The closer they flew to the border, the darker the sky became. Over the massive rocky mountain tops, the firmament seemed like it was out of this world. A mass of darkness hung in the air as if it were storm clouds, but it coiled and swirled erratically in all directions at once. Just looking at that gave Skylar a headache.

"It doesn't look good," she shouted over the howling wind. "Do you think we can fly safely into that thing?"

"I'm not sure," Gawyn replied with a frown. "We'll see once we're there. But we should probably take it to the ground as soon as we cross to be on the safe side.

They kept their course, as the mountains became bigger and more imposing with every beat of Zephyr's wings, so was the vast ravine marring the landscape at the feet of the massif. The air around them became colder, and damper and Skylar felt goosebumps covering her body. She pressed herself tighter to Gawyn to keep warm.

When they finally reached the crossing point, Skylar looked down. The canyon was so deep she couldn't see where it ended, as the depths were shrouded in darkness. Even from up here, the tear in the ground seemed incredibly massive.

She shivered at the memories flooding her mind. She was the one who caused it – to save her people and the whole Lamyria from the threat of Blighted Lands. But in doing so, she almost forfeited her own life.

As if he could read her mind, Gawyn squeezed her hand. He was the only reason she was still here. He gave her half of his soul to get her back from the brink of death. It seemed to work for a time, but with recent affliction affecting both, Skylar wasn't sure if it was a good choice after all.

Zephyr flew higher, his wings beating faster as they gained more distance from the ground to cross the foreboding mountain peaks. He shrieked triumphantly when they finally reached the other side, and he floated on the current down.

The world around them dimmed and darkened. The dusky not-clouds swirled around gryphon and dispersed from his way as if they were surprised that someone dared to enter their domain.

Skylar looked over her shoulder. The Winged Cavalry was just a short distance behind them, soaring above the mountain tops. Major Shah gave her a wave signalling all is in order, and she waved back, taking a moment to admire the beautiful sight of winged horses floating gracefully through the air. Not many could witness such a sight and lived to tell the tale.

They flew further into the Blighted Land's territory. There was not much to admire there. Everywhere they looked, the landscape looked pretty much the same – a vast expanse of dark grey, dusty ground with dead trees which reached their naked branches up to the sky like twisted claws, or dark plants looking like thorned vines—no signs of any inhabited areas.

When Zephyr lowered their flight, Skylar could spot the herds of shadowy shapes that she could easily recognise as Blood Vultures or Crawlers. But there were also things she's never seen before—twisted and hideous things, crossing the plains with no clear aim.

"Any idea where we should go?" asked Gawyn looking at her over his shoulder.

"Not the slightest," she admitted.

"We need to land somewhere soon. Zephyr is getting tired already, and I don't like the look of that darkness around us."

"Me neither. Look, there is a bit of elevated ground right there." Skylar pointed over his shoulder. "It seems to be free of any creatures too. Let's land there and –"

A blood piercing shriek interrupted her. Before they could utter a word, the darkness around them exploded with movements.

Skylar barely managed to grab and raise her shield before something struck at her with such strength she almost got thrown off Zephyr's back.

"Incoming!" Gawyn roared, hoping the following Winged Cavalry get more time to prepare for the assault.

Zephyr shrieked in pain when the sharp claws slashed at his body and wings. The creatures that were swarming them were hard to describe. They were smaller than the gryphon, but their bat-like wings still spread a good five feet, and their snouted faces were full of sharp teeth. Skylar encountered them for the first time over eight years ago during the battle against the Blighted Lands. The soldiers called them Winged Horrors, she recalled.

The monsters had solid and muscled arms and were fond of snatching people from the ground and then dropping them from impossible heights. But like most things, they were not immune to cold steel coated with silver.

Skylar slashed left and right, pressing her legs desperately to Zephyr's sides. She wasn't looking forward to falling to her death from such height. One creature grabbed the brink of her shield and pulled rapidly, almost wrenching her arm out of the socket. She cried in pain, but Gawyn slashed the beast's neck before she could react. The monster uttered an awful gurgling sound and fell off, spiralling helplessly and hitting the ground with a dull thud.

But every time they threw one beast off, another was taking its place. Zephyr was trying hard to fight and, at the same time, not make too rapid movements afraid to throw off his riders.

"There's too many of them!" Skylar yelled, slashing another creature's wing.

"Zephyr, get us to the ground!" Gawyn shouted, trying to outcry all the clamour of shrieks and screams.

The gryphon roared, folded his wings and dived down so rapidly that Skylar barely managed to keep a hang of her sword. The shrieking mass of monsters followed them, but they became an easy pray for charging Winged Cavalry, who shot them with arrows and threw javelins. Thanks to that intervention, Gawyn and Sky had to deal only with a few stragglers once they landed. Fortunately, the worst they suffered were scrapes and bruises.

The Winged Cavalry landed beside them. Major Shah hopped off his neighing and looked around nervously horse and came to join them.

"Lord General, Colonel." He saluted.

"At ease," Gawyn said impatiently. "What are our losses."

"We lost one soldier, sir. Those... things... surprised us. I make sure it won't happen again."

"It's not your fault. We were all equally startled." He looked up at the sky with a frown. "You can't see a thing in this darkness. I don't think it's safe to stay there for too long."

