A pain that runs deep

Strai ran to the breathtaking drop that had reminded him of home. His aching body felt slow and clumsy, but the worst of it was the pain in his heart. It felt like poison, and every beat of his heart propelled it. It was the worst fight he and Delphi had had since becoming friends, and that was saying something. They'd had some pretty impressive rows since then. Vidarr had found him and taken back the knife. Had she told him? She said she wouldn't, but her word seemed a shaky thing now.


He sat down, then hunched over. Trying to blend with the foliage around him. He felt like he had lost something important  and he wasn't entirely sure he was referring to the knife. How had he let her get this close? Was this the weakness his mother had warned him about. She had been right, about everything. He had made a terrible mistake.