They were carrying me again.
I could barely feel my own body — only the cold seeping under my skin and my heavy, ragged breathing, as if the air itself had become thick, like mud.
Norris was riding beside me and speaking to Silver:
— Two more hours. The forest is close.
But I barely heard them.
Something was boiling in my chest. Rising. As if the mana inside me was turning over, trying to break free, tear me apart from the inside.
And then — sharp pain.
Coughing.
And blood, a thin line running down my lips.
I wiped it with the back of my hand and saw a drop fall onto the snow.
Panic seized me.
And rage.
At the same time.
Two emotions that should never coexist — now burning each other like two beasts locked inside my chest.
Haras felt it immediately:
— Careful! His ropes — they’re… glowing! Seteya!
I started pulling mana into my chest, into my hands, into my eyes — it felt like if I stopped, I would simply… disappear.
— Syringe! — Haras shouted.
And immediately — a cold jab into my neck.
The world cut out.
When I came to, the first thing I realized was:
I was no longer on a horse.
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The second:
I was bound even tighter than before.
Thicker. Stronger.
The third:
We were inside a tree.
A real, enormous tree — the walls smooth, almost alive, light coming from thin rune-lines carved into the bark.
It got worse. Much worse.
My chest tightened, my nose burned — and blood began to flow again.
I couldn’t get enough air.
Mana was thrashing inside me like torn flame.
And the most terrifying thing was that I could feel that power trying to tear me away from myself.
— Step back! — someone barked.
I growled.
Truly.
Not human.
I jerked — the ropes flared blue, trying to hold me inside a magical cocoon.
Outside, the children — my friends — were looking at me like at a beast.
And I… didn’t feel them.
No pity.
No shame.
No guilt.
Nothing.
Only чужие fragments of thoughts:
They’re close.
They’re standing around me.
Traitors.
Untie me… save me… untie me…
My body was shaking.
And then…
The door burst open.
A familiar figure stepped inside.
A tall elf, fair-haired, slender, wearing the green of forest patrols.
And his voice hit me like a stone knocking me from a height:
— Zenhald?
I flinched.
He took a step closer.
— Zen… it’s me. Arlis.
I froze.
Arlis…?
The name echoed in my head, cracking the black veil.
Arlis.
That same elf.
The one I taught.
The one who called me his teacher.
“Thank you, Zenhald and Mira.”
— Ar… lis… — I rasped. — Arlis…
He came closer — carefully, like approaching a wounded animal.
— It’s really me. You’re here, Zen. With us.
Others entered behind him.
Selia.
Feris.
Tyriel.
Mirnan.
Lienna.
Rien.
I recognized all of them.
Every single one.
And at that moment something inside me snapped.
A flash.
A click.
As if another force whispered:
They are standing.
They are watching.
They are чужие.
They are—
— TRAITORS!!! — I roared.
My voice broke, choking on its own fury.
I lunged forward — the ropes flared so brightly they drowned out everything for a moment.
And again — blood from my mouth.
Hot. Metallic.
Arlis did not retreat.
He stepped right up to me, grabbed my shoulders, and pulled me hard against his chest — as if I were small again, afraid of night storms.
— Zen! Listen to my voice. This is power. It’s trying to take you away from yourself. Do you hear me?
I wheezed, tried to break free…
And then he pulled an amulet from a small pouch.
Unusual.
Stone.
Runes carved into it.
And he placed it on me.
The moment the amulet touched my skin, it felt as if a warm hand pressed against my heart.
The scream inside me cut off.
Mana stopped tearing itself apart.
Air returned to my lungs.
My eyes…
my eyes stopped being red.
I felt it — like someone flipped a switch.
And I collapsed.
As I fell, I heard Arlis’s last words:
— We brought you back, Zen. Hold on.
And darkness covered me softly — like sleep I didn’t choose, but desperately needed.
