Chapter 5: The Breaking Point

The days following the rockfall incident bled into one another, a gray tapestry of pain and isolation. The brief respite offered by Kaelus's forced proximity during the patrol had long vanished, and the bond sickness returned with a vengeance, as if punishing me for daring to feel a moment's relief. It was more than a headache now; it was a constant, feverish ache that settled deep in my bones. Food had lost all taste, and sleep was a fractured series of nightmares where I was forever falling,...