Page 101 of These Fractured Bonds

“You…” His eyes flickered down to her abdomen.

She fought the urge to cover her stomach with her arms.

“Take this.” He shoved an unmarked rectangular package into her hands. “Eat it.”

Warning bells went off in her head.

Erbert read the hesitation on her face, and he huffed. “It’s medicine for your pain. I’m a medic.”

Heat rose to her cheeks as she realized he had recognized her misgivings about him. “Thanks.”

She ripped the small package open, popping the honey-colored medicine into her mouth. It was chewy like a granola bar, but the effects were almost instantaneous, dulling her pain and the chill in her legs. Satisfied that she ate it, Erbert walked in front of her, greeting the egheur with a quick bow of his head, and retreating once it bowed in return. She was the last one left.

She approached the animal. It blinked lazily, its red eyes calmer than she would have expected. Its flat, black snout snorted as though it was telling her to get a move on. She almost laughed, but she kept her face stoic and dipped her head in greeting. She waited for it to return the nod, but it watched her instead, eyes flicking down to her feet and back, and she met its stare.

So what if I’m short? I still held you down, didn’t I?

She raised her chin, daring it to reject her for something as inconsequential as her stature. A moment later, it neighed, lowering its head to her, and she smiled.Thank you.

A few minutes later, Yareli rode on top of the egheur, her arms hooked onto Dre’s waist. Vanessa sat behind her, her arms resting against Yareli’s tender abdomen, and she was grateful for the painkiller Erbert had given her. She would have been in agony otherwise. The egheur trotted into the forest—seemingly unaffected by whatever magic had trapped Yareli in an endless loop—following a path visible to only it.

Soon, they arrived at a large clearing cut in half by a trickling stream. The egheur stilled, seemingly waiting for them to dismount, and Yareli was the last one to hop off. The egheur sauntered over to the stream, drank heavily, and ignored them. The stream gurgled, birds chirped. It was an utterly normal clearing.

“Have we done it?” Vanessa asked. “Completed the challenge?”

Erbert walked forward. “No. If we had, a portal would have awaited us. We’re missing something.”

“The instructions were to dominate an egheur,” Vanessa shot back.

But her words didn’t feel right. They were a dissonant sound that scratched at Yareli’s ears, as though they were an erroneous note in a score.

“No… it wasn’tjustto dominate,” Yareli said. “Flame General Allyah said we could only succeed by dominating an egheur. It has shown us the way. The answer is here.”

Yareli surveyed the clearing, noting nothing of interest. The egheur neighed and stomped its foot. She glanced at it by the water; the pieces fell into place. She searched the stream andnoticed a sparkle. She walked over and squatted down, seeing what looked like a round gem.

“Over here.” She called the group over, lifting the gem toward the sun. It was a brilliant shade of blue, one that reminded her of the Water Court.

She stood, turning to the group and sweeping her arm toward the water. “There might be more.”

The group scattered, searching for more gems, and the egheur nickered, its soft, low tones flitting over to Yareli. She dipped her head in gratitude. It had led them directly to the answer, even showing them the stream’s importance. It flicked its head away, its hair sweeping to the side like it was saying,I told you so.

Vanessa’s voice rang in the clearing. “Got one!”

“Me, too,” Erbert said.

Dre held another from his spot farther down the stream, and Yareli drew closer to the group. She passed her gem to Erbert as they shared their gems in search of differences, but they looked identical—blue and round.

“They’re pretty, but there’s nothing significant about them,” Dre announced.

Yareli noted Vanessa’s frown and the way her lips parted slightly and closed.

“Vanessa?” she prompted.

“Well,” Vanessa started. “They could be tokens.”

“Tokens?”

“Sometimes they’re used as an entrance ticket to the next challenge.”