Verity doesn't notice either of our attention. Her frustrated murmuring echoes towards me, and I catch a few choice curses from the mortal realm. I grin. She was so morose and defeated yesterday, it's good to see her with some energy back. Suddenly, the thin webs between her fingers collapse. They disintegrate, separating into tiny, unusable pieces before seeping into the baked earth. Verity lets out a hiss of frustration and throws her hands up in the air. Freia purses her lips and drifts away.
I jog across the desert, carrying a bit of cooked meat for Verity. She glances up at me as I approach. I furrow my brows, noticing the swollen dark circles under her eyes and the red veins spidering around her irises. She looks exhausted, and I wonder just how long she’s been out here. It’s dangerous for her to continue like this, to exhaust her body—the conduit for her magic. She might lose control.
“Here,” I say, offering her the meat. “Eat a little. You need to keep your strength up.”
She flashes me an irritated look but takes the food begrudgingly. “I’m fine. Feeling very strong,” she says sarcastically.
I purse my lips but choose to ignore her tone. “Was that your first successful attempt?”
“I wouldn’t call it successful.” She picks at the meat. “But yes.”
“You’re doing great,” I say with a smile.
“I don’t need your encouragement or for you to babysit me,” she says bitingly.
Anger sparks in me and my nostrils flare. “Would you care to explain your sudden attitude?”
“Yes.” She tosses the remains of her breakfast aside and scowls. “Let me put it this way: we’re in deep shit.”
I cock a brow, lips quirked with amusement. “Deeper than we already thought?”
“It’s not funny.” She crosses her arms.
“Verity.” I brush my hands over her shoulder. She’s burning up, I can feel her body heat through her clothes. “How much sleep did you get last night? You need to rest or you won’t be able to do this.”
“I was sleeping,” she says, rubbing a hand over her face. “But I walked again last night. A Dreamwalk.”
“I thought Serus was working on that with you,” I snap. I search the landscape, twisting, to find the black cat.
“We’ve been a bit busy with other things,” Verity says. “The point is, the Shades are moving against us.”
I pause, turning my hazel eyes back to her. She looks less angry now, less frustrated. Her eyes are filled with concern, lips twisted into a frown. “They’ll be here soon, Altair. And they have an army.”
“Gods.” I groan. I run my hand over my jaw, feeling the stubble growing there. “Let me get Thal.”
We rise, and she walks with stooped shoulders a short distance from Freia—far enough that the Goddess won't be able to hear. I jog to the camp and dig the heel of my boot into Thal's shoulder to wake him. He groans, swatting at me with a scowl.
“Thal,” I snap. “Wake up.”
One eye pops open. “Why?”
"Because I told you to," I say, narrowing my eyes at him. "We have business to take care of, and I need you. So get up."
Thal rolls over and climbs to his feet sleepily. He makes sure his sword is sheathed before trudging behind me towards Verity. “What is it?” He grumbles.
“The Shades,” I say curtly. “Verity has new information.”
“How did she get this new information?” Thal’s tired voice is steeped with suspicion.
“Verity has a rare ability to Dreamwalk—which is exactly as it sounds.” I eye him, daring him to say something smart. Thal shrugs. “She can’t control it sometimes. Last night was one such event.”
"And when she Dream walks, she Dream walks to the Shades?" Thal stretches his arm over his head, eyes half-closed.
I press my lips into a thin line. “Or they find her.”
We reach Verity, and she stifles a yawn. "Good morning, Thal."
Thal nods. He’s still wary of her. It’s difficult to trust a Bloodbane, but a part of me feels guilty that Thal and Verity are no longer close friends. I gesture for Verity to sit and she folds onto the ground gratefully. “So,” I say. “Go on.”
"I was in the Third Stratum, and it was dark. I don't know how close to the portal I was, but I couldn't see Freia's prison from where I was," Verity explains. Her gaze darkens. "A Shade found me. He chased me through the desert and herded me towards the others. They surrounded me on all sides—there were too many to count.”
“And you’re certain this was real and not just a nightmare?” Thal asks, looking skeptical.
Verity purses her lips and tugs her sleeve back, revealing a deep purple bruise in the shape of long, spindly fingers. “Does this look real?”
He grimaces. “Point taken. What did they want?”
“They’re coming for us.” Verity shudders. “I don’t know when, but it will be soon. I don’t think they’re as frightened of Freia as Sadal claimed. I think they simply had no interest in her.”
“Damn,” I curse. “We’re defenseless out here.”
I scan the desert, looking for any sign of a structure, but all I see is endless sand in all directions. My mind searches through every possibility of defense, but the Third Stratum is the last place any strategist would choose to make a stand. Even if the Shades live in the Second Stratum, the Ether is still their home, and we are at a disadvantage.
Thal rubs his jaw. “Erzur is almost recovered, so we’ll have her strength. We could use Sadal as well.”
I snort. “Sadal has the courage of a field mouse. He won’t be of
