Korbin looked down at his mother. Her hair was soaked with sweat and her skin was oddly pale. He closed his eyes and listened to her labored breath. It was a coarse, heavy sound. Uneven.

“Korbin?”

His mother had opened her eyes and was reaching out a shaky hand. He wrapped his own hand around hers and held it steady.

“You’re a good boy. You don’t need to stay with me all night. Go to bed and get some rest. I’ll be fine, promise.”

Korbin gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m not here for your sake, Mother, I’m here for my own. I can’t fall asleep at night. There’s too much ancestral blood in my veins, remember? Just like you always said when I was a boy.”

Eva closed her eyes and smiled. She lay still for a few minutes, and then her eyes fluttered back open.

“Daegan?” She looked at Korbin, who was still at her side.

“Father’s right there, in the corner.” Korbin pointed to her right. “He fell asleep in his chair.”

“Oh.” She sounded worried, as if the answer had caused all of her plans to unravel.

Korbin noticed then that his mother was shivering, so he stepped into the hall to find a servant. One should have been standing outside the door, but when he got there the hall was empty. With a sigh, he walked to the nearest chamber to retrieve an extra blanket himself.

When he returned, his father was up and bent over his mother.

“Just focus on each breath, dear. In and out.”

Daegan’s rich voice seemed to help her to relax. Once she closed her eyes, Daegan raised his head and whispered.

“Go quickly now and get your sister.”

Korbin understood the look in his father’s eyes. Wasting no time, he ran into the hall.

When he arrived at Odessa’s room, he found it empty. He wasn’t surprised, really, but it was all he could do not to curse her name.

He then checked Wyck’s room. As he feared, it was empty too.

Pile of Dung.

So, off he went to the stables to ready his horse. Stormcloud would be mad at him for waking her, but he would have to worry about winning her favor back later. First, he had to find Wyck. He knew exactly where to look, and if Korbin was lucky, Odessa might even be there with him. 

He rode to Piper’s Pottery. Stormcloud had been there many times before, so he knew he could push her to run as fast as she could. And there Wyck was, just as expected: lying beneath a table in the center of the den.

“Mmmmmy friend!” The spindly Vaelishman waved his arm haphazardly in the air. “There’s som’water dripping from thisss pieces of wood.”

Wyck opened his mouth, tongue dangling out, to catch a drop of wine that spilled over the table’s edge.

Korbin snatched the bottle and set it upright. He then bent over and reached down to pull up his friend. “I need a partner, Wyck. Can you help?”

“A partner! Is there to be a dance? You asking me to dance with you, Kor?” Wyck sprung to his feet, surprising himself with a hiccup.

Korbin ground his teeth. “No, not a dance partner. A partner for a search.”

“A search. Yes. A search.” Wyck raised the bottle in the air and began to giggle to himself. “The search for wine starts now!”

He giggled once more, wrapping the bottle in his arms. “I win.”

Korbin cursed the gods, then wrangled the bottle out from his friend’s long arms and set it back down on the table. “Listen, Wyck, this is important. We must find Odessa. Right now. Can I count on you?”

Wyck leaned forward and drew his features tight. “I can do it, Korbin. I can do it.”

Korbin didn’t doubt it. If anyone had a nose for mischief that could rival his sister’s, it would be Wyck. 

Next Chapter: Chapter 4: Mourning to Morning