"I agree, sir." The commander nodded. "I'm aware the ability of flight is our stronger suit, but out here, in this strange place, I'm afraid we are at a disadvantage."

"Let's secure the perimeter. Our mounts need to take some rest, and we need to assess the situation and plan what to do next."

***

Aliyah was sitting in her chair in the council chamber, her chin propped on her hand, and listened as the nobles were bickering back and forth.

"We need to do more!" old lord Serpentine droned, waving his hands animatedly. "So far, one-third of our workers have fallen sick with this mysterious affliction. We need to take some serious steps to stop the spread!"

"And do you know how it spreads exactly?" Lady Blazehide asked. Her beautiful face was a porcelain mask of indifference, her blonde hair styled in complicated knots and curls. "And to be frank, we know next to nothing about this weird plague." She turned her sharp blue eyes to the Queen. "If Your Majesty knows more than us, we would be most grateful to hear it. Keeping us in ignorance serves nothing."

Aliyah narrowed her eyes and straightened her back. "I do not hide anything from you. My knowledge is as limited as yours. But it was not me who colluded with the Blighted Lands to bring this poison to our kingdom, so maybe some of you would like to share?"

The nobles fell silent, glaring at each other, but no one spoke up.

"I thought so." Aliyah sighed. "Our healers work around the clock to learn more about the poison. We also hope that the scouting party we sent to the Blighted Lands will come back swiftly bringing additional answers and possibly the cure."

"The Lord General and his wife, you mean?" Axel Ironhand asked with raised brows. "I found it very peculiar that for such a vital mission, we are sending just a handful of soldiers."

"Would you rather send an army?" Aliyah questioned. "And how, pray tell, would you move them over the impassable ravine?"

"Maybe instead of aggressively sending soldiers, we should establish political relations with this... emperor?" he suggested innocently.

All nobles gaped at him in stunned silence for a moment, and then everyone started talking at once.

"That is preposterous!" Jonas Longcutter boomed. "They tried to invade our kingdom and now brought us a plague, and you want to establish relations with them?"

"Why would we even want to talk to those abominations?" Lady Blazehide scoffed and started waving her fan vigorously as if the thought alone had made her nauseous.

Axel waited as the first outburst passed, and he raised his hands placatingly. "It's just a thought. We don't know what the future holds for us. What if our little scouting party won't find the cure? What if they won't come back at all?"

Aliyah clenched her teeth and then took a deep breath not to snap at this impertinent man, who was very proud of himself for stirring doubts into the hearts of others.

"I wish you had more faith in our people, Lord Ironhand," she said calmly. "You are right in one aspect. We do not know what the future will hold for us. We must do all we can here to be prepared for what might come. But you can rest assured I will not be negotiating with those blackmailing sorcerers. They are clearly after our lands, and I don't think they'll be satisfied with anything we could offer them willingly. That is my final word in that matter," she added, looking straight into Axel's eyes. The man smirked and bowed his head slightly in recognition.

"Now, let's work on a plan on how can we manage the current situation."

***

Skylar sat on the cold ground and looked at the small fire they managed to start. When the night came, the darkness got suffocating. She couldn't see the moon or stars through a thick veil of dusk covering the sky. The rocky plain was full of ominous sounds - distant howls, shrieks and scratching sounds of things that must have been lurking very close.

They had a good, elevated position on a bit of hill, so she felt secure with the designated guards' system. That didn't change the fact that this whole place felt wrong. Skylar pressed her legs to the dusty ground. It was empty as if there was nothing there.

After her episode of being a beacon for the Spirit of Magic, she could feel some residue of power in her body. She could feel the life coursing just under her feet, inside the earth. It was as if she was just more sensitive to the invisible currents of energy keeping everything alive.

But not here. This place was empty and desolated from any traces of life. And all those creatures inhabiting this wasteland were twisted abominations of what once could have been alive. It pained her to think that this place looked utterly different some centuries ago. Humans wrecked it that there was nothing to salvage now.

A shadow fell on her, and she looked up at Gawyn handing her a steaming mug.

"I'm sorry, I can't take it right now. You'll have to hold on to it for me for a moment longer," Sky said and looked away.

Gawyn gave her a stern look. Her arms were resting on her crossed legs and looked perfectly natural, but he knew better. He sat next to her, putting the mugs on the ground. "Both at once?"

She nodded.

He took her hands in his and started massaging them gently. They felt a bit odd, the same way as your body is slack while you lose your consciousness. But he knew she could not feel them at all. He experienced the same thing himself.

"You know it won't help, right?" she asked quietly.

"I know." He nodded and gave her a small smile. "But it's not unpleasant, is it?"

She smiled back, though it was a weak smile. "No, it isn't."

"We're lucky it didn't happen while we were fighting."

"Yes, but I'm afraid next time we might not be." She sighed. "I still wonder if we made the right choice coming here. Considering our condition."

"Would you rather stay at home and wait for death to come for you?" he asked quietly.

"No. You know I wouldn't." Tears glistened in her eyes. "But I'm scared."

"I'm here." He leaned in and kissed her temple. "I'll always be here."

"Till death do us part." She sighed and finally managed to squeeze his fingers back.

"Till death do us part."