Kyle was drenched in sweat from head to toe. His legs buckled and trembled like those of a feeble old man. The hapless scouts started returning to camp after noon, but that did nothing to save them from the heat. They made only one stop so Kyle could catch his breath for a couple of minutes. He did everything he could to distract himself while carrying Aion. Even though he had to carry the prince in his arms after hours of scouting, they made it back faster than the others. Azel and the hunting party had not returned yet, so silence reigned around the spring.

Kyle approached Aion’s sleeping spot and carefully laid him down on the leaves, struggling to unclench his numb arms. He barely managed to crawl to a nearby tree before collapsing against it. His breathing was completely out of control. The only thing he wanted was to throw himself into the ocean and stay in the water until evening.

Risa walked over to the stream, washed up, and soaked Aion’s shirt again so she could continue using it to bring down his fever. She looked at him with pity; the prince’s face twisted in pain. Risa pressed the cold cloth to his forehead, and the agonized crease between his brows immediately smoothed out. She glanced at his chest, then placed a hand over her own. Like everyone else in their group, Risa often found herself wondering what it would be like to have Aion’s ability. What was it like not to breathe? Her fate had been decided the moment she received her spark. The army had become both her calling and her destiny. The harsh life of a warrior had hardened Risa’s heart and made her more cunning. In a world where death was always at your heels, there was no time for hesitation.

“The fever’s getting worse. We need to give him something to bring it down or take him to the ocean. Wetting his forehead is pointless.” Risa looked at Gilem, who only spread his hands helplessly. “What do we need to gather for the antidote? Why didn’t we do it on the way back?”

“Because we need Redlay.” As soon as Gilem caught his breath, he began rummaging through another bag left at their camp. He pulled out some kind of hollow tube with holes in it and, after taking a deep breath, blew into it. No one heard a thing. “You have no idea. I forgot this thing here. Made the whistle yesterday. Only animals capable of hearing high-frequency sounds can pick it up. Redlay has exceptional hearing, so I think he’s already on his way.”

“I’m still waiting for the answer to my second question.” Risa continued wiping Aion’s forehead, but as she had already said, the results were disappointing. No one knew how long it would take for the prince’s body to overcome the poison. If it even could. Besides suffocation, other complications might arise.

“We need his sense of smell to find the Queen of the Marsh. The name makes it pretty obvious where that flower grows. Finding a swamp when we don’t know the area is practically impossible. And even if we do find one, we’ll still have to locate a tiny flower hidden in tall grass and somehow avoid sinking into the bog.” Gilem splashed water on his face and shot Kyle a quick glance. He was breathing heavily and paying no attention to them. “I need to go with him. We all need to go with him. Without our help, this could take hours, but look at Kyle. He’s barely in better shape than Aion right now.”

“I’m fine.”

“Oh, cool it, show-off.” Risa waved him off. “Someone has to stay here with the prince and take care of him. No offense, dear, but when it comes to tracking and herbal knowledge, you’re only slightly better than Azel. And he’s only ever seen a carrot in a salad. Gilem, what exactly do we need for the antidote? We can’t keep running back and forth through the forest.”

“We need the Queen of the Marsh, kurpa fern, some kind of fish—any fish—and a sunbloom. There are plenty of fish in the ocean, so Azel and Sina won’t have any trouble getting one. Sunblooms grow in almost every clearing except on the Giants’ Continent, while kurpa fern and the Queen of the Marsh both grow in swamps.” Gilem emptied the unnecessary items from his bag and turned toward a sound coming from the forest.

Redlay burst from the trees, shifting into human form as he moved. Everyone had long since gotten used to his nudity, so he didn’t even bother covering himself.

“Another dramatic entrance as always. What happened to that backflip you promised me last time?”

“I never promised anything. What happened, Gilem? You used the emergency call.” Redlay glanced at Aion and immediately sensed that something was wrong. The prince smelled sour, and his pale skin glistened with sweat. “Lucky for you, I was already heading back.”

“A mosquito snake bit Aion. We need to make the antidote as quickly as possible, so we don’t have time to waste talking. Have you seen our unfortunate hunters?”

Redlay turned his surprised eyes toward Gilem and parted his lips slightly in a silent question. The scribe immediately understood what he wanted to ask but chose not to say it out loud. They really didn’t have time for discussion.

“Gilem, but that’s impossible. It—”

“Yes, I know. You forgot about my ability, so stop embarrassing Risa and let’s go find a swamp. I think you heard our conversation about five seconds ago. Follow the smell of algae, and let’s hope there’s a swamp somewhere nearby. We also need a clearing. Risa has to gather enough sunblooms there.” Gilem started rattling off instructions again. “You still haven’t told me if you saw the hunters.”

“They’re heading this way with some kind of large bird. I think I smelled Ilai’s blood mixed in with the game’s blood. They’ll be here within an hour and a half.”

Gilem rolled his eyes. He had never doubted Ilai’s luck.

“I passed a clearing about a kilometer from here. No animal trails. I think Risa can gather enough sunblooms while we take care of everything else. How did this happen?”

“He was trying to save Kyle. No one expected it. Risa, ready? Take a larger bag. Kyle, figure out some way to reduce Aion’s fever, and don’t let him eat anything. Just hold out for a couple of hours. Redlay?”

The shapeshifter gave him a sideways look. They hadn’t seen each other for half a day, and apparently someone had built up a bit of sarcasm in that time. Redlay raised an eyebrow in silent question.

“That’s not called an emergency call. That’s called a dog whistle.”

Gilem received a well-deserved smack on the back of the head.

Once the “rescue team” disappeared into the jungle, Kyle shifted his unfocused gaze from the green wall of foliage to the equally green Aion. The shirt still rested on his forehead, and Kyle could have sworn steam was rising from it. He inhaled, exhaled, tensed his muscles, and tried to stand. Bracing himself against the tree, he straightened up and walked over to the prince. The moment he touched Aion’s shoulder, Kyle jerked his hand back in surprise. His skin was burning. He had never seen such a severe fever before. They had to get Aion to the ocean immediately, or he would be dead before Gilem returned.

Kyle bent over the prince and lifted him into his arms once again. Aion’s head hung limply, as though suspended by a string, and he smelled both sour and bitter at the same time. Holding his breath, Kyle straightened up and steadied himself after swaying for a moment. He gave himself a few seconds to recover, and when his strength returned, he took his first step toward the open water.

At first, he considered lowering Aion into the spring, but the water there was painfully cold. That would only make things worse. Deciding not to complicate the situation with pointless overthinking, he slowly but steadily made his way toward the ocean. Every step sent pain shooting through his feet. Thankfully, they had camped nearby.

“We’ve known each other for three days, and this is already the second time I’ve had to save your ass”