Andreus stepped closer. “If you care about your family,” he murmured. “Keep them away from Falka. To him, people are tools, just like dragons.”
Tauran and Kalai exchanged a glance. Tauran didn’t tell Andreus just how close Falka had gotten.
They bid each other farewell, a little awkward for two men who’d spent four years as enemies and only one day as friends, but the sight still brought warmth to Kalai’s heart.
Andreus turned to Kalai. “I’d shake your hand, but I need it on the crutch. I wish I could have met you before the battle. You’re a bright young man, Kalai Ro-Ani. Don’t let the Kykarosi push you around. They like to do that.”
Kalai smiled. “I won’t.”
“And you put this one in his place, too,” Andreus said, angling his chin at Tauran. “He’s a hurricane and a half. The amount of headaches that boy gave me—”
“All right, all right, don’t insult our guests,” Hali said, in Sharoani. She joined them with the horse already saddled, handing the reins to Tauran. “Her name is Isku. She can be stubborn, but she will take you wherever you want to go.”
“Thank you,” Kalai said, taking both her hands in his own. Her smile was sad, and Kalai wondered how long it had been since the pair of them had spoken to another person but each other.
* * *
They rode back into the wild marshlands as the sun rose above the horizon, Kalai on Arrow’s back, Tauran on Isku, Leyra in front. Hali had given them a hand-drawn map of where the giant bog beasts liked to roam so they could avoid them. It filled Kalai with relief. He wasn’t eager to repeat the previous day’s near-death experience.
Tauran kept mostly quiet, but Kalai couldn’t blame him. Everything Tauran had thought he knew about the battle, his own choices, and the people he followed had been turned on its head. Kalai remembered clearly the pure poison in Tauran’s tone when he first spoke of the rebels. Now, he was one of them. They both were.
Kalai gave him the time he needed to process his thoughts. When they stopped to eat, Tauran sought his company, and they sat pressed close and ate in silence with the dragons curled up at their backs.
In the following days, they fell back into their routine as they moved north-west across the marshes. North-west would bring them back into Kykaros from where they’d be able to hire a boat across the Inner Sea to Sharoani. It was possible to travel west from Andreus’ and Hali’s house and cross the peninsula to Sharoani without ever leaving land, but that would more than double the time they’d have to spend in the Terror Marshes, and they were both more than eager to leave the soggy wetland.
Their plan required Leyra to fly now that they no longer had a wagon, but Kalai was confident she’d be strong enough by the time they made it to the coast to handle the one-hundred mile flight across without issues. Besides, she would have Arrow with her. In the weeks they’d spent together on the road, Arrow had adopted the role of older brother with what seemed like a mix of resignation and passion, depending on the day. By now, Leyra was several hands taller than Arrow, but he still fiercely protected her from all potential harm like a mother wolf with its pup. It seemed their encounter with the bog beasts had rattled Arrow, too.
Kalai kept taking the pills. One in the morning, two in the evening. He tried and failed to cut the evening dose in half. Every time he tried, he’d spent the following day with a splitting headache and shaking hands. He was sure the symptoms were getting worse.
Kalai normally kept his things neat and well-organized so he could easily find what he needed. As of late, his patience for organization had slipped, and he’d taken to tossing things into his saddlebags at random. One morning, Tauran had searched through Kalai’s bags in search of utensils. He’d looked up and asked Kalai if he was feeling all right. Kalai had tried to brush it off as if he didn’t understand why Tauran was concerned.
“I’m just making sure you know you can talk to me about anything,” Tauran had said, and kissed his forehead, making Kalai feel guilty for hiding the truth.
But Tauran needed his support and the time to heal. This was no time for weakness. Each time Tauran asked how the decrease of the