Clouds parted to allow the moon to light the grassy plane they travelled on. The sweet scent of white Lady's Gloves filled the air, telling Leyla that dawn was approaching. She had lost track of how many hours passed since they left the hut, nor could she judge how much longer they had to go to reach their destination. It would normally take them half a day to get to the Healing lands from where they had begun, but Alec insisted on stopping to redress Finn's wound so frequently it was hard to say how much ground they had covered.

She cast a sideways glance at the General of the Warrior Kingdom. His braids tide back tight, his expression grim, he was holding Finn against his broad chest as they rode. After what she heard him tell the boy back in the hut, she thought she understood his feelings. Finn was his little cousin, his family. Leyla had no idea what she would do if it was Michael who was at deaths door.

Her mind wondered to Michael and Delphine. They should have reached the outpost a while back and were probably very angry at her. Although she hated that she had to use force to send them away, Leyla knew she had done the right thing. If Alec and his men hadn't come across the scene of the ambush on their way to the Greenlands, Leyla, along with anyone else who stayed with her, would be dead by now.

Bo and Wolf who were riding in front of them held their hands up, bringing the group to a stop. Alec slowed gently, trying not to rock Finn who was flitting in and out of consciousness. The boy had managed to speak Alec's name when back at the hut, but his rampant fever kept him from lucid speech every since. Leyla hoped they didn't have long to go. With severe blood loss and a raging temperature, Finn wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

Her eyes wondered over the plain until she saw the reason for their sudden halt; they had reached the boarder of the Giant Tree Woods. Leyla had never been to where the Healing People lived, but had seen many maps of their living areas. From the start of the trees ahead, it would only take them an hours ride to reach the centre of their settlement. Perhaps then, Finn really had a chance.

"What are we waiting for?" Alec growled low at his men. They both looked back apologetically.

"I'm sorry sir," Wolf spoke with his gravely voice. "There are two unidentified shadows straight ahead. We can't move within arrow range."

Leyla spotted the shadows then looked at Finn's perspiring face. He was growing paler every moment, they had no time for this!

Kicking her horse forward, she pulled alongside Wolf, grabbed his bow from his satchel and an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back. The Warrior was too surprised to protest, as she pushed her knees together to get her horse to move two more steps ahead. The distance was long, far longer than most anyone could manage. Leyla looked down the tip of her arrow for aim, then called the Heat. Into her hands it came, stretching towards her from the ground like little invisible fingers, filling her palms. When the tingling reached her wrists, Leyla stopped pulling and took a deep steading breath.

"Lady Alessa?" Wolf spoke her name in question. Leyla ignored him, raised the bow up towards the sky, pulled back and released. The arrow flew, making only the faintest of sounds as it cut across the darkness and struck the tree between the shadows. Though she didn't look, she could feel the surprise radiating from the Warriors in behind her.

"If it's an ambush, you just wasted an arrow," Alec said with no inflection in his voice.

He was right, but she didn't care. The only thing she cared about, was saving Finn.

Another moment passed, then suddenly one of the shadows stepped out from behind the tree she hit. Then the other joined, walking quickly forward. A man and a woman came out to the clearing, their blonde heads glistening in the moonlight as they raised their swords in salute. They were Warrior scouts, protecting the Healing Lands as per the Kingdoms agreement.

"Wolf, Bo" Alec called to his men. "Ride ahead with the scouts and notify the Head Healer of our arrival. Tell her we are bringing a wounded member of the Warrior royal family who needs immediate medical attention." The men took off at breakneck speed, while the rest of them continued as quickly as Finn's condition would allow.

It got a fare bit cooler once they entered the Giant Tree Woods and the ground over the thick interwoven roots was not easy for the horses to navigate. Leyla moved her steed closer to Alec's incase Finn toppled to the side.

Sten and Toke forged ahead, trying to lead them through easier grounds.

"I don't know how you've aged." Alec said suddenly. His voice was low, his eyes on the path ahead.

Leyla's hands tightened on her horse's reigns, but she said nothing. Silence was a better option when she had no energy left to lie.

"We know so little about the Land of Light, but I never imagined that they could do this..." Alec glanced at her for a split second, then adjusted his grip on Finn.

She knew she had given him plenty to be suspicious about, but the certainty in his voice had to be a bluff. No, he was just guessing, he couldn't possibly know. And she could not tell.

"At first I thought Lady Alessa might be a relative of yours. I thought perhaps your father was from the Land of Light and he had asked for your return. I've been wanting to believe that, since it was the only good that might have come of you being taken to that godforsaken place." He coughed to clear the bitterness in his voice. "But when I saw your eyes up close, I was sure they were the same green eyes I looked into thousands of times before. So I tested you with that arrow. I was fairly certain after that, but you threw me off by coddling up to that piece of trash, Leo." He sent her another sideways glance as he held Finn tight. "I suppose you did that for my benefit?"

Leyla avoided his gaze, not sure what to say to dissuade him.

