Chapter 41: Akton
Still alive. Akton kept his eyes closed as he woke, using his other senses first. He could smell the old smoke of the burned town, damp like it had been quenched by rain, and over that the new smoke of fresh campfires. The nearest one had a slightly different scent to it that he realized suddenly he’d come to associate with Talfryn, and he turned that over in his mind a while. He hadn’t realized he could sense the difference in shifter magicks. But then, Talfryn could…
He blocked out the sound of mumbled conversation and footsteps to focus on Talfryn’s breathing. Akton was curled in the crook of his arm, warm under a bedroll. Talfryn hadn’t shifted. Slowly Akton took stock of what he was feeling—nothing from the minor cuts on his arm and leg, little from the gash to his
