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They stayed there on the road for the rest of the day. They found some long grass for the horses to eat, but their animals would need better grazing. Finally, as the sun set, Finn shifted. He lay curled in the fetal position and his eyes did not open for a long time.
"Finn?" Aein asked, stroking the coarse blonde hairs on his arm. "Finn, can you hear me?"
His eyelids fluttered. When he opened his lids, his eyes were glassy and unfocused. "Aein? Lars?" he called weakly.
"We're here," said Lars, crouching next to him. "You scared me. I thought I might find myself forced into a promotion before I was ready."
"Where—?" Finn lifted his head and ran his fingers along the wooden planks. "So the fog was all a dream. I didn't... I didn't attack you... We never left King Vadim's land. We still have to cross the divide."
"No..." Aein swallowed and glanced at Lars. "We made it through..."
"What?" asked Finn, sitting up, but still disoriented.
"It was no dream," said Lars, slapping Finn on the shoulder. "You scared the ghost out of us."
"I..." Finn still looked confused. "But I..." His eyes locked with Aein's. "I almost killed you."
She shrugged and gave him an unconcerned smile. "As one does. What is a little attempted murder between friends?" He looked horrified, so she grabbed both his cheeks in her hands and rested her forehead against his. She stared at him dead in the eye so he would understand. "But you didn't murder me. So now you're going to have to put up with me. Too bad. You should have finished what you started."
It was enough to get a single, thin chuckle from him, and that was all Aein could hope for. She released him and stood up, resting her fists on her waist. "Well, I have no idea where we are, but there is a road, which is a good sign. Our horses could use some care and I think all of us could use a nap. Shall we travel as long as the moonlight allows?" she suggested.
Lars held his hand out to Finn to help him up. "Let's not do that again, shall we?"
"Who are you to be giving orders?" Finn shot back with a grateful wink.
"See, Aein? He's fine."
Aein laughed and went off to collect the horses. She led them to the road and slowly, the three friends walked the path together.
They walked for several hours until they reached a flat piece of land. It appeared safe and dry, and that was enough.
"I'll take first watch," offered Finn.
"No," said Lars. "I think tonight I'll take first watch. I have a suspicion both you and Aein could use the sleep a lot more than me right now. Get some rest. I'll wake you up."
Aein touched Lars's arm thankfully and he smiled at her. She pulled her cloak out of her pack, found a patch of grass, and laid down. She was asleep before her head touched the ground.
She was shaken a few hours later. It was still night, but there was a warm and friendly fire burning.
"You've been busy," she said to Lars as she rose.
"It was quiet. I figured I should do something useful."
"Like create a beacon for any monsters in the swamp to find us?"
"To ensure I didn't need to thaw you out before I made you take the next watch."
"Thanks," she said to Lars.
His eyes were soft as he looked at her. "We made it."
"Not yet," she pointed out.
"But through the divide," he persisted.
For the first time, the realization of what that meant sank in. She felt a strange emotion she barely recognized. Relief? Hope? It had been so long since, she didn't even know what to call it. But the moment the feeling popped up, an unwelcome thought pushed it away, as if her mind could not allow her to consider success. "Let's just hope we didn't get turned around and are back in King Vadim's land."
"No lanterns," Lars replied.
"What?"
He pointed to the edge of the road. "There were no lanterns," he said. "King Vadim's land had lanterns stationed on all the posts. This road doesn't. We might not be home, but we're definitely somewhere else."
"Oh," said Aein and this time when she smiled, it was not chased away by impending doom.
Lars reached out and squeezed her arm. "And now it is time for me to rest. Wake me at dawn. And enjoy the night."
"I think I just might," she replied, crossing over to sit close to the fire.
Lars folded his cloak around him as he readied for bed, but then stopped. "Did Finn try to kill you?" he asked.
He was trying to make the question sound as casual as possible, but she knew the implications. Still, she could not lie to her friend. "Yes," she said. "He did."
Lars chewed on his lower lip and was silent. He glanced over at the still form of their friend. "Okay."
Aein was grateful he took the news in stride.
"You know we have to watch him now, though, right?" Lars asked.
"But he stopped," Aein pointed out.
"But something counteracted the berry, Aein," he said. "His shift was as violent as a werewolf who has never been given the antidote. Whatever happened in there weakened his humanity. We were so close to losing him forever, Aein." His face held so much sadness, as if it pained him to say the words. "It would have destroyed him if he had found out he had killed you. You know that, don't you? You have to promise me if it happens again, you will not hesitate to give him the berries. He would have rather given up his ability to shift a hundred times over rather than hurt you, Aein."
"But he didn't..."
"Something broke his humanity. Once something is broken, there is always a scar."
"But..."
"I'm just saying we need to watch out for him," said Lars, holding out his hands to stop her. "I'm not accusing him of anything. But he's our friend and we watch out for our friends. Something hurt him in the fog and we need to make sure he's okay. No matter what."
Aein looked over at Finn as he slept. Was what happened because something inside of him snapped? Had the fog counteracted that single berry she had fed to him almost a year ago? Or was it a moment in time when extraordinary forces were at work? It didn't matter. She swallowed. "No matter what."