After escaping from the town, they flew north to lose any struggling chase. When the darkness of night submerged the world, they landed and made a camp. It was soul-crushing how quickly their company diminished. Only four soldiers from their original ten people escort survived. The atmosphere was hanging heavy over their heads, and no one felt like talking after watching another of their friend's death.

Skylar busied herself drawing the protective runes around the camp and tried not to think about the horrors they had just witnessed. She was almost done with the whole circle when suddenly, a breath caught in her throat.

She tried to breathe, but she couldn't. It was as if her body had forgotten how to do it. Her vision dimmed and blurred, she fell to her knees and pressed a hand to her chest, but she could feel nothing—no raising of the breath, no heartbeat. The ground hit her hard on her back, and she looked helplessly at the darkness swirling above, gasping for air like a fish took out of the water, but no air came.

"Sky!" Gawyn was suddenly above her, his face a grimace of anxiety.

She tried to say something, but she only choked more, dark splotches marring her vision now. She hit her chest helplessly.

Gawyn cursed profoundly. "Hold on. I've got you!" He leaned over and pressed his lips to her. A lungful of air entered her body, giving her a momentary relief from the choking nightmare. He gave her a few more breaths, and then he pressed both hands to her chest and started to press rhythmically, trying to mimic what her body should be doing naturally.

Skylar went in and out of consciousness, trying extremely hard to hold on to Gawyn's voice, calling her and urging her to stay with him. She didn't know how long they went on like this, but it felt like an eternity, and she was sure that she would die for sure this time.

When she finally gasped, taking a huge breath herself, Gawyn was all sweaty, and his arms trembled from exhaustion. Skylar rolled onto her stomach in a coughing fit, and he gently stroked her back.

"You're all right. I've got you," Gawyn was repeating like a mantra. She was not sure if it was more for her or himself.

"That... that was close," she croaked, wiping her face from tears and spit.

"Here, have some water, Colonel!" Ayah crouched next to her, handing her a waterskin. She looked at her with evident worry. Skylar accepted it with a grateful nod. All the soldiers were standing nearby, looking at her with fear. "Are you all right, Colonel?"

"She's fine now," Gawyn grumbled, giving others a glare from under frowned brows. "Give us some space, please?"

"Of course, general." Ayah stood up and saluted curtly. She walked away, taking the gaping soldiers with her.

He wrapped his arms around Skylar when they moved away and hugged her tightly. And she started to sob uncontrollably. She felt a warm, soft mass pressing to her back when Zephyr lay next to them, whimpering sadly and showing his support. She brushed her hand through silky feathers looking for comfort. All the pain, fear, and exhaustion of last week finally caught up to Skylar. But there was more to it too.

Since Gawyn miraculously brought her back to life eight years ago, she felt as if she cheated death. She knew the price of using magic to banish the Blighted Lands' invasion, and she accepted it. And yet, somehow, she slipped out without paying it. The Spirit warned them there would be consequences, that they cannot live while sharing one soul.

They were wary at first. In the weeks following the battle, Skylar felt grateful for waking up every single day. But when nothing happened, she got used to it again, took it for granted. Life just went on, as it always did. She thought that maybe they were just lucky.

They weren't.

The first symptoms started a few months after Thalia was born. Nothing overly worrying. Just a bit of numbness here and there once in a few months. She thought nothing of it because she was too busy living. But when the affliction became more frequent, and the paralysis took more and more of her limbs each time, she started to panic.

At first, she tried to hide it from Gawyn, an irrational impulse not to worry him. But he caught up quickly and shared that he was experiencing the same thing. That's when they knew for sure. It was the unpaid debt they ignored for such a long time.

They spoke to the Spirit to ask if they could do anything about it, but its answer was plain. There is no cure for the lack of the soul. Even so, Gawyn was doing everything in his power to find a solution. They invited healers from across the world to examine them and propose a solution. None of them worked. None of them knew how to treat it.

After a year of frantic search, Skylar asked him to stop. It was clear that there was nothing anyone could do about it. And raising her hopes each time they asked someone only to get them crushed repeatedly was just too much. They tried, and they failed, and that was it.

And so, it became a taboo topic between them. Every time Gawyn tried to talk about it, she dismissed it. Skylar knew it was silly, and pretending not to see it wouldn't do a thing to resolve it, but it gave her some peace of mind. It was the problem for another day. Always for another day.

But now, when she came so close to death, there was no way she could pretend anymore. She had to face the truth now, and the weight of it was crushing her like a thousand stones.

"We are not coming back, are we?" she sobbed and looked up at him.

Gawyn face was glum, and his grey eyes were glassy too. "No, I don't think so."

Sky's breath hitched, and her heart clenched. "But Thalia... She is so young. How can we possibly leave her all alone?"

"She won't be alone. We have family who will take care of her."

"But they are not her parents!" she howled. "I promised her I wouldn't leave her. I promised I'd get back. I promised..."

Gawyn tightened his embrace. "I know. But all we can do now is get the cure for her. To make sure she will be safe and sound while we are gone."

"How can you be so calm about it?!" Skylar pushed him away, looking at him incredulously, her eyes red and face stained with tears. "We are dying, Gawyn! And we are leaving our daughter behind!"

Zephyr whimpered quietly, backing away from them with the tail between his legs.

"Do you think I don't care?" he asked exasperated. "Do you think I'm not dying inside every time I think about her lying helpless in that bed and fading away?!" he raised his voice, and it was shaking now. Skylar never saw him so... defeated. "I do! Every single time! But while you were pretending that nothing was happening, I tried to find the solution. But there is none! There is no scenario when we live happily ever after and watch our daughter grow up and start her own life!"

Skylar hung down her head and sobbed, shaking.

Gawyn lowered his voice. "I broke my head about it thousand times over. There is no way out of this, Sky. I've already made my peace with it. But we still have time to set some things right. To find a cure and make sure those bastards would not be there to raise their filthy hands against our kingdom again. But I need your support for that. I can't do it alone. I can't do it without you."

Skylar swallowed her tears and turned back to him. He looked terrible. They all did. Dirty, hungry, and exhausted. And yet, she never loved him more than now. She crawled back to him and hugged him tightly.

"And you'll have me," she whispered. "Always. Till death do us part."

He kissed her and leaned his forehead on hears.

"I love you."

"I love you more," she said, and a new feeling settled deep within her soul. Determination. "We will make sure to go out with a bang."

He smiled. "That's my wife. Let's take those bastards with us!"

Zephyr jumped around them with a triumphant shriek.

Gawyn laughed and patted his muscular leg. "Yes, you'll show them too, buddy."