I wince as Renit drags two fingers along my abdomen, right where the rope dug into my skin. All that's left now is a startling burn wrapping around the entirety of my middle, in the design of that old rope. It had cut through my clothes and burned my flesh, not only on my stomach but on my thighs, as well.

Those wounds were not tended to by Renit's hand. I took care of them myself as sharing that much of my body with him would have been too uncomfortable. One quick wrap of a bandage and healing salve and my body will take care of the rest. It's already doing just that as every few minutes, my head spins and the areas needing to be healed turn cold as if a winter wind pushed past.

Immortality has perks, one of them being self-healing against minor wounds. Nothing can be done for the wounds on my hands, the split skin that is way beyond repair. That will need to be tended to by a healer, if I could find one in a place like this. For now, they'll need to be cleaned and bandaged until my power can focus on ridding infection.

The only upside to being down in that well was the lack of titanium. My injuries weren't at a result of it so there isn't any in my bloodstream—blocking the healing abilities. With every danger comes another, at least that seems to be the case over these past weeks. I can't do one thing or the other without titanium looming over my head.

But, if I had to choose between titanium and death by sinking sand, I would choose titanium every day.

I've never been more scared in my life. That was the first time I really believed I was going to die, even after everything I've already been through. When the royal family sacked Arego and the prince took me back to the castle, in the back of my mind I knew I wasn't going to die. Something told me that I wasn't. A piece of my heart died at the loss of my parents but other than that...I've alive.

Renit's training didn't kill me, our constant bickering didn't, either. The king didn't find it useful to end my life for destroying his courtyard and being Renit's Grounding didn't end terribly, either. All this time, I've been one step away from death, but the closest I've felt is in that well. I really believed that was the end.

The prince applies the healing salve to my abdomen, from my front to my back, and wraps a white bandage over the burn. "Nothing's broken," he concludes. The bandage tightens and I suck in a breath, wincing through my teeth.

"I think I would have been able to figure that out when I was being lifted out of the well," I respond, not a hint of enjoyment in my tone. A broken bone would have slowed us down further and I didn't think about it then, but there wasn't a single crack underneath the flesh.

Renit lets out a distracted, quiet laugh through his nose. "You're lucky. That well is meant to kill."

"No kidding. Who knows how many other bodies are down there, beneath the sand." Renit ties the bandage in the back, a tight knot, and I stand up straighter to stretch my limits. Tight, but I can move. The same will go for my legs and the hands that Renit has yet to focus on. Minor wounds first.

An array of medical supplies sits on the edge of the bed along with that box that I retrieved from the bottom of the well. I still don't regret going down there instead of Renit. And I never will. Looking at that box, I wonder if the dead down in the well had been searching for it, or if they were simply unlucky to fall into the depths and never return. No one heard their screams.

That could have been hundreds of years ago, long before anyone focused on these crystals and stones. With the impending doom of each box, I wonder what the king has in mind for the four of them. Witches can create potions when the crystals and stones are broken down, potions that can be dangerous to the race or help tremendously. The king has never collected them so no potions have ever been made.

No one, not even his closest supporters, know what he has planned.

Renit examines my hands. "There's not much I can do other than bandage them," he says.

"Better than nothing," I grumble. Will we be able to trek through the mountains with my hands in such terrible conditions?

Outside on the streets, the sun is beginning to fade into another night. We'll have spent two nights in Ducoria when we could barely manage one in Flitsea and the Blood Desert. I would much rather be there than here, having three boxes in our company makes me wary. Anyone will try to sell what doesn't belong to them, especially in a city like this.

We're lucky they didn't try to steal the other two while we were gone and the third that Renit kept securely in a satchel on our way back from the well. That had been a silent ride after the desperate embrace Renit gave me, like he couldn't waste another second not appreciating my existence.

I plop down on the edge of the bed and Renit pulls up a chair, leaning forward to wipe the alcohol-laced cloth along my palm. Grinding my teeth seems to be the only way I can avoid screaming out as the pain lances itself deep into my split skin. "These should heal within a few days," Renit mumbles. More blood leaks from the cuts and he applies pressure, all the while readying more alcohol cloths.

"Not fast enough to get us to Lona," I counter with reluctance. Renit meets my eye, shaking his head.

"You almost died. I think we can take our time getting to the next city. There's no rush, the box will be there whenever we get there. Even if that takes a few more days than expected." He squints at the wound, focusing on the deep cuts and where he needs to dig the small rocks out from underneath my skin.

I yank my hand back as pain shoots through my palm from him excavating. Avoiding the urge to shake off the pain and make matters worse, I hand Renit back my palm and he grips tight to my wrist so I don't yank back again. How many times has he healed companions? He does so with such gentleness and care that I wonder if this is how he behaved in the war, when he served for five years. That had to be because of Darlene and what happened to his family. Time away from a place that ruined everything for him.

"I'll retrieve the next box, how about that? You've done most of the work for the other three, I think it's my turn," Renit goes on to say.

"Do you know where the last box is?" I ask.

Renit finally digs out the rock and immediately applies pressure for the blood rushing from my palm. The sting is beginning to numb but the pain lances up my arm with every new technique he tries to remove those rocks with. "From what I can recall, it's in a treasure trove at an ancient estate in Lona. The only problem is, there's a lord living there that doesn't quite care for me or the rest of my family. It may be difficult to get that box if he doesn't want me there," Renit explains.

