His eyes readied to bulge from their sockets. His skull ached in ways it could barely contain. Pressure in the back of his head and down through his neck nearly suffocated him. He begged for release, for the pressure to subside. He tried burrowing his eyes beneath the covers, to keep light from torturing him more, but every slight movement torched his muscles and joints.

  His body ached in a dull weight, making it nearly impossible to move. Even a small bend in his knee strained his thigh and calf until he gave up. His body throbbed and cramped from wherever he was. The light dimmed, and relief washed over his forehead, though it only took the edge off.

  Movement pulled him from slumber for only a moment, and he forced his eyelids open to stay awake. Even from the sliver of sight, he could see the edge of the blanket wrap over the legs of someone beside him. Taiga.

  He closed his eyes and buried his face into Taiga’s leg. The cooling touch against Mouse’s forehead seemed to melt his struggles. He was safe. Wherever he was, Taiga was there, and he was safe.

  “You awake?” Taiga’s voice was gentle, quiet despite the chaos in Mouse’s body.

  His throat stung. He pulled his head out from the blanket just enough to look around. A single candle flickered on the end table beside Taiga. He moved his arms over the cloth in his lap, a needle and thread in hand.

  “You’re mending them?” His throat croaked on the words, but Taiga nodded in understanding.

  “Yeah. We’ll have to replace your trousers, but I can patch up your tunic well enough.”

  Small bits of yellow light shimmered over the wooden walls and ceiling. A small table sat some fruit and empty plates. So, they were still at the inn. What happened after he was found? He barely recalled hearing Taiga’s voice while still trapped. After that, a blur of darkness, fear, and sound overwhelmed him.

  But now there was only peace and quiet. Taiga strung thread through his torn shirt. The candle wick whimpered and whined. Steps from beyond the door died down after only a few short moments. Wood creaked. He breathed as he tucked his head back beneath the covers.

  He was safe.

  “Jule and Ellio know I’m a Ganakri.” Taiga said calmly, shaking Mouse from near sleep.

  “Should I kill them?” They were entertaining. A slight bummer.

  “Why is that always your default plan?” A laugh.

  Mouse curled towards where Taiga sat in bed, his back spiking in pain. “It’s a solid plan.”

  Taiga said nothing a while, long enough for Mouse’s eyelids to grow heavy again. Slumber nearly took him when he finally spoke. “I went with our usual story for you.”

  “Half human?” He mumbled the words, fighting to stay awake.

  “And half fairy, yeah.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Mouse didn’t expect them to be worth the risk. They knew he and Taiga were knights, too. They were an unpredictable anomaly to their mission. Telling them so much was unlike Taiga. Did he like those humans?

  As if he’d said it aloud, Taiga responded, “I’m thinking of keeping them around for a while. They know a lot we don’t, and they’ve studied the flow of magic in the world. I may have a more innate grasp of it, but they know the principles behind how it works.”

  “And,” Mouse pressed a little closer to him, “if I don’t want them with us?”

  Without a hint of hesitation, Taiga replied, “then they won’t be.”

  He considered Jule’s notebooks and scribbles. A pulse of pain wracked his head and scattered his thoughts. When he pulled them back together, he thought of Pnendua, their gentle nature, the way they watched as a young Taiga pulled him away and out of the corrupted lands.

  For Pnendua, the risk was worth it.

  Fuck the queen and her damn mission.

  But if it meant saving Pnendua…

  “Okay.” His muscles spasmed painfully as he curled under the blanket. “They can tag along.”

  Silence, and his eyes fluttered closed with ease. A hand slid over his back, and with even movements, rubbed his sore muscles for however long it took before slumber claimed him.

  Chatting; voices he recognized as Jule and Ellio. He didn’t have the energy to open his eyes, but felt Taiga’s absence. His voice carried from somewhere in the room. The blankets weighed heavy, and his limbs refused any willful movement. His mind pulled away.

  Paper shuffled. He slit his eyes just enough for the browns of the blanket to show. He shifted his eyes beyond the edges of the covers to see Taiga beside him again. His eyes skimmed over the page of a book before flicking to Mouse.

  He smiled genuinely at him, leaning over and pushing a lock of hair from Mouse’s face. “Hey.”

  His back and legs were aflame in pain, every muscle and tendon burning in the depths of the Abyss. His head exploded outward, pushing through his skull and eyes. A band squeezed around it, near bursting. He turned back under the blanket, taking refuge away from the sunlight pouring through the window.

  Taiga rose from the bed, but by the time Mouse felt him gone, he’d returned and the light in the room dimmed. When he pulled his legs beneath the covers, Mouse latched his fingers to Taiga’s trousers.

  “It hurts,” he whined, his voice croaking and breaking as pain flexed through his throat.

  “Yeah,” Taiga hushed him and pulled the cover higher over Mouse’s head. “That’s what happens when you overtune. Hearing and strength?”

  “Mhmm.” Mouse hid from the light.

  “It’s been a day and a half. You should start feeling better soon.”

  “Taiga,” his voice stumbled over the words. “I want to go home.”

  A pause, then Taiga’s hand ruffled his curls as he always did, but there was a slight hesitation and tenderness to it. “We’ll… go back to Winolin soon.”

  That wasn’t what he meant. A tug drew unknown pain within his heart. What home did they have? He didn’t even know what he meant by it. But so desperately did he want to be there. Tension built in his cheeks, and he buried his face into the side of Taiga’s leg.

  “When this is all over, let’s build one. Alright?”

  “A home?”

  “Yeah. In a small village with lots of fields and flowers. Maybe near the ocean?” A playful tang in Taiga’s voice pulled sadness from Mouse.

  “Let’s go south, where the… winters are milder for you.” Mouse’s thoughts fled from him. He barely held onto his words before they left entirely. His mind draped darkness over him, and he had to force himself awake for at least a little longer.

  After a few long moments, Taiga leaned over him and spoke in a low tone, “good job surviving until I found you.”

  Mouse’s chest panged, but a small smile crept over his face. “I did well.”

  “Yeah. Thanks for staying alive.”

  His eyelids closed, and something gentle brushed over his exposed temple. His eyes hung too heavy to open, and he let sleep take him. The sound of pages turning was his lullaby.