THE ROAD OUT

They walked for two days. The road was not safe. The road was never safe, but now it was worse. The stones shifted under Kael's boots. Once, he stepped on a rock and it sighed. Another rock whispered his name. He did not answer.

Mira walked ahead. Her staff tapped the ground. The crystal glowed faintly, pointing north like a compass.

"You're limping," she said. She did not turn around.

"Old wound."

"The mark is eating your leg now?"

Kael looked at his right hand. The black lines had stopped at his elbow. For now. But the skin around the spiral was gray. Dead-looking. When he flexed his fingers, they moved slower than they should.

"It's fine," he said.

"You're a bad liar. Soldiers usually are. You lie to officers, not to people trying to keep you alive."