Ever Fire by Alexia Purdy

his breath escaped him.
    Shade turned towards Sary, hoping the distraction had not taken too long to help her.
    “Stephen!” Sary’s voice echoed in the mass of grunts and screams, making Shade rush towards her wailing. Other soldiers blocked her path, and she took them down with less difficulty than the first, finally reaching Sary as more of Ursad’s soldiers filled the area, beating back the last few Lonares soldiers. She heard Sary’s whimper as she came upon her, finding her bent over Stephen’s splayed out body
    “Sary, oh no, what happened?” Shade knelt down to see Stephen’s wounds on his chest gurgling from a stab wound to the left of his chest. It spewed like a fountain. Crimson blood was staining his clothes along with Sary’s hands and arms as she pressed down on the wound. His mouth dripped with trails of red as he choked on the fluid.
    “Crap! They got his lung, probably his heart too! Sary, can you heal him?” Shade looked back up at the Warrior Princess, whose own face had paled from the power she had already shunted into Stephen. “Sary?” Shade asked as she fumbled through her pack, yanking out a towel for his wound and a healing potion Braelynn had given her for any injuries.
    Sary’s silence along with Stephen’s struggles ceasing stopped Shade. She looked up from her pack and dropped it, peering over to Stephen. His eyes stared blankly up into the sky above, glazing over into a distant stare. His gurgling had stopped, and his body was still. There was not even any movement to show his breath. Shade grabbed him, shaking his shoulders and yelling his name. Sary fell over his body, wailing in a deafening cry that made Shade want to run away, far into the forest and never look back.
    Shade grabbed the potion, dumping some into his mouth and directing him to swallow. His still face made her want to scream at him. Her despair raged through her into anger as the flood of tears spilled down her cheeks, splashing onto his face.
    “No Stephen, no! Swallow the potion. Please, you can’t die! No!” Shade’s sobs echoed Sary’s as they both shook with grief. The battle had finished as the last Lonares soldiers were shackled and shuffled away with iron chains. Shade tried to breathe in an effort to calm herself as she took in the scene. Bodies lay strewed across the grounds, blood staining the emerald grasses into dark rusty red smears. The gate was now being mended, and no more soldiers poured in.
    Why would she send such a small group instead of a battalion to a castle? What is Aveta doing ? Shade thought. It doesn’t make sense at all.
    Sary’s screams had turned into quieter sobs as she gripped Stephen’s body. His facial tattoos stood out dark and stark against his now sallow skin. Shade breathed in hard as she stood up, giving Sary some privacy. Her whole body shook as she stood, feeling lost and somehow confused.
    “Shade, let’s go inside. Ursad’s people will help Sary.” Soap had made it out for the last part of the battle. Blood streaked his shirt and hands, but none seemed to be from him. At least, not from any wound Shade could see.
    “I have to help Sary.” Her voice quivered out quietly as she shook her head, still in shock.
    “It’s ok, Shade. They got her. They will help her with Stephen. Don’t worry. You’re in shock too, and you need to rest now. Come on.” Soap’s voice gently coaxed her along, until he just gave up and picked her up. He carried her into the safety of the castle, her sobs quieting down to a whimper.
    Inside the castle, he returned her to her room, instructing her to drink some water and clean up. He waited as she entered the bathroom, stripping off her blood soaked clothes. They pulled off sticky and cold, making her want to throw them away. She stepped into the warm shower and let the water rinse Stephen’s dark blood away. She must have stood there for a long time until Soap’s banging on the door pulled her back from her catatonic