Alec sighed, "After seeing what you did at the hut, there's no doubt left in my mind. You are my Leyla."

My Leyla. The words sent a strange wave a panic through her. She had to say something, but what? "General Alec, you seem to have misunderstood-"

"Don't," he cut her off, sounding frustrated. "Am I meant to believe that the ladies of the Land of Light have better reflexes than trained Warriors? That they are so well versed in the art of war they can fight off an ambush of two dozen Bone Eaters on their own? Am I also meant to believe the ladies of the Land of Light can shoot an arrow at a tree too far for most Warrior Generals to reach?"

"I was not fighting alone, you saved me! And the arrow just now... was luck."

Alec nodded as if he agreed. "You can not admit to it, I understand. I will not ask questions. I will not tell anyone else. Since they healed your scar and allowed you to come back home to check on Tia, they must be treating you well."

"How did - " She pressed her lips together. She shouldn't be surprised that Alec had put everything together, after all, he was one of the greatest strategists the Warrior Kingdom had ever known. Alec knew and somehow it changed nothing, because he would not tell anyone nor ask questions. She had been worried about him finding out for naught! He was too smart not to understand her circumstances and too kind to put her in a bind.

Finn groaned, drawing her eyes to his shadowed figure, "Has his temperature come down at all?"

Alec shook his head in the negative, riding his horse around a tree that had a trunk four times her width. "He is alive."

For now, she could almost hear the grim thoughts that seemed to follow the statement.

They rode on, accompanied by Finn's groans, for what seemed like an eternity. With every step, the sounds of protest and pain grew louder, until he was quiet once more. The silence was so much worse...

After another gruelling stretch the lights of the Healing Camp appeared in the distance. Sten, Toke and the Warrior scouts were waiting for them at the bottom of the giant trees. High above them, in an intricate maze of bridges and ladders, hung the tree houses where the Healing people lived.

Before she had a chance to look for any steps leading up, a platform lowered seemingly out of nowhere, carrying a young boy and two men. The men, garbed in loose green outfits and white turbans, rushed forward and immediately reached up for Finn.

She saw Alec weigh his options for a split second before he slid down from the horse with his cousin in his arms.

"I will carry him," he spoke in Healing tongue.

The men assessed him with coal rimmed eyes, then led the way to back to the platform. Leyla jumped off her horse, managing to get onto the contraption just as the young boy pulled the ropes and the block of wood began to rise into the air.

They passed three layers of houses before finally coming to a stop in front of a building that was twice as large as any they'd seen so far. Life-sized carved figures lined the path from the platform to the door of the house which was open, a bright light shining from within.

The men in green got off first, then Alec and her followed until they found themselves entering a large room with high ceilings and a single wooden throne in front of a silk partition. A woman wearing a purple dress and green turban, sat on the chair surrounded by dozens of Healers who knelt along the edges of the room with their eyes closed. She was their leader; the Heka.

Thin eyebrows arched over twelve small circle tattoos that were as black as her coal rimmed eyes. She said nothing when they entered, her gaze far away as her followers hummed a single note with closed mouths.

Leyla took shallow breaths, uncomfortable with the thick scent of incense that wafted from the large plates placed around the chamber. There were other plates too, she noticed. Some filled to the brim with rock salt while others had strings of copper and chunky crystals.

Suddenly the humming stopped.

"Lay him there," the Heka pointed to the centre of the room without looking in their direction. Her voice was strong and deep, belying the aged fragility of her face. Alec laid Finn down, stepping back when the two Healers who had accompanied them rushed to spread rock salt around the boy's body. They closed the circle of salt and joined the other Healers kneeling along the walls.

Leyla watched as the Heka approached Finn, the crystals that hung from her bracelets jingling as she scanned the air above him with spread fingers. "This body no longer wants to fight."

"Can you save him?" Alec asked, his jaw tight.

The Heka looked their way, her eyes now the same colour as the golden hoops that dangled from her ears. "There is a Healer who can, but it will drain half a year from her life."

Leyla's brows drew together with worry. She would have given six months without thought, but why would a Healer do the same for a stranger from another kingdom?

"Let her use my life instead!" Alec said.

The Heka laughed, an odd sound that carried on the incense filled air. "Unfortunately, Warrior, that is not possible! But, she may ask for your life in exchange for her sacrifice."

"What do you mean?" Leyla stepped forward. The woman could not be suggesting that Alec die in place of Finn, she couldn't let them do that!

The Heka ignored her outburst and looked only at Alec as she continued. "In exchange for saving the boy, the Healer will be given the right to make one request. Whatever the request might be, the one who wants to save him will need to grant it. That is the condition, are you willing to accept it?"

"You can't agree! She could ask for your life!" Leyla protested, pulling at his arm, but Alec would not look at her. Instead, he removed her hand gently and raised his fist to his heart.

"I accept."

The Heka nodded. "It is agreed then. Serena!"