CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The road trailed off to be replaced by steep hills, and after hours of hiking, the landscape changed again to a flat, wet bog full of decaying trees and tiny buzzing insects, which were determined to deprive them of blood. Jidan drew the insects' attention the most; within moments he had an entire swarm around him that he couldn’t shake off regardless of what he did.
Eventually, Xanna figured out how to keep them at bay, warming the air around him so the insects found it too hot to withstand and flew off to pester some other creature elsewhere.
Knowing that Xanna couldn’t keep using her Etherin indefinitely, Yusumi decided to help out with her own magic, though she still found it hard to control. The first time she attempted taking over from Xanna, she heated the air t
