"Connor?" Nyla whispered as her fingers tightened on his arm.
"Liam," Connor whispered in return, his voice sounded raspy, and his body ached in every muscle. "We have to get Liam. Leaving him in their hands is far too dangerous. Galen and Ordin could learn anything if Liam breaks."
"He's right," Erlis agreed. "Stupid thing not to consider!"
Connor tried to sit up but fiery pain raced from his hand to shoulder, and his heart began to beat too hard.
Nyla put a hand to his chest. "Easy. We can't race after him at this moment. But I understand, Connor. You're right."
"He said not to forget him," Connor added, appalled that his anger had blinded him to the danger. "He said they couldn't find me because I have no magic."
"Yes, that makes sense," Antisha agreed. He couldn't see her. "I thought you'd survived by chance. We need to get Liam, but we won't have much chance of working against Galen on our own. Our best hope is still the Royal Court."
"Too far," Erlis replied, the words Connor wanted to say, but dared not. "We can't get there in time."
"I hope to find a messenger," Antisha admitted. "My family has ties with the wilds. I might get someone to take word to court. Quietly, and soon, before my parents start to question where I am. Galen will be circumspect until then. He'll become a danger if he thinks he's about to be found out."
"Don't you think he'll expect you to head straight for home?" Nylia asked.
"I don't think we dare do anything else." She stared into the woods -- probably looking towards her home.
"Go slightly east and then south," Druce suggested. "It will add a little distance, but could put Galen off."
"Towards the Centaur lands? Open country and the centaurs aren't always friendly," Nylia pointed out.
"They are no friends of trolls, though. That wins us some cooperation," Druce said and won nods all around. The first light of day revealed more of the woods. The fairies disappeared. "We also have a better chance of finding a wildland tribe in that direction. We need help, Antisha. Running blind is not going to help us."
She gave a reluctant nod and pushed hair back from her face with both hands. Her arms were bruised and burnt in a couple of places, and she winced at the movement. Connor hadn't really thought about what the others suffered.
They were all in this together.
Connor made no complaint when they got back to their feet, though Erlis mumbled things beneath his breath. His usually well-dressed friend scowled as he brushed leaves from his tunic and then gave a sigh of capitulation.
Connor's fever grew worse that afternoon. Druce and Nylia helped him, lifting Connor over anything that blocked the path. Connor thought they talked to him, but he didn't understand the words.
By the next day, he had an even harder time holding on to his thoughts. Pain wracked his body, and he could eat or drink nothing. After that, he was only aware of excruciating pain and long periods when he was not conscious at all. He thought days had passed. He couldn't be sure.
Words blurred as much as colors. After a while, Connor didn't care.
And then he came awake -- just suddenly awake to find Nylia bending close over him, her hands on his aching arm, and magic playing over the wound.
"What --" he said, panicked. "You shouldn't --"
"Be still," Druce ordered. He held tight to Connor's shoulders while the others stood close by, shadowy figures in an odd light. Multiple lights, he thought and frowned.
"I got a lot of it," Nylia said, sitting back on her heels. She wiped a hand across her damp forehead. "Better?"
"Yes," Connor said, though still panicked. "You shouldn't have used any magic! They might track us --"
"We don't think so," Antisha said. "The fairies agreed to make a wall around the two of you, and she used very little magic, all of it kept local. We weren't prepared to lose you, Connor."
The last words stunned him. "I'm not --"
"You're one of us. And you were injured saving me," Antisha said. "You reached in and pulled me out of the wall. If you hadn't, none of the rest of us would have gotten free. You saved us, Connor of Northgate. The least we could do was keep you alive to share the joy of this wondrous adventure."
The others laughed. Connor saw that the lights came from the fairies, packed tightly together on the bushes around them. He thought the little faces looked troubled.
"Thank them for me," he said and managed to sit up. Weaker than he expected, but he was fully here. "And shouldn't we move? Even a concentration of fairies might draw attention."
"Thinking clearly," Nylia said and looked pleased. "And he's right."
She started to stand, but Connor reached out and touched her hand. She looked at him, confused.
"Thank you, Nylia."
"We're friends. We've known each other all our lives. And you didn't slow to try and save us, did you? You could have just left the keep. You already knew that Galen and Ordin couldn't find you, right?"
"Yes, I knew," he said. He felt odd. It never occurred to him to him to leave.
He thought Nylia saw as much in his face. She smiled and patted his hand, and then helped him up. His legs felt weak, but he could walk some distance with little help.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"Nowhere," Erlis said. "Nowhere at all."
"But closer to the grasslands," Antisha added. She sounded as though she had accepted the change of direction somewhere in the days that stretched out behind them and that Connor could not remember. "Closer to somewhere at least. And we've survived. All of us. Galen and Ordin will still face justice at our hands."
That was a goal he understood.
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