“It looks perfect,” he says, pressing his palm to my sweaty forehead.
“Serus says it looks decent,” I say wryly. My familiar’s eyes flare but then his lips stretch in what might be a smile.
Altair glance at Serus with amusement, lips quirked. “High praise from him, I’m guessing.”
“Well it could be worse,” Serus says.
“It was just this morning you could barely keep a thread in place,” Altair says. He nods up at the prison. “And now look at what you’ve accomplished.”
I yawn. “It only took a whole twelve hours.”
His hand brushes over my hair, smoothing it. “After this, you’ll never have to do it again.”
“Cheap comfort.” I snuggle into the warm earth as my eyes slip closed. I could sleep for days.
I hiss, pain flaring in my cheek as Altair pinches it. I swat at him but he catches my wrist gently. “Don’t sleep, not yet. We still have work to do.”
“What did I say this morning?” I ask, glowering at him. “I’ve already done all the work.”
His lips purse unhappily at my words. I know I’m being unfair—selfish even—but how much more do I have to give while the others do nothing? “You forget how much the rest of us have sacrificed. Erzur gave up her armies. Thal lost his memories. You aren’t the only trying, Verity.”
A blush creeps to my cheeks as shame clenches my heart. He’s right. “I’m sorry,” I say, pushing myself to my feet.
I wobble and Altair catches me. “It’s understandable.”
I pinch my lips unhappily and follow him towards the others. They’re circled together, Sadal standing a little way off. I follow his gaze towards Freia. She’s watching him and turns away when she notices my attention. I frown, suspicion lancing through me before Altair pulls my attention away. I meet Sadal’s gaze, but he merely glowers at me. The others stand aside and make room as Altair and I join them.
Thal whistles low when he sees the complete spell. “Nice work, Bloodbane.”
I feel a flash of irritation but smother it quickly. “Thanks,” I say.
“I suppose I should be impressed.” Erzur crosses her arms over her chest and studies the prison appraisingly.
I know that’s the highest praise Erzur will ever willingly give me so I shrug off the back-handed compliment. Altair rubs his hands together and studies each of us in turn. “Now that the cage has been completed, we need to discuss how we’ll lure the Shades here.”
“It’s too bad we can’t bring the cage to them,” Erzur says with a twist of her lips. I wonder if she knows I wasn’t strong enough to weave the spell without the help of the rune, essentially locking the prison in place.
“It’s better this way,” Thal says. “It will be on our terms. Anything else is too dangerous and risky.”
“Agreed,” Altair says, nodding. “We know the Shades are going to come eventually, but we can’t wait for much longer. We’ll be weak by then, and I suspect that’s what they want.”
“Let’s do it tonight,” Erzur suggests. Her dark brown eyes are like caramel in the orange glow of sunset. “I want to get out of this place.”
I sigh, turning my eyes towards the dry landscape. “Me too.”
“That’s short notice.” Altair frowns.
“But it gives the Shades less time to make their move,” Thal says, quirking a brow.
Altair muses over this. I’m quiet, knowing my input means little to this group of seasoned strategists. I’ve done my part for now. Altair looks back towards the portal, and I wonder if his Fae eyes can see the Shades—if they’re watching us too. “Alright,” he finally says, relenting. “But that leaves us the question of how.”
“Bait,” Erzur says with sharp eyes.
My eyes widen slightly. “No, that’s too risky,” I say, surprising even myself. The words come out in a rush, tinged with fear.
“This whole experience has been one giant risk,” Erzur argues. “What’s stopping us now?”
“But this is different. So far, we’ve done our best to avoid the Shades. We can’t go running at them now. You don’t know what they’re like,” I say insistently.
“I was there when it attacked us.” She purses her lips. “We all were.”
“That was one,” I say, voice quiet.
“Do you have any other ideas?” Erzur snaps. I fumble for words, trying to think of something—anything. She grins smugly. “As I thought.”
Thal scoffs, silencing Erzur. “Enough, Erzur.” He turns to Altair. “I’ll be the bait. When I get their attention, I’ll draw them here. Just be ready.”
Altair looks unhappy at the idea of Thal sacrificing himself. “You’ve already given up so much.”
"Don't get soft on me now, cousin. You know I can't remember what I gave up," Thal says, slapping him on the back. His green eyes glitter as he studies me. I straighten under his gaze. "And you—have that cage open and ready for then."
Altair and Erzur nod, drifting away to discuss defenses for when the Shades arrive. Thal strips of everything but his light shirt, trousers, and boots. He unbuckles his scabbard, setting it carefully on top of his discarded armor and cloak. My cheeks pale when I realize he won’t have anything to defend himself if things go sour. He pulls back his hair, which is long enough to brush his shoulders.
“Don’t look so sad, Verity,” Thal says, grinning. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
My heart pangs with regret and fear. I wonder if this will be my last moment with him. “Thal,” I say, hovering nearby nervously.
He finishes tying his hair up and turns to me. “What is it?”
“I just wanted to thank you for all you’ve done for me,” I say, thinking of the weeks we spent training and hunting demons together. “I never thanked you before you forgot, and I should have.”
“You sound as if you think we’ll never meet again.” He grins but I see the dark look in his eyes. “Save your goodbye for later,
