Epilogue - End of book One

Epilogue
Val

The fire was dying again.

I stirred it with a stick, watching embers shift in the silence. The half-collapsed cabin wasn't much, but it was shelter. Deep in the woods. Quiet.

Remy lay across from me, wrapped in her cloak and the blanket from Dent's camp. Three days now. Just shallow breaths and pale skin.

"She's stable," Lyssa said quietly, hands glowing faint orange over Remy's ribs. Then the light flickered out. "...Just needs rest."

Nyla curled back into Remy’s side as Lyssa moved away. Eyes silently tracking her before laying down again.

I only nodded.

Lyssa's eyes had bags, movements slow with exhaustion, but she kept checking Remy's vitals every few hours. Kept the healing going as if she needed it as much as Remy did. I let her. Knew better.

Eshlyn stood near the wall, arms crossed, staring at the soulstone beside Remy’s pack. It hadn’t glowed since that first night, but none of us wanted to touch it.

"We’ll need to move soon," I said, voice tight. "The gate's only a day from here."

"Not until she wakes up," Lyssa muttered, voice tired but firm.

Eshlyn's jaw clenched. She looked away. "I just... need access to a library. Research texts. Something." Her hand flexed at her side. "I can't help her like this. Can't help any of us."

"We got out of the tomb. Away from Dagenbord's path. We’re doing what we need to be doing," I tried to sound less useless than I felt.

"Barely." The word was bitter. "And she..." Eshlyn gestured vaguely at Remy, at the stone. "She pulled us miles through space… And I don’t even… " She stopped. Took a breath. "I just need to understand what happened, and if we can reverse it."

"We will," Lyssa said softly. "Once we reach the next floor. Find a place to stay. We’ll figure this out."

Eshlyn nodded stiffly, but her eyes stayed on the stone. I understood the look. The frustration.

The fire crackled. Lyssa leaned back against the wall, exhaustion finally pulling her down. Eshlyn turned away, and Remy slept on.

"When she wakes up," I said quietly, "she's going to blame herself."

Neither of them disagreed.

"We won’t let her carry it alone," Lyssa said. “That’s all we can do.”

I looked at the soulstone. At Remy's hand curled near it, even in sleep.

Is that all we can do?