Page 213 of Unbound

I glance at him, noting the tension in his small form, but my concern for Raith overrides all else.

"Let's go," I say, pushing myself to my feet.

Mireen looks unhappy but doesn't argue further. "I'll tell the others you're awake," she says, squeezing my hand before stepping back.

Voss guides me from the room, his pace slow to accommodate my still-weak legs. Even this small exertion leaves me breathless, but I push on, focusing on the faint pulse of our tether.

"Raith was quite the hero," Voss remarks as we walk. "Claiming the ceremonial blade, ending the Crucible. He and the others in his team have been granted legacy status, as promised."

I barely hear him. My fear for Raith pounds in my head like a deafening heartbeat. Raith Aurenciel. Heir to the Red Kingdom throne. The man I foolishly gave my heart and my oath to. But gods. If anything happens to him…

"The Empire Council was most displeased," Voss continues. "They had... other plans for the Crucible this year. I’m afraid they won’t be able to remove me as easily as they hoped. But I imagine they’ll be quite surprised by how events play out. Perhaps even happy.”

We reach a door I've never seen before, tucked away in a rarely-used corridor of the academy. Voss produces a key, ornate and clearly ancient, and unlocks it.

"Mr. Hollow is just through here," he says, gesturing for me to enter.

The room beyond is small and circular, with no windows. As soon as we enter, I feel the same jarring sensation I’ve come to know as teleportation. The world condenses, spins, and then there’s asnapsound.

Voss is still beside me as I appear in a damp and dark cave, his hands on my shoulders, steadying me.

The cave is lined with bookshelves and desks full of ancient texts and scattered papers.

“Wh-what?” I breathe, alarm pulsing in my mind.

“As I said,” Voss gestures smoothly to a blue column of light at the center of the cave. In its center, Raith floats, suspended with motes of dust and rotating slowly. There’s a gash across his stomach and it’s frozen in time, drops of blood suspended mid-air. “I brought you to Raith.”

"Raith!" I rush forward, heart pounding.

I reach for him but the column feels like glass, stopping me from getting close. I pound on it, palms sliding down the magical barrier. “Let me help him. I can heal him.”

“Yes,” Voss says, moving to stand beside me. “That was why I brought him here. Without your healing, he would have certainly died.”

I stare at Raith. His eyes are closed and his expression is peaceful. He's shirtless, revealing numerous half-healed wounds across his chest and arms. The stasis has preserved him exactly as he was, frozen in time.

Through our tether, I sense him—distant but present, as if sleeping deeply.

"Why does he feel so far away?" I whisper.

“Feel?” Voss asks.

I shake my head. “It’s nothing. It just… feels wrong.”

“No, Nessa. This is exactly what you are meant for. Saving the ones you love, just like you told me.”

I study Raith's face, memorizing every line, every curve. Even in stasis, he radiates strength, determination. The man who fought his way through legacies, who claimed the blade, who carried me to safety despite his own wounds.

"What do I do?" I ask, not taking my eyes off him.

"I'll release the stasis," Voss says. "But you must act quickly. His injuries will resume their damage the moment he's free."

Typhon materializes at my shoulder, his form tense with watchfulness."Something here is wrong,”he warns in my mind.

"It's Raith,"I reply silently."What choice do I have? Even if it’s some sort of trick. I need to help him."

Typhon's unease radiates through our tether, but he doesn't argue further.

"I'm ready," I tell Voss, gathering what little essence I've managed to recover.

---