Edge of Pathos (Book 4 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 30

Valerie didn't know if it was Nightingale's potion or her own exhaustion, but for a long time, everything was fuzzy. There were a few times when she was almost conscious, and she remembered Kanti braiding her hair, Cara urging her to come back to them, and Emin singing softly in her ear. Once, she could have sworn she felt the cool touch of Dr. Freeman's stethoscope while Chisisi murmured softly at his side.

More than once, she recognized Cyrus's touch as he rested his hand on her forehead, and she knew that he was sending pulses of light through her body, because afterward, the shard of ice from Reaper's dagger melted a little more.

Thai was never far, and his touch against her throat and hand were reminders of the world she wanted to return to. Once, she cracked her eyes open and found him sleeping next to her on her narrow cot, his forehead pressed against hers.

And always, Henry was at her side, leaving a permanent impression in the seat of the chair. His mind stayed open to her, and it was like a lullaby to know that it didn't have dark threads of self-loathing choking it.

Pathos was gone, but her locus remained true. Nothing could shake her love for her friends, alive and dead, and what she understood now was that nothing would shake their love for her, either. It was time to consider the possibility that she deserved that love.

The morning Valerie was finally able to sit up on her own, the makeshift hospital was quiet. Thai was collapsed on an empty cot next to her, and Henry snored quietly in his chair.

As she surveyed the room, she saw that there wasn't a soul awake. Even Nightingale was asleep standing up, leaning against the wall of the tent.

Before Valerie could question the oddness of it all, a little light peeked into the tent as a tiny hoof stepped through the opening. Then Clarabelle walked over to her, and Valerie buried her face in the unicorn's soft, iridescent mane.

I love you. Never leave me.

It was the first time Valerie had heard Clarabelle speak in her mind, and the sweetness of it was almost unbearable.

Azra had entered the tent behind Clarabelle, and Valerie's heart was full. We came as soon as it was safe. Dasan lulled the minds in this room into sleep for a time to ensure Clarabelle's safety, or Summer would never have let us come.

"Where is Summer?"

Standing guard outside. Azra's words came with a hint of her amusement at the centaur's protectiveness, and Clarabelle whickered beside her, like a chuckle.

Clarabelle made little noises in Valerie's mind, and though Valerie couldn't discern the words this time, the unicorn's excitement was palpable.

"What's this about Clarabelle meeting lots of people?" Valerie asked Azra.

My little foal has been finding more and more humans and Conjurors who want help developing their powers. She is more skilled at it than I ever was, and she considers everyone she helps as another soldier for the Fist. She hopes you'll be proud.

Valerie laughed.

"As if I could be anything else, little one. But are you finding time to search for daisies and roll in the sunshine?"

Now Clarabelle's babbling began in earnest, and Valerie understood only part of her story about the drama she'd witnessed between a dragonfly and a butterfly, and how they'd become friends.

Summer entered at the end of the story, and her eyes flicked over Valerie, as if she was assessing the damage.

"I've survived worse, and so will you," Summer said. "But I wish you did not have to encounter so much pain while you are barely more than a foal."