Her arms were shaking, weak. Still, she reached out for him and touched him.
A second time you pulled me from the sea, Galan said. She strained to move again, to give Seth back his robe that now covered her. “What have you done? You must also survive, Seth.
Seth stretched the tattered robe back over Galan, and covered her face and hands. I’m no longer sure I want to survive, Galan. Why was I so blind?
You did not betray your brethren. You could not have known.
But I should have—
—Faith, said Galan. She gripped Seth’s hand. I want to dream, may I see the forest again?
Never let it dwindle, a voice in Seth’s mind repeated, never let it dwindle, faith will shelter you. Had Queen Mother known? Seth wondered. And if she had known, why hadn’t she tried to stop it?
Seth, said Galan. Do not dwell on things that cannot be changed. Maybe Queen Mother did know and her words were her only way of warning you. It is not wise to try to change fate but there are perhaps ways to alter it slightly.
I did not mean to trouble you with open thought. Seth projected the image—the green of a forest against the backdrop of a white-capped mountain, the sky so blue it was almost purple—into her mind’s eye. The idea of such a place’s existence truly did seem a wondrous dream to him now.
Confused emotions swept over Seth. Even now he felt the urge to hold Galan as he’d done when he pulled her from the sea.
You may hold me, said Galan, I feel suddenly cold and empty.