"So soon?" a puffy-eyed Destrius protested. He, Cedric, and Adrian were seated at the same balcony table as before, upon which now lay generous servings of fruit, cream, pastries, boiled eggs, meat skewers, flatbread, and potatoes. It was near noon, and the sun blazed straight down upon the cloth canopy above their heads.

Cedric served himself another portion of potatoes. "Aye, afraid so," he said after swallowing a heaping mouthful. "Adrian and I must reach Borne as soon as possible."

"I suppose it is useless to ask the purpose of your urgent journey?" Their ensuing silence was answer enough, and Destrius assented with a sigh. "Very well. I cannot stop you, nor do I wish to. But take heed, lads. Outside these walls, chaos reigns."

Cedric and Adrian exchanged looks.

*

They departed Faircross through the western gates, after Destrius' servants had loaded up their saddlebags to bursting and their master had bullishly extracted a promise to come visit as soon as possible. Included in the parting gifts were the new garments they now wore: sturdy traveling clothes and boots that would fare much better than the ragged remnants of their original attire. Guided by a smaller but more detailed map, yet another gift from their host, Cedric and Adrian forged onwards to Borne with renewed vigor.

And it soon became apparent that, despite the growing lateness of the autumn season, winter was not coming.

They passed long fields of dry and withered crops, sickly flocks of sheep and cattle. The sparse groups of travelers they encountered usually included at least one of the Blight-stricken. The further north they rode, the more dire the state of the surrounding lands.

On multiple occasions, Cedric's night-attuned senses had awoken him to the distant approach of strangers toward their camp. They'd hurriedly gathered up their supplies and fled as quickly as Nightwind could gallop. So far, they'd managed to avoid any ugly confrontations.

"Am I imagining it, or is it all crumbling around us even faster than before?" Adrian asked as he refilled their waterskins from a tiny, struggling stream.

Cedric appraised the map. The sun had nearly set, staining the horizon a muddy orange, but the smothering heat reliably refused to diminish. "The further we've ridden from the capital, the worse it's gotten."

"That could be a coincidence."

Cedric flashed him a skeptical look. "Then at this rate, the world would collapse by nightfall. Crystallinus must play some part in all this. Didn't you mention something about 'bathing in the divine light' of the Heirs?"

Adrian shrugged. "It's mostly an expression. And given what we've learned lately, I'm no longer as keen to buy into their mythos." He smirked. "Especially not with you travelling beside me for weeks on end."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cedric said, affronted.

Adrian only snickered.

They dined on beef jerky and sweet dried dates, then set to erecting the small tent lashed across their saddlebags--a long stretch of linen rolled over a bundle of light wooden poles. Cedric and Adrian settled in beneath it. The former closed his eyes, feeling the various aches from the day's riding slowly loosen and dissipate.

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"I miss the black goose," Adrian said plaintively.

Cedric kept his eyes closed. "I miss the candied cherries."

"To think that Destrius lives that way all the time..."

"Aye. Another of the lucky few."

"You weren't too fond of him, were you?"

He opened his eyes. "He was exceedingly generous to us. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It was written all over your face. Don't hold back for my sake."

But Cedric's dislike of Destrius wasn't so easy to verbalize. He knew, however, that he would have likely felt the same about anyone with such vast amounts of wealth and indulgence who hosted lavish parties while the world crumbled around him. Then again, Cedric had hardly hesitated to accept the man's hospitality, to wear his fine clothes, to partake in his bottomless feasts. They could have ended their journey in Destrius' mansion, fattened up and silk-clad until the Goddess breathed her very last. It would have been the easiest thing in the world.

"I think…" Cedric said softly. "That if I'd been raised in the Citadel, I would've been no different."

Adrian scoffed. "That's preposterous."

"Hmm."

They slipped back into silence and then, gradually, to the realm of dreams.

*

A fanged shadow dined on his heart. His eyes were frozen in place, forced to witness his own devouring. Instead of a scream, only a pitiful whimper escaped him.

"No… stop… please…"

His ribs crunched apart with wet, sickening cracks. The beast's jaws sank further into the bloody cavity of his chest.

A howling storm of horror was building inside him, so strong that it would surely burst him apart from the inside.

"Please… no… get away..."

The beast's cackle was as harsh as grinding rocks. "What a helpless little thing you are," it crooned. "Go on, turn over… there's a good lad…"

No please stop don'tmakemeletmegogetawayfromme--

"Cedric!"

He started awake in an explosive burst, tremors and perspiration coating his skin. Adrian's darkness-shrouded face hovered above his.

Cedric forced down deep breaths, and gradually felt the solidity of the waking world settle back over him.

"I'm fine," he said. He turned away from Adrian, who doubtless wore a concerned, if not pitying, expression.

"It's been a while since the last time, hasn't it?"

Cedric grunted.

But sleep did not return. His heart still thumped against his ribs and pounded at his temples. His stomach clenched in perpetual gnawing dread.

You're safe, you miserable, broken weakling. Sleep, Goddess curse you…

Eventually, Cedric gave up. He rose from the tent and crawled out into the open air, ignoring Adrian's watching eyes.

He sat at the entrance, knees pulled up to his chest, and let the darkness of the night permeate his mind and body. His consciousness spread outward like ink diffusing into water, and his torrid, restless thoughts shrank down into mere threads of a much larger tapestry.

For a long time, Cedric simply followed the leisurely path of a beetle wandering about in the shriveled grass. He felt, rather than saw, Adrian sit beside him.

"You need your rest." His voice resonated distantly, sending miniscule vibrations into the ground and air that ruffled Cedric's expanded senses.

Cedric grudgingly retreated back to the limits of his own mind, then opened his eyes. "I can't," he said shortly. He ran his hands down his face. "I'd thought I was finally rid of… of them, but…" I'm even more broken than I'd feared.

Adrian put a hand on his shoulder. Cedric tensed at the touch, and he hated himself for it. Adrian quickly let go. It's not you, a part of him yearned to say, to somehow rationalize the irrational.

"What of your own dreams?" Cedric said instead. "Have they ever troubled you?"

"Only recently," Adrian admitted. "The Bloodclaw has featured more than once. I may never be free of the image of her crouched over that slaver…"

Cedric suppressed a shudder, then rubbed his eyes.

"Like I said, you need your rest."

"You go on. Don't deprive yourself on my account."

Adrian didn't move.

Cedric frowned. "Adrian…"

"I heard you," he said mildly.

It wasn't long before the hues of morning began to crest the horizon.