked smaller like that, peaceful, for once.
Jaden smirked. “Knew she’d pass out; she’s been running on pure guilt without moving an inch since we got here.”
“So she hasn’t eaten anything since we got out of the forest?” I whispered, placing my jacket around Ashley. “I think that’s a record for her.”
Malakai sat beside me, his shoulder brushing mine. “She’ll bite you if you wake her.”
“Probably.” I smiled wryly.
The wind picked up, rustling nearby leaves.
We stayed like that a while, listening to the lake lapping against the shore, watching the sky darken. My heartbeat finally slowed enough to feel the tiredness crash in.
Nate’s chest rose and fell steadily, thank the stars, and Ashley’s fingers were curled tightly into his shirt like she’d anchored him there.
Suddenly Nate shifted.
Jaden straightened. “Oh, oh, look who decided to rejoin the group of smartasses.”
Nate shifted again beneath Ashley. It wasn’t dramatic, just a slight adjustment, a small wince as his muscles protested, but it was enough.
The movement jostled Ashley’s cheek against his shoulder.
She made a tiny sound of complaint and mumbled, nowhere near conscious. “Quit… wriggling… stupid…”
That’s when Nate’s eyes cracked open.
Jaden sat upright. “He’s back!”
Ashley was jolted awake by the shout, nearly head-butting Nate in the process. She blinked rapidly, hair a mess, clutching his shirt like a lifeline.
Nate blinked up at her, before inevitably grinning.
“Well,” he rasped. “If this is the afterlife, I’m definitely dying more often.”
Ashley turned scarlet instantly. “I… You… Shut up or I’ll punch you!”
Jaden snorted. “What, you’re going to try to kill him again after all that sobbing? Bold strategy.”
Ashley shoved him away with one hand while desperately trying to look like she hadn’t been nestled against Nate like a worried cat.
“I wasn’t sleeping,” she insisted. “I was just closing my eyes for a second, while checking if you even had a pulse left.”
Nate’s voice was weak but teasing. “Sure, you had time to drool on me as well?”
Ashley gasped. “I did not!”
Malakai laughed, an actual, delighted laugh, and slung an arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer. “Relax, firecracker. He clearly enjoyed it.”
“Don’t call me—” she started, but Nate cut in.
“Shit, that’s a perfect nickname for her,” he said, smiling warmly. “It’s cute.”
Ashley looked like she was seconds from spontaneous combustion.
Faelin hid a giggle behind her hand. Even she couldn’t resist. “Glad to have you back.”
Nate tried to sit up and immediately groaned, clutching his wounded shoulder. Without thinking, Ashley supported his back, muttering threats under her breath.
“Easy,” she said. “Your wound will rip open. And then I’ll rip the rest of you.”
“Aw,” Nate breathed, leaning into her touch. “She does care.”
Before Ashley could swing at him, Lionel and Eve returned from the fog. Lionel’s eyes did their habitual sweep, checking me first, quick and soft, before landing on the newly conscious clown.
“You’re awake.” His relief was subtle, but there. “Good.”
Eve bumped Lionel’s shoulder with hers. “He’s awake and flirting, which means he’s fine.”
Jaden stretched lazily. “So, what’s next? Haunted ruins or cursed mountain adventure?”
Lionel nodded towards the horizon. “We spotted rooftops. Looks like the village. Darkshire.”
My pulse jumped with a mix of hope and dread. “We should move before the sun sets. The longer we stay out in the open—” I began ordering but was cut off mid-sentence.
“The more likely something sees us,” Lionel finished for me, a teasing smile lingering on his lips as he read my thoughts.
I glared at him.
“I’ll heat some food for Nate before we leave,” Lionel chuckled.
“Yes please,” Nate sighed relieved.
Malakai’s thumb brushed the top of my arm in reassurance, warm and grounding. I leaned into him without thinking, and he nuzzled against me with his soft hair.
It felt weird, having moments like these, something feeling so normal was more out of the ordinary than the chaos and ruins around us.
Ashley finally let Nate rest against her chest, gently this time. “No moving unless I say so. Got it?”
Nate’s smile softened, all bravado gone for a moment. “Got it, Ash.”
Jaden clapped his hands. “Aw, adorable, snuggle into her chest while you can.”
Ashley glared murderously at him. “Jaden, shut—”
“Up,” Nate finished with her, grinning.
She blinked, momentarily startled into silence. Coming back to herself, she shoved his head lightly. “Copycat.”
“Takes one to stab one,” he shot back, immediately wincing. “Ouch. Too soon for stab jokes?”
“Way too soon,” she hissed.
But she didn’t let go of him.
We packed up quickly, everyone eager to get out of this sandy wasteland and leave the Whispering Woods far behind us.
Nate insisted he could walk. “I still have two functioning legs,” he declared, pushing himself upright.
He immediately swayed like a drunk.
Ashley lunged, grabbing his good arm. “Functioning is a bit of a reach.”
Nate offered her a wobbly grin. “Functioning enough to reel you in, apparently.”
She rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might leave their sockets. “You lost half of your blood. Your strength is currently equal to a bowl of soup.”
“Hot soup?” he asked.
