Alvina and Quinn have never been further apart, but their connection to the spirits might be what reconnects them again.
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Quinn av Stál is slowly losing his mind. He's sure of that, and the only thing keeping him together is his fiancé Islo Charr...
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The harbour came into view. I felt my stomach flip at the sight of my home. My home. I hadn't seen Andahavn for over a year and so much had happened. I rubbed my upper arm, my skin slightly sensitive still from the new tattoo.
"Are you ready?" Barr asked.
"I think so."
"And are you ready for it not going the way we are hoping?"
"No matter what, you need to connect with Quinn. Nothing else matters, really. Right?"
"Right," Barr muttered.
"I hope it doesn't go that way," Huck said and slipped his hand into Barr's. "I'd rather not leave you here."
"I need to get to Quinn, Huqqa," Barr said softly and turned to Huck, draping his arm around the smaller boy.
"I know. But it'd be better if we could all stay together."
"It might not turn out that way," Dy chimed in, gripping hard around the metal railing. We stood outside on the small balcony that stretched around the blimp. "Our main objective is getting Quinn and Barr."
"He is so... Close to breaking. Huqqa, I have to save him," Barr said and pressed his lips to Huck's hair.
"I know but..." Huck trailed off and hugged Barr closely. "Don't die!"
Barr snorted. "As long as Quinn lives, so do I. But if we lose him, I will be lost too."
Huck didn't look any happier with that response.
I glanced up at Dy. She looked fierce with half her hair missing and the tattoos stretching over her forehead, side of her head, down her throat and across her chest. The remainder of her hair was pulled up in a bun with strands hanging down from it.
"Barr?" I asked.
"Yes?" He perked up a little, clenching Huck closer.
"If I died, would Nila die too?"
"No, Nila has other souls too. I only have Quinn so far. So I am in charge of his soul only. We are connected to the souls we take care of. Nila has some of your great-great-grandparents to look out for too in the spirit world." He hesitated a little. "Besides, if you died today, you would go to the spirit world. You know the way. Quinn... He is lost. He needs a guide."
I nodded a little and bit down on my lip. "Right."
"I will guide him though. I will be staying for as long as he needs me. Which might be his entire life."
I was about to say something but was interrupted by the explosion. One of many in the harbour, effectively destroying it, and cutting Andahavn off from Skyen. We'd be able to take over Skyen this way.
Dy put her arm around me and pulled me close. "You hanging in there?"
"Yeah," I said with a bit of a gruff voice. I was still here. I was still present. I didn't feel like coughing, but my throat was burning.
