They did not stop walking until the broken ruins were a grey smudge on the horizon.
Aether led them east, into a hollow of the Ashen Star Wilderness where the ground was dry and the wind came softly through stands of pale, ash-barked trees. Nothing hunted here. He had checked twice, and then Kael had checked a third time without being asked, which was how Aether knew his friend was as shaken as he was.
Aether sat with his back against a tree and looked down at the creature on his chest.
It had not moved since the gate closed. It lay curled against the fabric of his coat, small enough to cup in two hands, its breathing so shallow that he kept watching its ribs to be sure they still rose. The clock mark on its forehead had dimmed to a single faint line. The Spirit Fairy sat on his shoulder, wings folded, her light low and steady. The Flame Sovereign Pup had curled against his boot and fallen asleep mid-yawn.
"All right," Aether murmured. "Let's see what you really are."
