We collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. The sunlight was blinding after so long in the darkness, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. When they did, I saw that we were in a clearing, surrounded by trees.

  "Is everyone okay?" Alistair asked, his voice shaky.

  "I think so," Thalia said, wincing in pain. "My foot is definitely broken, though."

  "Let me see," I said. I was aware I wasn't going to be much help, my studies very infrequently overlapped with those of a healer, but I wanted to assess the damage for myself.

  Thalia nodded. She grimaced as she rolled her socks down and gingerly removed them. She swore under her breath as she did so, and I could see that her foot was badly swollen and bruised.

  "It's definitely broken," I said, my heart sinking. "We need to get you to a healer."

  "But where are we?" Thalia asked, looking around. "We're deep into the forest, we can't just leave. I don't even know what that was. And we need to find the herb..."

  Alistair opened his pack, taking a small vial out of it. "This won't heal it," he said. "But Old Man Harlan gave it to me. It'll make the pain better."

  "But the injury might get worse?" Thalia asked softly.

  Alistair shrugged. "I suppose so," he replied. "If you don't keep your weight off it."

  We all fell silent, the weight of our situation settling in. We were lost in the forest, Thalia was severely injured, and we had no idea what that creature was or where it came from.

  "We have to keep moving," she said, breaking the silence. She grabbed the vial Alistair handed to her and drank it all at once. "We need to find help."

  "We keep going," I said. "We'll take turns carrying you. When we get back to the palace, we'll have Amara take care of you."

  Alistair nodded in agreement. "Another incentive not to stay in this godforsaken forest for one more second than we have to."

  "I don't want to be a burden," Thalia said softly.

  "You're not. Leaving you behind, worrying about what might happen to you if you stay here...that would be a burden. You're still our best fighter, Thalia," I said.

  She flashed me a grateful smile.

  “I take issue with that assertion,” Alistair complained. “I think you’ll find that I am the best fighter in the group. But we can settle that debate when the lady is feeling better.” We started to move through the forest, Alistair leading the way once again. It was slow going, with Thalia's injury slowing us down even more. But we didn't stop. We couldn't afford to. We had to keep moving forward.

  As we walked, we kept our eyes and ears open for any sign of danger. The forest was quiet, almost unnaturally so.

  We walked for what felt like hours, the sun slowly starting to set. We were tired, hungry, and thirsty, but we didn't stop. We had to keep going.

  Just as it started to get dark, we stumbled upon a small river. It was a welcome sight, and we all drank greedily from it, washing our faces and hands as well.

  Thalia's eyes were fixed on the water, her face pensive. "What is it?" I asked her.

  "I just thought...if we follow this river, it might lead us to a village or town. Maybe we can find help there," she said. Her feet were in the water as she tried to scrub them clean, her face twisted in pain every few seconds. "After we find the herb to counteract the Shades, of course."

  "From what Harlan told us, the herb grows by the water, by the foot of the Tree of Shadows," Alistair said.

  "So this Tree of Shadows thing ought to be somewhere around here, then?" Thalia asked.

  "Hard to know, but Old Man Harlan said we'd recognize it as soon as we saw it," he replied.

  We continued walking along the river, the sound of the water providing a soothing background to our conversation. As we walked, we kept our eyes peeled for any sign of the herb or the Tree of Shadows.

  It was getting darker by the minute, and we knew we had to find shelter soon. We were all exhausted, and Thalia's injury was slowing us down even more.

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  "Look," Alistair said, pointing to a small clearing up ahead. "There's a cave. Maybe we can rest there for the night."

  We all nodded in agreement and made our way towards the cave. As we entered, we saw that it was a small, dry space with a flat rock that served as a makeshift bed.

  "Here," I said, helping Thalia lie down on the rock. "Rest here. Alistair and I will keep watch."

  Thalia nodded and closed her eyes, her breathing slow and steady.

  Alistair and I sat outside the cave, our swords close at hand. We didn't dare light a fire, not wanting to alert any creatures to our presence. Instead, we sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest around us.

  Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes. Alistair and I both jumped up, our swords at the ready. But it was just a small rabbit, darting across the clearing.

  We both let out a sigh of relief, but our hearts were still racing.

  "Are you scared?" Alistair asked me softly.

  I nodded. "Terrified, actually."

  "Creatures?"