“If you fall, I’m letting you fall face first,” she warned.
“I believe you,” he whispered dramatically, leaning more heavily against her.
Malakai stepped up beside them, silently bracing Nate from the other side.
“Try not to die again,” he said plainly. “Twice is irritating enough.”
Nate blinked up at him. “You… helped carry me, didn’t you?”
Malakai shrugged like it was no big deal. “Firecracker wouldn’t stop crying and leaving you in the forest would’ve been a hassle.”
“I absolutely did not cry!” Ashley sputtered, her cheeks flaring.
Jaden slung his bag over one shoulder and grinned like the devil’s intern. “She’s right, she screamed more than cried.”
Faelin gave him a dubious look, before silently shaking her head. “I think he’ll die next.”
Jaden’s head turned towards her, taking offense by her words. “Such a cold breeze, you are.”
“At least I don’t bother others,” Faelin shot back with a sharp smile.
“Let’s go,” Eve sighed, cutting off their banter.
Lionel led the formation; he was the better scout after all, scanning every shadow with sniper precision. I tried not to hover, but old habits die hard, so I drifted closer anyway.
“You don’t have to watch my back,” I murmured.
Lionel didn’t look at me, just kept his gaze ahead. “Force of habit, been doing it since we were six.”
I huffed a tiny laugh. “I remember. You yelled at me for climbing trees too fast.”
“You set the tree on fire,” he reminded flatly. “When I got there you blamed it on lightning, at least now I know.”
I nudged him playfully. “It was one time.”
Eve slipped in smoothly beside us, hands behind her back like she hadn’t just jogged to catch up. “You two done reminiscing about arson? Because some of us would like to reach civilization today.”
Lionel’s jaw ticked, he’d been so locked on me that he hadn’t noticed her approach. Eve smiled anyway.
Malakai chuckled behind us. “If she starts burning trees again,” he told Lionel. “I’ll handle it.”
“You?” Lionel snorted softly, glancing back at him with judging eyes. “You’d encourage her.”
Malakai smirked. “Probably.”
“You never told me why you disappeared for a year before the trials,” I said glancing over at Lionel. His stance stiffened.
“I was training.”
“Liar,” I snapped. “That can’t be the only reason.”
“Your fighting style was becoming predictable, so I needed a few new punching bags,” he shot back.
“He’s totally lying,” Malakai smirked, earning himself a glare from Lionel.
“Fine,” Lionel bit out. “I was doing some research, earning some extra coin.”
“That is sooo shady!” Ashley snickered. “Did you break into peoples’ homes? Did you trade yourself for money? Please tell me you did something illegal?”
“I broke into one of the Ashen Corps’ libraries, okay?” Lionel snapped angrily. “I learned some history, about different demons, about some battles and traded the information for coin, alright?”
Ashley groaned disappointedly.
“At least it was illegal?” Nate snickered.
“But boring,” Ashley accused.
“Why would they hide the knowledge from society, though?” Jaden asked curiously.
“Well, people usually don’t show off their weaknesses,” Malakai chuckled. “If the military admitted to their lack of knowledge about the demons, they’d seem pretty stupid, wouldn’t they?”
“So why are they so stupid?” Ashley asked. “Why not kill the demons?”
“Because the Ashen Corps used to think killing the mage that let the demon through killed the demon as well,” Malakai explained calmly. “And if they focused on the demons, the mages would simply bring more.”
“I think people are thinking too much and not killing enough demons,” Nate muttered. “More for me, I guess.” He cracked his knuckles with a grin
“The only action you’ll be seeing is a pillow against your face,” Ashley hissed. “Get that shoulder healed before you talk big.”
The banter helped. It made the Demon Lands feel less like teeth waiting to close around us.
We crested a low ridge, and there it was. A cluster of worn rooftops half-buried in mold, grey sand, and blackened earth.
Darkshire.
Nate squinted. “Looks… charming.”
Ashley bumped his hip gently, so he wouldn’t topple. “Charming like a crypt.”
Jaden rubbed his hands together. “Do crypts have traps? I bet yes.”
Faelin shivered. “The air feels colder… it feels… sad. Like something happened there, and it’s still echoing.”
“Because that’s not creepy at all, Faelin,” Jaden grunted.
Her eyes snapped to him, and it was the first time I’d ever seen anger rising in her eyes.
Lionel stopped as he used his sniper’s scope, scanning windows and doorways.
The wind whistled through empty frames, carrying the smell of old ash.
“We go slow, quiet, and together,” Lionel said low.
Eve used her own sniper to scout the surroundings of the village. “It looks awfully still.”
Malakai looked down at me with that steady heat in his eyes. “If anything moves,” he murmured, “I’ll burn it before you can.”
“Is that a challenge?” I sneered at him. “You’ll have to race me.” Flames began sparking between my fingers already.
Nate wobbled, and Ashley tightened her hold, grumbling, “Don’t you dare faint now.”
He leaned his head on her shoulder. “Wouldn’t dream of it. You’d yell at me.”
“You bet I would.”
Our mismatched, bruised, exhausted squad began the descent towards the village; united, wary, and oddly alive.
We were still here.
Still together, fighting onwards, and for now, that was everything.