They Took My Wings

Chapter Eight

I woke slowly, lulled by a strange sense of peace. Curious, I allowed myself to waver in a state of semi-consciousness.

It was a moment before I became aware I wasn't alone.

And it wasn't Kai beside me—they smelt wrong. Kai smelt like grass and clean soil, not ozone and brine.

I opened my eyes to a beige ceiling and a giant chandelier, neither of which looked familiar. My senses scanned the room, searching for clues to tell me where I was and who I was with. I recognised the elegantly carved, dark-stone walls, forest green hangings, midnight blue feature panels, and gold trimmings of Time Likh's chambers.

My memory returned with a whiplash jerk.

I was in the Non-Realm.

And Kai wasn't here.

Kai was still in the burning Royal City with a poisoned ylfen arrow in his chest.

Time had told the truth: nothing would happen to Kai while I was here. Nothing could happen to him while I was here. This was the Non-Realm; the non-space between positive and negative; a limbo where nothing lived, died, or aged. Naturally (or unnaturally, depending on your perspective) if time wasn't passing here, it wasn't passing outside of here, because Time didn't exist as a concept—Time was an entity.

But if time wasn't a concept here, if space didn't exist here, how would I find Kai in the right time, in the right place, when I left here?

Before I could get lost in the chaos, I forced myself to stir. Time was sitting on the chair adjacent to my couch, a book open in their lap, their eyes tracing the lines of text with deliberate movements. I recognised the gesture for what it was, but I was too uncomfortable knowing I'd slept in their presence—slept deeply enough not to hear them moving around and flipping pages, and who knew what else—to appreciate their attempt at comfort.

"How long was I asleep?" I rasped past the lump in my throat, twisting until I was sitting mostly upright.

The guide looked up slowly, and I was struck by the colour of their eyes. They were lighter than before, small flecks of silver and green reflecting in the blue. They were calm.

Likh closed the book and put it on the side table. An adventure novel. My lips twitched.

"Time does not pass here," they said.

I almost groaned at the stupidity of my question. "Naturally," I grumbled.

"It is natural in a manner of speaking," they said. "There is no life, death or time outside of the forms you see."

"Well, that can't be good for me, given I'm alive. Or thought I was." I held Likh's gaze, watching the calm waters of their eyes agitate. "Am I dead, Likh?"

There was a long pause.

"There is no death outside of the form you have seen."

"So what am I?"

Another pause.

"You are not dead." Time retrieved a pile of clothes from the coffee table and set them on the couch beside me. "You've not refreshed since your battle. I believe you'll find the supplies in the washroom satisfactory. Say my name when you're ready and I'll return."

Likh left the chamber, their footfalls sounding through two outer rooms before there was the snap of a set of doors closing. Had they deliberately walked instead of vanishing so I'd have the comfort of being able to track their movements? If so, they needn't have bothered. As much as I liked knowing where the guide was, I was all too aware of their ability to change location in a blink.