The next two days passed by uneventfully, for which Xan was grateful. During the day he and Dee worked together to keep their little craft on course, following the coastal winds as they soared through the air. At night they found spots along the top of the coastal cliffs to touch down and make camp.

While Xan and Dee focused on flying the ship, Taika kept busy tending to her father. Katar slept most of the time, only rousing when Taika woke him to eat or drink some tea. Every time he did so, Xan’s stomach dropped. Katar’s disposition was becoming noticeably weaker, and he was starting to look gaunt. This only fueled Xan’s drive, however, and every time he would focus back on sailing the boat with renewed determination.

During the second night, they set the boat down on the edge of a coastal wood sitting high atop the cliffs. He and Dee helped gather some firewood, and Taika used her Ember Sang to light the campfire. Then the little group huddled around it to keep warm while they ate a small meal of the rations they had brought.

Xan, Dee, and Taika all took turns on watch throughout the night. Xan’s shift was last, during the early morning hours before the sun rose. So he curled up in a fur blanket next to the campfire and tried his best to sleep. Thankfully, he managed to get some rest before he felt Taika shaking his shoulder.

“Wake up, Xan. It’s your turn on watch,” she whispered.

“Right, yeah, right,” Xan muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Shadow had been sleeping next to him in the fur blanket, and she squeaked in annoyance as Xan got up. Xan muttered his apologies, then surrendered the blanket to Taika. Shadow curled up under Taika’s arm as she got settled. A moment later the two of them were fast asleep again.

Xan found a spot by the boat where he could keep an eye on the entire camp. It also helped to block the breeze that was starting to blow through over the cliff tops. Mostly.

He sat with his back against the boat, curling in on himself. The night was cloudy, though stars were peeking through the gaps in the clouds. For a long while Xan looked up at the sky. The red moon was waxing, and the blue moon was waning. He could see their crescent shapes whenever a wide enough gap opened up in the clouds. He couldn’t see the white moon, but the last time he had noticed it before, it had been waning, and it was probably in its new moon phase by now.

That thought alone reminded him of just how long it had been since he had been at peace enough to watch the sky. Once more, his memories of getting shipwrecked, and then escaping the island, fought to come to the forefront of his mind. He closed his eyes and shook his head, fighting back. There was no point in thinking about it, everyone was dead and gone, it was too late to do anything—

A quiet cough broke through the night, and Xan’s eyes snapped open. He looked over to where Katar was resting by the fire. Katar coughed again, curling in on himself as the coughing began to worsen. Xan rushed over to his side, but the coughing had subsided by the time Xan reached him.

“Katar, sir,” Xan said, kneeling down next to him. He reached for Taika’s canteen of water. He unscrewed the cap, gently slid a hand under Katar’s head, and helped him sit up enough to sip some water.

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“Ah…ha… thank you, Xan,” Katar muttered.

“Are you alright, sir? I can wake Taika—”

“No, it’s alright. Let her sleep,” Katar said.

He reached his hand up, and Xan took it. There was a long pause while Katar labored to catch his breath. Then he looked up at Xan, and Xan was surprised at the amount of clarity in Katar’s eyes. They immediately held his attention.

“I want to thank you, Xan. For everything you have done for us,” Katar said.

“No thanks needed, sir. You and Taika saved my life – it’s the least I can do to repay you,” Xan said, shaking his head.

“Well, then, you’re a better man than most,” Katar said, giving a weak chuckle. “That’s why I feel like I can ask this of you...”

There was another long pause. Then Xan felt Katar’s grip tighten.

“After this is all over, please help my daughter return to her mother’s family.”

“After this is all over? What do you mean?” Xan asked. Then his heart sank as the full weight of Katar’s request settled over him. “No, no, you can’t be giving up now. We’re already halfway to the shrine, and once we get there, you’ll be healed.”

“I’d like to believe that, I really do,” Katar said, “but the truth is, Xan, I’ve been fighting this illness for a long time, far longer than Taika knows.”

Xan’s brow furrowed in bewilderment. “Why-?”

“Why didn’t I tell her sooner? I couldn’t honestly tell you. Maybe I thought that I could bear this burden alone, keep her from worrying. You can see how well that’s turned out.” He gave another little chuckle that briefly turned into a deep-throated cough. Then he cleared his throat and continued, “But the line of Ignas is made of sterner stuff. So don’t you worry, Xan, I’ll hold on for as long as I can.”

“Then you’re going to make it,” Xan said with conviction, tightening his own grip on Katar’s hand. But Katar shook his head.

“A wise man once said, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. So Xan, please, listen to me. Taika’s mother, Siora, passed away many years ago now. But Siora’s family still keeps the Dawn Shrine on the west coast of Rezan. They’re the only family that Taika has left. And if I don’t make it, the last thing I want is for my little girl to be alone. No one in this world deserves to be alone.”

There was another long pause. A small tear leaked out of the corner of Katar’s eye as his emotions briefly overcame him. Xan clung to Katar’s hand, fighting back tears of his own.

“So I’ll ask again, Xan: after this is all over, will you help my daughter return to her mother’s family? Will you give me your word that you will do that?” Katar asked.

Xan opened his mouth to answer, but the words caught in his throat. He swallowed, blinking back the tears that continued to well up in his eyes. He swallowed again.

“I—”

A branch snapped at the forest edge, followed by a whispered curse and a shushing sound. It instantly put Xan on the alert. He sat still for a long moment, listening intently to his surroundings. The he looked up at the trees on the edge of their camp. The shadows beneath the trees were deep, and the dancing light from the camp fire made it hard to see anything.

Suddenly, Sage flew out from the trees and lighted down on the side of the boat. He hooted loudly, turning his yellow eyes in the direction of the sound.

Taika awoke suddenly at his hooting. She quickly sat up and asked what was wrong. Sage flapped his wings and hooted again, seeming to indicate that there was something in the trees. Taika also turned her attention to the shadows beneath the boughs.

“Xan…?” she called softly.

“I heard it, too,” he called back.

He slowly stood up, not looking away from where he’d heard the sound. Instinctively, his hand reached for where a sword would have hung at his hip – only for it to meet air. He tightened his hand into a fist, trying his best not to betray how vulnerable he suddenly felt.

“Who goes there?” he challenged. There was a long moment of silence where the only sound was the wind soughing through the branches.

Then a pair of yellow eyes appeared, peering out from the shadows.