Page 95 of Skalterra By Nightmare
“Please don’t worry about me,” I said. He put an arm around me, and we leaned into each other the same way we had at the bonfire.
“Promise me you’ll see a doctor,” Liam pleaded, the side of his head leaning against mine.
“I already have.” The lie was effortless. I knew there was nothing wrong with me, but how was I supposed to explain to Liam that I kept passing out because my consciousness was being dragged to a separate reality to pilot a much more attractive version of myself? “It’s fine. I promise. I’m not going to disappear.”
His shoulder relaxed against mine as we both settled into each other.
“Thank you,” he murmured. “And I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I laughed. “Getting upset? You’ve seen me do much worse over much less.”
“You’re okay. You’re a good friend. Riley’s going to love you once he comes home, you know.”
The sun bumped up against the horizon ahead of us. Galahad would be calling any minute, but I couldn’t bring myself to break the moment. Sitting here, leaned up against each other, we were both sad, but at least we were sad together.
“Liam?” I whispered.
“Yes?”
I balled my hands in my lap.
“If I fall asleep here, will you carry me upstairs again?”
His arm tightened around my shoulders.
“Of course, Wren.”
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before Galahad’s voice growled at the back of my head, but I wanted those quiet moments of dying daylight to stretch on forever, sitting in both sadness and comfort, side by side with Liam.
23. Intro to Agriculture
In that horrible half-second of darkness between realms, I wasn’t sure who would be waiting for me when I opened my eyes. Galahad’s voice had been the one to call me across the Rift, but what if Ciarán managed to intercept my consciousness and pull me to his side?
“Welcome to the Wisting Wilds, Wren Warrender.”
Galahad’s exhausted face materialized in front of me, and Liam’s warmth sapped away from my side, replaced by the nighttime chill that rolled over the bluffs where I stood. A calm sea lay before us with wind currents sending ripples across its dark surface. It stretched on for what looked like miles before blending into a darkening mess of hills and cliffs on its opposite shore. Beyond that, jagged, rough-edged mountains cut into the night sky. Three peaks stood higher than the rest.
“Are we taking another boat?” My relief at waking up with my usual friends instead of Ciarán was short lived. Fana was curled up between Orla and Tiernan in the shadows that sat heavy along the edge of the birch forest, and all three were haggard and dirty. I wondered if they’d had any rest since I’d last seen them.
“Boat?” Ferrin paced in front of a crudely-drawn map in the dirt, and looked up to give me an amused smile. “Miss Just-Wren, look again.”
I spun back towards the sea, my blue ponytail catching on the wind. The dark water continued to ripple, but the longer I stared, the more it looked like wind blowing over grass than it did an ocean breeze stirring water. It wasn’t a sea at all, but a massive field. Tall, grassy fronds bowed and bent in unison, sending streams of glowing blue pollen into the air like embers from a fire.
“The Umberdust Plains,” I said, finally understanding. “Like you mentioned last night.”
“Tiernan saw Titus following us just a few hours ago,” Galahad explained, coming up next to me on the bluff. “The grass of the plains is tall enough to make it nearly impossible to follow anyone through, but the Skal in the pollen will make it easy to track our progress from up here.”
“The wind and the migrating ramstag herds will disrupt the pollen enough to hide our path,” Ferrin assured me, “but we are going to split up to better our chances. We’ll reconvene on the other side, which we should reach by morning.”
“Right.” I watched the plumes of glowing spores disappear into the star-studded sky. “And ramstags are…?”
“More afraid of you than you are of them,” Galahad grunted. “You’re the only Nightmare I’m making tonight, so should the need arise to draw from my powers, there will be magick there for you to take. Butdon’ttake too much again, understand?”
He poked my leather-armored chest with a gnarled finger, and I nodded.
A burst of wind sent me staggering back from the bluff’s edge, and Orla steadied me by my shoulders. Her new cloak fluttered behind her in the gale.
“I’ll miss you tonight, Just-Wren!” she said. “Travel fast, and I’ll see you on the other side!”
