Page 32 of Fated Exile

They're oddly soft and warm, not quite alive but not entirely dead things, either.

Taking a deep breath, I look around myself at the battlefield. You would never know that this was once the innermost troubled part of Bastian's mind, full of darkness and danger. All that's left now is a gentle forest with a babbling brook, and a small house made with loving hands.

As I study what's left, the sound of voices catch my attention. Curious, I walk over to the cabin and peer in one of the side windows that sits just above the rosebushes and ivy. On the other side of the glass is a familiar type of scene: a kitchen table with four people sitting at it. A mother, a father, a daughter, and a son.

The glass is thick, and their silhouettes are blurry through it. But I can hear enough to know that they're happy. Youthful laughter bubbles up, and I can almost feel the happiness.

My job here is done. So I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Breathing deep, I concentrate on the feelings I associate with my physical body. I wriggle my toes, scrunch my nose, and tap my fingers.

"That's it." Kerry's voice is soothing through the earbuds, which I almost forgot I still had in my ears. "I can tell you're far away, my girl, but the danger is gone. Come back to the real world. We have so much catching up to do."

The warmth in her voice reminds me of the warmth I saw inside Bastian's childhood cabin. Smiling a little, I flow back into my body and open my eyes to discover that I've barely moved at all.

I'm still sitting opposite Bastian, who's now leaning back on his thin twin bed, blinking down at his cuffed hands. I'm no longer holding his hands; instead, mine are curled in my lap, almost clutched into fists. There's a feeling of lightness to the room. When Bastian looks up to meet my gaze, I can't help but feel a spark of recognition slide across my skin. Something has changed, something significant.

"Hey."

I glance over. Finn is watching me with warm, slightly worried eyes, his brows creased together. He relaxes substantially as I move in the chair and blink the sleep out of my eyes. "You took a while to come out of it. Bastian came out first, and he said he didn't know where you were. I was starting to wonder if something had gone wrong."

"No, sorry—I'm good."

Kerry's voice sighs on the other end of the phone line. "They're insisting that I get up and walk around the room, then eat some atrocious pudding concoction. Are you good, Delilah?"

"More than. Thanks, Kerry. I'll see you later."

"You best believe you will! If only because I can't stand being kept cooped up here for a minute more than I have to. Oh, the daggers they're glaring at me—bye, Delilah."

"Bye, Kerry."

As I reach into my pocket to hang up the phone call, something small falls from my hand and rolls across the linoleum. Blinking, I stare down at a single, glowing yellow-orange gem. Then I open my other hand and find myself staring at a second one, its warmth matching my body's skin temperature exactly.

Bastian says, "Those weren't there before. Right?"

"They definitely weren't," I confirm, watching warily as Finn picks the rolled ember up off the ground. "Be careful with that. I'm not sure exactly how, but I brought them back with me from the inside of Bastian's mind."

"Oh, sure, so it's just a normal... Wednesday?" Finn's brow furrows, and he shakes his head. "Don't tell me what day it is, I can't take anymore weird news about the state of things. I'm just going to... give this back to you."

I get up and stretch as Finn walks over to hand me the golden ember. Opening my palm, I hold out my hand, and he drops it next to the other ember. As the two gems roll together and clink against each other in my grasp, I feel something like an earthquake beneath my feet.

Only it's not the ground that's trembling. It'sme.

Frowning a little, I hold the embers out from my body like they're explosive and carefully set them down on the top of the desk in the corner. As one rolls a few inches, I point at it firmly and mutter, "Sit. Stay."

The ember stops rolling.

A strange premonition goes down my back.

"Creepy."

I turn around to face Finn and nod hurriedly. "Definitely."

We both look at Bastian. He's staring down at his fingers, clenching and unclenching them, a pensive expression on his face. Finn leans in close to me and asks quietly, "Is he... fixed?"

"I think so." Blinking, I reach out my awareness towards Bastian and feel... apprehension. Worry. Relief. "Definitely. Before, I could barely feel his emotions, and I couldn't hear his thoughts at all. Now it's all... normal. At least as normal as things ever are around here."

"Good. So what now?"

"We release him." Bastian looks up at this, his mouth a small open O. I smile a little. "You've earned it, bud."

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