I shrug. "We'll sneak our way in. He doesn't have to know we're there."

The prince cleans the rest of the wound once the blood has stopped and begins wrapping a bandage around my entire hand. Not only was my palm ruined, reduced to nothing more than bits of flesh, but my fingers are the same. One hand is worse than the other, I won't be able to use the one he is bandaging but the other, my non-dominant hand, will be in full use. That's another thing to slow us down.

Slowly, the wound disappears underneath that white bandage and with a simple knot, I've used the last of my hand for the next few days. An immortal body can only work so fast without a healer. I have a feeling I won't be seeing one anytime soon.

"Except you won't be the one sneaking in," Renit clarifies. He gives me a pointed look before standing and turning towards the two meals he managed to scrounge up, ensuring we weren't eating rat meat for dinner.

"That's not fair," I counter. "I can't just wait for you to retrieve the box. Let me do something." Renit drops the food onto my lap, a cracked plate with a slab of meat, boiled vegetables, and a side of what appears to be potatoes. But I could be wrong.

"You've done enough. Sit this one out before your next injury is more than a few slashes to your hand." Renit cuts into the slab of meat on his plate and grimaces when he takes a bite. I can imagine the food tastes as bad as this city looks. I wouldn't expect anything less from the current conditions.

Choosing to eat the sides instead—one I discover is potatoes—I try to think of what I can do to get Renit to agree. He's been doing this his entire life, long beyond my own, and I've been in Arego for the entirety of the time I've been alive. There will be plenty of time for adventure in the future but nothing that guarantees this much freedom.

The open air, the journey from one kingdom to the next, the exploration of new cities and the excitement of the threats we face. Anything short of death. The prince will receive more chances than myself to escape through the gates of the castle and head out into the world beyond. Knowing Renit, he'll keep up his current reputation of locking me up in the castle or not allowing me to retrieve the final box.

"Have you ever been locked in the castle?" I ask quietly. Glass shatters somewhere down in the street, but Renit is too busy staring at the side of my face to notice.

He sucks on his tooth to remove a lodged piece of meat and says, "No, I've never been locked away, but with the things my father has done—"

"Besides that," I interrupt. "Have you ever felt like you don't have any freedom? If you wanted to leave, you couldn't?"

Renit cocks his head to the side. From the shift in his eyes, a cold stare slowly rising, I know he's aware of what I'm trying to get at. "No, I've always been allowed to go wherever I wanted." The realization seems to hit him as I turn my stare towards his direction, finding the prince already looking back at me.

To think I confessed my feelings to him when I could barely muster the strength to think of him as having a heart in the first place...we've come a long way. Our mingling powers have something to do with that. Even when he isn't near, sometimes I can smell the storm attached to him. It smells just like the salted squalls in Arego near the ocean.

"My entire life, I've never had the freedom to go where I wanted. From a very young age, I was held in Arego and forced to stay there. I was never allowed to explore or do anything than what my parents told me to do," I explain. "I wanted to help for so many years but due to being unable to control my power or being too young, I was often pushed aside."

I take another bite of potatoes and cringe as my teeth clamp down on a burnt piece. "I get it," Renit sighs.

"I don't know when I'll get to leave the castle again. Once this is over, there's no guarantee. Just let me help you retrieve the final box so I can look back on this and feel satisfied with what I've done." My words are easy, they settle in the room like a third layer of dust, on top of the second covering every bit of the furniture. I doubt anyone bothers to clean these rooms.

Renit puts his plate of food aside and turns to face me fully. A powerful witch who has gone through training longer than I've been alive. He's lost, he's loved, he's lived a full life and isn't yet done with what he can do to save this kingdom. I stare into his face and find the story there, beyond the strong jawline and the haunting draw-in of his brows. "Things are going to be different," he offers. "I'm not going to...keep you trapped like I did before. There are reasons for my doings, but that was also when I hated your guts." He cringes and I can't help but smile at the many fights we had. "We trust each other now."

Trust. I built my relationships on trust, starting with Bren. He was my first real friend that came to Arego, and we built our foundation by trusting each other from the beginning. Without trust, we wouldn't have a friendship at all and the same goes for Renit and I. Our powers may be doing more of the trusting but...that goes for the both of us. as well. We're figuring it out as we go, how to move on from the things we've overcome and not blaming the other for it.

"We'll both retrieve the box?" I ask for clarification.

The prince rolls his silver eyes, looking to the moon, stretching light into the room. "Fine, we'll both retrieve the box. The lord from Lona doesn't recognize you so it'll be easier for you to slip through."

Satisfied for breaking him down, I finish what I can of my meal until my stomach is aching and against every deep breath, a burp escapes my chest.

As I'm laying there in the cramped bed, Renit's back against my arm, I stare at the ceiling. Not only will I be helping to retrieve the box, but I'll be gong to Lona in the first place. We'll be braving the most dangerous city in the kingdom, all residents being mirrors of the king himself. I know we won't be greeted with open arms, there isn't a chance of that.

Lona will be a danger within itself and by pushing to retrieve the box, I've again ensured Renit won't be the one facing all the danger.