Page 33 of Hearts Lost

ALOSERIN

TOGETHER

This is insanity, but I don’t see any other way out.

We’ve been here almost all day, standing on the river’s edge in the heavy, hot air, staring at this column of water falling straight out of the violet sky, and watching shadow animals enter the river and then disappear. It almost hurts to watch, this strange mockery of a waterfall; my head spun when I tilted my neck back to follow the falling water up, up, up into the murky, swirling hues of the purple sky. This is how the trekker’s curse begins, something low and reptilian had hissed in the back of my mind as I’d watched mist swirl around water that came from nowhere. See enough things like this, and is it any wonder trekkers lose their minds when they come back to the Crystal City? Is it any wonder they chose to disappear?

Still, it was a good idea, Ithronel’s plan to follow the animals. They’ve been a part of the Lands Below forever, even if it was mostly as stories to frighten children into better behavior. Still, all the stories imply there were some shadow animals at some point inside the Lands Below, and not just past the far reaches of the Outer Ring. So, those animals must have a way to get from the void to the Kingdom of the Fall.

Ithronel had been right about the fruits too. Tasteless as they were, they’d kept us both alive. I’m rapidly developing an entirely new appreciation for the magic of handling animals.

And with it an utter confusion as to why those talents were being so completely wasted in King Grathgore’s Royal Guard. Ithronel said she was sent here as an assassin, and voids, I’m not sure why anyone would lie about something like that. But Ithronel seems like a poor choice for an assassin. She certainly stands out in a crowd, for one thing, with her full lips, tangled curls, and propensity to talk back no matter the situation.

Also, wouldn’t an assassin have killed me by now? I was utterly defenseless for days. She should have run me through with my own sword the moment she regained consciousness. Instead, she used my sword to build a little shelter. For me.

Unless this is all an act, in which case it’s the most convincing act I’ve ever seen.

I huff out a sigh and shake my head. Voids, I’ve never been particularly good at understanding women. Or men, for that matter. That’s part of what I love about Orryen; he always seems to have the time to break things down for me, to explain what a woman actually meant by what she’d said or why two members of the Royal Guard simply couldn’t find it in their hearts to work together. When he was gone, lost in my magical sleep to save his life after the princess from the Kingdom of the Summer stole his heart, there were times when I’d envied my friend in his uncomplicated existence. Many times.

I glance at Ithronel, who’s now sitting on the bank. She’s pulled off her boots and curled her legs beneath her. Her head’s tilted back and her eyes are half-closed. She looks almost like she’s sleeping, but I doubt that. I think she’s listening, doing whatever it is she does that allows her to understand these strange shadow creatures.

And she’s been right so far. She found food, and a path along the river, and nothing living in these odd, shifting woods has yet shown any inclination of attacking us. A week ago I probably would have pissed my pants if I’d seen a void beast pass within fifty paces. Now, I just watched one enter the water at my feet and my first thought was where are you going?

I raise my hand and pinch the bridge of my nose. The foaming churn at the base of this waterfall looks like it’s going to drown us, but voids help me, I don’t have another plan. I don’t even have an inkling of another plan. Trekkers are cagey when it comes to sharing their secrets, and I’ve always gotten the strong impression that most of them made it into and then out of the void by sheer dumb luck.

Okay. So. After a lifetime of catastrophically bad luck that led to me having to anesthetize my best and only friend for decades, perhaps I’m due for some sheer, dumb luck. I lower myself to the grass beside Ithronel and cross my hands over my knees.

“I could go for a swim,” I say.

Ithronel’s eyes snap open, and she looks at me like she can’t quite believe the words that just came out of my mouth. I shrug.

“I honestly can’t think of anything else,” I admit. “And, you’ve been right so far. Even if it seems—”

My voice trails off. Impossible, I was going to say. Impossible that we could survive something an animal who appears to be made of literal smoke could survive. Impossible to travel through a waterfall. Impossible that entering the river will end in anything other than our deaths.

But, hells, this is the void. It’s impossible to survive down here in the first place, yet here we are.

“Oh!” Ithronel says. She runs her hands down the front of her dress, then turns back to me with wide eyes. “Yes. Of course.”

I try to give her a reassuring smile, although my own chest is tight and some part of my mind absolutely will not stop screaming about what a horrible plan this is. And it is a horrible plan. It’s just that all the other plans I can come up with are even worse.

Although— A thought snakes through my consciousness like the first whisper of steam rising from a kettle. Would it be so bad to stay here? To survive in this place with no expectations, no protocol to follow, and no one depending on my leadership or advice? No one but Ithronel, with her full lips and sudden laughter, with the swell of her hips and her bare arms gleaming in the violet light.

Voids. I grit my teeth together and shove that idea out of my mind as violently as I can. Yes, it would be a terrible idea to stay here. We need to get back, and I need to put as much space between me and this assassin as possible. Before I do something reckless and irreversible.

“So,” Ithronel begins. “I guess we should secure our things?”

Her voice rises at the end, making her words sound like a question. I nod, then turn to the knotted bundle I’ve tied out of my cloak. It’s hot and uncomfortable to carry, and more than once I’ve doubted the wisdom of hauling all this heavy clothing through the heat and steam of the void. But I’ll need it once we reach the Outer Ring. And that thought makes me feel colder.

With a sigh, I start to pull off my boots. It would probably make the most sense to go in naked with all our clothes on our backs, especially if we’re going to try to swim through the foaming churn at the base of that waterfall, but voids help me, I am not going to suggest that. Which, I suppose, means I’d rather drown than let Ithronel see my bare ass. Death before dishonor indeed.

“Uh,” Ithronel stammers.

I turn, but she’s not looking at me. She’s staring at the water and fiddling with the ragged hem of her dress.

“It’s probably not the best idea for me to try to swim in this,” she says.

For just a heartbeat, my mind shuts down entirely. All I can think of is the way she’d looked this morning, naked and glorious on the banks of the river, her hands stretched above her head, all of her breathtaking curves on full display.