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Chapter 48

"Ash..."
So this is what it's like to die. I feel utterly spent, as if I've used and reused every ounce of energy in my body, pushing myself to and past the limits.
"Ash..."
It's not so bad. Every second, the throbbing pain in my heart and mind is fading, numbing, becoming distant, until it's as if I'm watching some other poor person lying there in the rain, slowly dying from complete exhaustion, starvation, dehydration...
"Ash!"
I really wish-
"ASH!"
I sit bolt upright, chest heaving, blood running cold in my veins, rain still thundering on my head. Stone is holding me by the shoulders, shaking me, calling out my name over and over.
"Oh..." I mumble. Maybe it would just be easier to die at this point. I mean, I'm starving, haven't had enough water to drink for days, and, on top of all that, the physical cost of climbing the great mountain has put me past the edge. "Can't we just rest...? Just for a moment..."
I close my eyes and let myself flop back down onto the mountain path. Exhaling deeply, everything becomes muffled for a moment. Stone is talking to me again, but his voice is distant and garbled, the pounding rain becoming more of a dull thundering. The pain from my aching limbs is fading again, and the darkness becomes more complete...
"OW!"
Eyes snapping open, my left hand darts to my right upper arm, where there is now a thin, shallow line in my flesh. Stone is holding one of his swords, the edge of the blade scarlet with my blood, rainwater dripping and sparkling off . His eyes betray his terror.
"What was that for!?" I snap, though I can barely feel the pain. The cold rain has numbed me so far I can't even tell I have one hand on top of the other until I look at them. Irritated, I try to lie back down and sleep, and, once again, the grim quiet comes...
"Ash!"
"I'm trying to sleep..." I mumble, and trying to fall back into the calmness after being jerked out of it.
"Listen to me, Ash! Open your eyes!" Stone is shaking me again, but I ignore it, wishing he would just let me die in peace. Can't he see it? I was never going to make it...
"Don't fall asleep, Ash! Don't!"
I don't respond this time, but only will my body to still, the pain to go away. So tired...
Visions flash before my eyes, and I'm seeing the lone archer over and over, right before he shoots my flying steed from the sky... I'm hanging from a net in the palace now, looking down through a glass floor... "I told you not to come." And there's Stone, dressed like a prince, holding his swords as usual...
My eyes snap open, and I'm looking directly into his, inches apart.