Dagger had never been sick in his life. It was one of the few upsides to his power. Despite awful conditions, be it weather, plague, or exhaustion, his body had never shown signs of illness, only fatigue or hunger.

Until today, that is.

Never having been sick, he had ignored the first few symptoms. After all, the unbearable sun almost always gave him a headache, and the terrain was rough enough for him to stumble occasionally.

But he couldn’t explain away the trembling in his hands, or the feeling that the world was slowly spinning around him. Dizzy and lightheaded, Dagger felt angry at the betrayal of his own body. Now, of all times?? Not only that, but the Beast was making its presence known, taking his active concentration to keep it in the background.

Even simply foraging had been difficult, each step causing a piercing spike of pain in his skull. The food was difficult to get down, and he noticed the girl struggling as well.

“Are you okay?” As’rya asked him, her own face waxy and white.

“I’m fine,” he lied, “I don’t get sick.” As if to prove it, he forced himself to eat one of the berries.

As’rya grimaced as she looked down at her own portions and after a moment of hesitation, she pushed the rest away.

“I don’t feel very good. I don’t think I can eat anymore…” she told him, eyes flitting to his. Instead of arguing, he simply gathered the food into a small pile, putting it away in the pack.

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“Will you be able to travel?” he asked her, wrapping the berries in a cloth. As’rya nodded but asked wearily, “Can I have a few more minutes to recover?”

Dagger wasn’t feeling ready to set out yet either, despite the urgency he felt. Eyes glancing to the sky, he watched the ominous clouds before reluctantly agreeing to wait a bit.

“I’m going to scout one more time. When I get back, it will be time to go.”

Finding a tree to sit against, Dagger leaned back, opening his shadow sense as he closed his eyes. Even though he wasn’t feeling well, his powers worked just fine, allowing him to jump from shadow to shadow easily as he scoured the mountainside below them. He found no trace of him; it seemed they had been able to keep ahead of him.

Remembering the man, though, Dagger couldn’t feel at ease. The unhurried pace, as though he was certain to reach them; the fact he had the same athame that had killed him; the way the man had seen him through the shadows.

Opening his eyes, he rose to his feet. The world swayed slightly as he stood, but he ignored it, heading over to the princess.

“It’s time to go,” Dagger said. As’rya didn’t reply, but slowly sat up, her own motions unsteady. He felt bad pushing her; she clearly wasn’t well. But they didn’t have a choice. He reminded himself of the fact as he grabbed her pack from the ground, slinging it over his arm.

“I’ll carry this for you,” he told her as he turned to lead the way.

“Thank you,” the girl said quietly.

Their progress was much slower as they continued; Dagger wasn’t moving as quickly as normal, but even so, As’rya was lagging behind. On top of that, white flakes had begun to fall from the sky, stinging his nose and cheeks. Even though it was barely past noon, it felt as though night were approaching. And if the wind had been merely cold before, it was bitingly icy now. It seemed the higher they climbed, the worse the weather got. At this rate, they wouldn’t be able to reach the pass.

Dagger had just decided to find a cave to hole up in until the snowstorm passed when he felt him approach from a short distance away.

The man was behind them.

Dread ran up his spine as he felt the assassin’s step through the mountain shadows they’d just travelled through. How? How had he already made it so far? Dagger had just checked the area before they’d left, and they had been travelling for less than an hour since. Did he have magic as well? Frustration, confusion, and rage began to well up inside him. With a growl, he turned around, grabbing As’rya’s wrist with his gloved hand.

As the shadows pulled up around them, he saw the man in armor come into sight from around the bend. With passive eyes, he watched Dagger and As’rya disappear, his expression not changing once as they vanished.