Page 167 of Of Blood & Stone

Nyla reached for the one piercing her clavicle. He stopped her.

“Prince Elnok, you may not understand, but us Kreenas have endured lives filled with pain,” Nyla said, “I don’t want this either, but it’s the least we can do.”

Elnok bit his tongue until blood filled his mouth. “She’ll die sooner.”

Sylzenya gripped his hand.

Fluttering his eyes closed, he gave a small nod. This was her choice, not his. He clenched his jaw as Nyla carefully wrenched the branch from her flesh. Sylzenya groaned, blood running down her sternum.

Elnok cursed as he gripped the one stuck in her stomach, ripping it out quickly. She winced, squeezing his hand harder.

“Where are my parents?” she asked.

“Right here, flower bud.”

Elnok turned, struck by the similarities Sylzenya bore to her parents. He needed to let them have their final words.

Her parents took her hands, whispering words of love and some unknown prayers over her. Sylzenya’s smile grew despite the red blood pooling around her.

“Elnok,” Kharis approached him, “Do you still have the compass? Or the medicine Aretta gave you?”

Elnok’s heart skipped. He cursed himself for not thinking about them sooner. Quickly, he rummaged through his pockets, the compass’s cold metal meeting his fingers. He pulled it out, but the needle was nothing more than an ordinary splinter now.

Elnok cursed.

He searched his pockets again, the soft fabric pilling in his hands until he found the cylinder shape of the medicine vial. He held it in his hand. The substance continued to glow a bright white, pulsing with Elnok’s heartbeat.

“I assumed it was made specifically for Orym. You think it can heal her too?” Elnok inquired.

Kharis shrugged. “It might.”

“But he could still be alive when we get back.” Elnok replied, “He could’ve beaten the odds and I still might be able to save him.”

Kharis said nothing, staring at the vial.

“I could give this to her and it might not work,” Elnok continued, “then both Sylzenya and Orym will be dead.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“Fuck you, Kharis. I want some help here.”

“The price for life is pain,” Kharis replied, “but you better decide now. She’s almost gone.”

Elnok took a shaky breath.

Save one. Doom the other.

Or possibly doom both.

The truth washed over him. He already knew his decision, had known it since he turned around and came back instead of returning to Vutror.

“Sylzenya,” he spoke softly, kneeling next to her, “I have Aretta’s medicine.”

She turned to him, tears staining her face, a small smile on her mouth. “That’s for Orym. You should take it to him in case he’s still alive.”

Elnok shook his head, uncorking the vial. “If he’s still alive, he’d want you to have it.”

Her mouth gaped, more blood dribbling down her chin. “Elnok, no, I can’t?—”

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