  I shook my head. "Creatures I can fight. If it bleeds, I can kill it. What terrifies me is Thalia. I've never seen her hurt before," I said. "I worry about her."

  "I know what you mean," Alistair said, his voice soft. "I haven't known her for very long and I can already tell she's tough. Taking an injury like that, and not even in a fight? It’s got to be messing with her."

  He was right. I know how useless and frustrated I would feel if that had happened to me. She was down for the count until further notice, and broken legs took a long time to heal.

  "I feel guilty. She has been training me for almost a year and I couldn't protect her from the ground," I said. "What kind of hero does that make me?"

  "In your defense, the ground and all the creatures that live off it are definitely magical in this accursed forest," Alistair said. “I’m not sure even King Galen could’ve protected one of his knights from an evil crack in the earth that swallows legs and people. That’s just not natural, Tristain, no two ways about it.”

  I chuckled at his attempt to lighten the mood. We fell into a comfortable silence, both lost in our own thoughts. The night wore on, and eventually, I felt my eyelids grow heavy.

  "Hey," Alistair whispered, nudging me. "You should get some sleep. I'll keep watch for a while longer."

  I nodded, too tired to argue. I made my way back into the cave, settling down next to Thalia. She was still asleep, her breathing slow and even, and I felt a sense of relief wash over me.

  Her eyes shot open as I started to get ready to sleep. "Hey," she said. "What time is it?"

  "Late," I replied. "Alistair is keeping watch."

  "Any other nameless creatures to worry about?"

  "Nothing to report," I said. "How's your foot?"

  "Better, I think," she said. "I can't feel the pain as much. The potion Alistair gave me helped."

  "That's good to hear," I said, feeling relieved. "Are you sure you want to forge ahead? We could go back to the palace. You would get proper care there."

  "We're so close," she replied. "I can feel it."

  I nodded, looking into her eyes as she sat up. "I understand that I might not be in fighting shape right now. I know I'm slowing you down," she said. "But I would rather stay here or find my way back to the palace myself than let more people die because we couldn't find one godforsaken herb. And the only reason would be because my foot hurts? Absolutely not. I refuse to be responsible for that."

  I looked her up and down. I knew she meant every word she said, but I really didn't like seeing her like this. “Your foot’s not just a little bruised, Thalia. It’s broken. It could have happened to any of us.”

  “Right,” she said sourly, “well, that doesn’t make me feel any better that it happened to me. At least I’m not a horse. We put down horses that break their legs.”

  I shook my head. “You don’t need to worry about that. Alistair and I will keep you safe. We’ll find this herb, get back to the palace, and the healers will look after you. Or maybe we could drop you off with Harlan. He did say his place was safe, and he knows magic. He might be able to heal you up faster than Amy or whatever her name was.”

  “Amara,” she corrected.

  I shrugged. “I wasn’t paying attention to her name.”

  “Yeah? Too distracted by her curves?” she teased.

  We chuckled, but I didn’t bother responding. So what if I was? Amara was good looking, and it’s not like I was promised to anyone.

  Thalia grew silent, and our laughter faded. For a time we just sat there, contemplating.

  “"You could've told me," I said after a moment. "I think I would've understood."

  Thalia’s eyes drifted to the forest floor. "I didn't want to," she replied. "I didn't want your opinion of me to change. I know that's stupid..."

  I smirked. "What made you believe that my opinion of you was favorable in the first place?"

  She laughed. "You did seem to prefer spending time training with me than staying at home."

  "I did," I said honestly.

  She paused. "I’ll take it as a compliment that you enjoyed spending time with me at all.”

  “I enjoyed our training sessions. And your company. You were–” I paused, looking her in the eyes, “are a very good friend to me. I just wish you’d been more honest with me from the start. Seeing the king not recognize you made me feel like I’d been betrayed. And if you’d told me about your father’s illness I’m sure I could have helped.”

  Thalia was quiet for another second before she mustered up a reply.

  “I know I've said it before, but for what it's worth, I really am sorry."

  "I know," I replied. "I'm not angry anymore."

  "Because I'm great at apologies?"

  "Sure," I replied, smiling at her. "Now go to sleep. You need your rest."

  What I didn't tell her was that she was the last person I had left in the whole world, and that the prospect of losing her made me far more afraid than any nameless creature lurking outside the cage. Creatures I could fight. Men, I could kill. But death was not a foe I could defend my loved ones from forever, and right now it was winning the war.