"You're All I Have."

By the time Liam returned with Elisa, Reagan had caught his breath and his vision had returned to normal.

Enough to see the panic on Elisa’s face as she came running up to him. She ran with her hands in her pockets, which were bulging out of her dress. The midday sun reflected off her purple hair and highlighted the sweat on her forehead and cheeks.

“What happened to you?” she asked, dropping Reagan’s satchel beside him. She opened it and pulled out a vial of healing salve to dab on Reagan’s wounds. Her focus turned to the weeping burns, ignoring the bruises so dark they looked black in the shadows of the forest.

With Elisa’s hands rubbing the burns on his face, Reagan left it up to Liam to explain: “Those are the side effects of using a transformation spell on your own body. I only saw him do that spell once before, and it wasn’t for very long, so the effects weren’t this bad…” He trailed off, staring at Reagan with a worried frown on his face.

Even as Elisa finished wrapping up the worst of the burns, and no matter how much Reagan told him it would heal within a few days, the distress remained clear on Liam’s face.

“We shouldn’t stay this close to town,” Reagan said, wincing as he pushed himself off the ground. The worst of the burns had accumulated on his face and in the palms of his hands, and he gratefully accepted Elisa’s offer to carry his satchel. “We don’t know which way the mages will come when they finish in Apolde. I don’t want to be in their path.”

As Liam went ahead to scout the path for monsters and look for a suitable resting place for the night, Elisa pulled a poorly wrapped paper parcel from one of her pockets. “Here,” she said, offering it to Reagan. “You need to eat something. I swiped some food from the mess hall before leaving the inn.”

Reagan opened the package to find a pair of baked potatoes and some cured beef. “Thievery’s becoming a habit of yours,” he said teasingly before taking a bite of one of the potatoes. It was cold and dry, but his stomach rumbled for it regardless.

“And somehow, it’s always your fault,” she jabbed back.

“There’s a clearing not too far from here,” Liam said, dropping down to the forest floor. “I didn’t see any monsters in the vicinity, so you’ll be able to rest.” He looked Reagan up and down as he spoke, focusing on the edge of Reagan’s chin, where the false beard had left the worst burns. “You should heal that when we arrive.”

Reagan shook his head, and the movement rendered him so dizzy he had to catch himself on the nearest tree trunk. Liam hovered closer, reaching for Reagan as though ready to catch him should he fall.

“I can’t,” Reagan said. “I used too much today as it is.” Though he was able to remain standing, his entire body felt weak, like he had lost significant amounts of blood. His heart was pounding faster than usual, and he couldn’t stop his hands from trembling. No matter how tightly he wrapped his coat around himself, he couldn’t warm up.

“You do look really pale,” Elisa said, glancing at Reagan’s face. “My mother looked like that not too long before she-”

“Stop,” Reagan said, pushing himself away from the tree. He wrapped the rest of the potato back into its paper and shoved it in his pocket, appetite lost. “This has nothing to do with Liam. I told you-”

“I know, I know.” Elisa raised her hands in surrender. “That’s not what I was saying. I just mean, you need to take better care of yourself. I don’t want you to end up as a ghost, too.” Then, with an alarmed look at Liam, she said, “No offense.”

Liam responded with a half-smile and said, “Believe me, I don’t want that either…” He looked like he had more he wanted to say, but he turned away and rose up to check for monsters instead.

Once Reagan peeled himself off the tree, Liam led them forward until they reached a small clearing. It took half an hour of walking, and by the time they broke the tree line, Reagan had lost another shade of color and gathered deeper bags under his eyes. He blinked blearily at his surroundings, trying his best to take them in.

A stream meandered through the center, already gathering frost and ice along the bank. What remained of the water ran clear, and Elisa walked over to it to refill the two glass bottles from Reagan’s satchel while Reagan settled with his back against the trunk of an old pine tree. She brought them over to him, which he gratefully accepted.

His hand shook as he brought the bottle up to his lips, and he winced when the cold water made his teeth ache. Then, aware of both Liam and Elisa watching him with concern, Reagan coughed to hide his discomfort, though this made the bruising along his ribs and back throb, and an involuntary spasm shot through his body.

“How far to Vierdorth?” Reagan asked, hoping to draw the attention off himself.

To his surprise, it was Elisa who answered, plopping down beside Reagan. “While you were out this morning, I studied the map at the inn. Vierdorth is around thirty-five kilometers east of Apolde, longer if you follow the caravan path that goes around this stretch of the forest.”

“And how far is it to Baktry?” Liam asked. He sat cross-legged on the ground, facing Elisa and Reagan, and stared fixedly at a pile of brown pine needles.

“If we start on the other side of Apolde,” Elisa said slowly, her voice pitched in uncertainty. “It’s around ten kilometers, give or take.” She paused to give Liam a chance to speak. He didn’t. “Why?”

Reagan stared at Liam, wide-eyed. It took all his concentration to stay awake, but he refused to let his body give out.

Liam never looked up as he said, barely loud enough for either to hear, “I think we should go home.” His words lingered in the silence that followed.

“What are you say-”

Liam cut Reagan off. “Elisa could go back to Apolde -- she’ll be safe there -- and we could stop in Baktry for supplies, then skip Louthe and return home. We could go back to how things were. Mom and Dad would understand.”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous,” Reagan said. He cursed his voice for shaking. “Liam, we’ve come this far. Why would you-”

“It’s not worth it anymore,” he said. “You could have died today. If Dietfried had seen you…”

“But he didn’t,” Reagan said. He kept his voice low, soothing. Despite the dizziness making the forest around him sway, he shifted closer to Liam, leaving the comfort of the pine tree behind. “We escaped him.”

“I messed up!” Finally, Liam looked up, his face drawn in an anguished grimace. “I should have seen him sooner, but I failed, and you had to use that awful spell.” When Reagan opened his mouth to protest, Liam continued, “Look at what it did to you!” He looked away. “Of course, I want to see my parents again, but we’ve been doing fine for ten years. We’ll tell them what happened -- I’ll tell them what happened -- and they’ll understand.”

“Liam, I-”

“No,” Liam said, cutting Reagan off again. “None of this is worth anything if I lose you in the process. I’m done.”

The finality of his tone hit Reagan harder than the words themselves. For a moment, he forgot to breathe. For a moment, all he could do was stare at Liam.

“You’re all I have, Liam.” The words left Reagan’s mouth, but he didn’t feel his lips move. A whisper, almost lost in the gurgle of the stream. “My family is dead. My home is gone. I’ve been living a lie for ten years. I could’ve done something that day, I could’ve tried to stop at least one of them, but I didn’t. It should’ve been me that died, not you.” The weight in his chest threatened to crush him, but Reagan pressed on. “The only way I can make up for it is by bringing you back.”

Now it was Reagan’s turn to look down at the ground. With his head bowed, he begged.

“I’ll be more careful. I’ll do whatever it takes for us both to return home alive. Just please… Don’t give up now.” He could barely keep his eyes open, could barely fight to stay upright, but he needed to hear Liam’s answer.

Reagan looked up and caught Liam’s conflicted gaze watching him, so he gave one more silent plea.

“Okay,” Liam said softly. “Okay.”

And finally, Reagan could relax.