Cillian knew he was going to regret allowing Shane to come with him. The guy had willingly given up everything for his sake. If Cillian had really tried, he probably could have talked him out of it. Shane was easily influenced.

The truth, however, was that he found it immensely reassuring to have Shane walking beside him. Over the past few days, he'd needed his friend. He still did. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being selfish. He was dragging Shane into an abyss they were unlikely to find their way back out of.

He glanced sideways out of the corner of his eye.

Shane was scared. His gaze darted nervously in every direction, and every time one of them stepped on a twig, he froze. His fingers remained wrapped tightly around the disc launcher strapped to his wrist.

Cillian had never ventured beyond their community before. There was no way for him to judge whether Shane's fear was justified. He did know, however, that Shane had never truly believed there was any danger on this side of the Dead Bridge. Besides, Cillian had frightened him so badly the other day that he'd immediately hit the emergency button, so Shane's fear wasn't exactly the most reliable yardstick.

They had just left rows upon rows of graves behind them. Shane had been right: many of them had been disturbed. As far as Cillian was concerned, that didn't necessarily mean something had crawled out of them. Scavengers could just as easily have decided this graveyard was the perfect place to find an easy meal. There were footprints in the damp earth, but nothing large enough to make him turn back.

The sun had risen by now, making the place seem far less ominous than it had when he'd jumped off the cart. He nudged Shane with his elbow and grinned.

"I think it's actually not that bad here. It's probably just an ordinary forest."

Shane looked at him briefly. "You don't think this is the Realm of the Dead?"

Cillian hesitated. He didn't want to make Shane feel as though his job was meaningless. Even though Shane had never said it outright, Cillian knew he'd always felt as though he had to compete with his twin brother, and becoming Ward of the Dead Bridge had done him a world of good. As far as Cillian was concerned, Jake was nothing more than a loud-mouthed brat. He'd never left the safety of their home for anyone—not even his own family. Shane possessed dozens of qualities his brother lacked, and Cillian hoped that searching for Brady would finally make him realise that. Even without his parents' approval, he was an amazing guy. Cillian honestly couldn't have wished for a better friend, even if, in his frustration over the past few days, he'd briefly doubted it.

"I don't know," he admitted at last. "As long as we guard the border like our lives depend on it and shoot at anything that moves, we're not exactly giving ourselves the chance to learn much about it."

Shane silently agreed.

For a while they continued without speaking, until they reached a field littered with bones and skulls.

Cillian stopped dead in his tracks.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered that Shane had done the same. Despite working with the dead, there was a tremor in his voice when he finally broke the silence. "Is this... an old cemetery?"

Cillian collected himself and stepped onto the field. The flesh had long since rotted away, but the bones lay scattered so chaotically that he couldn't imagine anyone had deliberately arranged them like this. Something reddish-brown caught his eye. He took a few steps to the side and knelt beside it.

It was a rusted sword.

"It looks more like an old battlefield," he murmured.

Now that the thought had occurred to him, he noticed more rusted weapons strewn across the ground. He searched his memory for stories from the past, but he couldn't recall any battle ever having taken place just beyond the border.

Their world was surrounded on every side by sheer cliffs. The Dead Bridge was the only way in or out.

But could the dead die a second time?

What was the point of fighting one another?

Even if they weren't the first mortals ever to enter the Realm of the Dead... could that really have resulted in devastation on this scale?

Shane stood staring into the distance, lost in thought.

"We should keep moving," he muttered. "This place has a bad feeling to it."

Cillian had the impression that the air itself had grown heavier, saturated with the stench of decay. "Yeah."

They crossed the open field of graves. At first, Cillian unconsciously tried not to step on the bones, but it quickly proved impossible. Layers of moss concealed the remains, and although the moss muffled his footsteps, he still heard bone crack beneath his boots.

He was relieved when they finally reached the other side.

Every time he crushed the remains of something that had once lived beneath his feet, he couldn't help feeling he was attracting vengeful spirits. Hopefully, they wouldn't notice in daylight and wouldn't spend tonight lining up to rip the ribs from his chest and grind those to dust instead.

The ground began to slope steeply upwards. Moss-covered boulders lay scattered among the trees, forcing Cillian to focus on where he placed his feet and gradually pushing the thoughts of the bone field from his mind.

When they reached the top of the hill, he lowered himself onto a fallen tree trunk to catch his breath.

Shane sat down beside him and stared back in the direction they'd come from, but Mortalia had already disappeared behind the trees. Cillian slipped his backpack from his shoulder, unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and took a drink.

"We'll have to ration it," he said, holding the bottle out to Shane.

Shane nodded and took a single sip.

"You obviously weren't expecting me to come."

"No. But we'll find a stream sooner or later."

For a moment they sat beside each other in silence, catching their breath. It was Shane who finally broke the silence.

"So... what exactly happened? Why... didn't you tell me Brady was sick?"

Although Shane was watching him closely, Cillian looked away. "I didn't feel like dealing with your brother's investigation team. I've got no idea what he can pull out of people's heads."

"So all those days you never came to see me..." Shane's voice grew quieter. "...your little brother was dying?"

Cillian shrugged. "Most of the time." There was something heavy in Shane's voice, as though he'd genuinely regretted not seeing him for so long. "I honestly thought you'd come by at least once."

Shane lowered his head. "I don't really know why I didn't," he mumbled. He sighed. "I'm sorry, man. I just thought... you figured I was overreacting when I said you couldn't come over anymore at night. I thought you staying away was your way of protesting. That you didn't actually want me dropping by."

Cillian snorted, though in the end he couldn't help chuckling. "If I'd thought you were overreacting, I would've just told you."