I knelt on one knee, struggling to catch my breath, but ended up staggering.
Right before I fell on my back, a pair of hands caught me. Aila slowly lowered me to the ground beside her.
"Hang on. Try not to move too much." She touched the tips of her spindly fingers to the side of my neck, then pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. "You're very warm, and your heart rate is dangerously high," she replied seriously. "Stay still for a couple minutes and try to catch your breath"
I shook my head and tried to push myself up. We had to get out of here before Pitch came back.
Aila pushed me back down. "Sandy!"
I fell limp. I just stared as I let her guide me back to the ground.
"I'm going to pinch your nose shut," she explained as she grabbed my nose. "All you have to do is take deep breaths through your mouth and clench your muscles as you release."
I followed her instructions, and together, we breathed. Only after I tried inhaling did I realize how tight my chest felt. It was like sucking air in through a straw.
After a few breaths, the world stopped spinning. My heart calmed, and the pressure on my chest diffused. That left Aila hovering above me, pinching my nose.
I raised an eyebrow at her and couldn't help but grin. There was a tiny twitch at the corner of her lip, but then she turned away.
"How do you feel?" she asked as I sat up and massaged my temples.
I gave her a thumbs up.
"That maneuver was made to lower blood pressure so the heart can return to its normal state." She furrowed her brow, then fixed me with a penetrating stare. "Of course, you've probably already seen me perform it."
I gasped and jumped to my feet. Before she would tell me to sit down again, I raced back into the trees. I lifted a large stone, and there were our memories, laying where I had hidden them before confronting Pitch. I gathered them and floated back to Aila.
When she saw the cylinders, her eyes widened. She pursed her lips.
"Your memories…" she murmured.
I drew closer. When she didn't back away, I pointed to her, then to me, then to the cylinder. Our memories.
Her eyes met mine.
She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, her form began to shake again. She leaned forward with a gasp. I dropped the memories and just barely caught her.
Up close, the seizure was even more disturbing. Pieces of her faded and jumped around unnaturally. For a moment, I couldn't even feel her anymore. I grasped for her, but my hand phased right through her arm.
In an instant, she became solid again. She sucked in a huge breath and choked.
I leaned down to her eye level, scanning her face.
"I'm—" she coughed. "I'm ok."
She pushed herself away from me. I staggered backwards, feeling a twinge in my heart.
Trying to ignore the ache, I collected the memories from the ground. We had already spent too much time here. Pitch knew exactly where he left us, and he would be back.
With a simple gesture, I built up a dreamsand cloud. I gingerly approached Aila, then guestered for her to climb up.
My heart sank when she shot me a suspicious look. It was just something small— a tiny twitch of her eyebrows and a split second tightening at the corner of her lip— but I recognised the expression.
I released a sigh and stepped down to her again. I held out the memory cylinders. She reluctantly glanced between them and me, and then we locked eyes. I fixed her with a genuine, sympathetic expression, with just the hint of a smile. Trust me.
I watched as her face softened. She nodded boldly and opened her palm.
I handed her both of our memories, which she took without hesitation. Then, I shuffled back to the cloud and extended a hand.
There was a moment when Aila just stared down at the cylinders. She clenched her eyes shut, then nodded. She pulled herself up off the ground and accepted my hand. Once she had taken a delicate seat, I joined her.
I directed the cloud along the river.
. . .
We headed down into the deep woods on the outskirts of the city. It was even darker under the trees. The moon seemed to have disappeared from the sky, leaving a heavy gloom over everything.
There was a gazebo I visited sometimes, nestled on the bank of the frozen river and hidden under the cover of the thick forest. Everything was coated in an undisturbed layer of the ever falling snow, and the frosted glass doors and windows had been shuttered for winter.
I helped Aila off the cloud. She shuddered as her bare legs sunk into the piles of snow.
I quickly conjured a dreamsand shawl and held it out to her. She hesitated a moment, then nodded thankfully and threw it around her shoulders.
I pried open the glass doors to reveal the comfortable lounge and table set, then stepped aside to make room for Aila. I pushed the doors shut and sealed the cold air outside.
There was a tense moment when we were surrounded by darkness and muffled quietness, and we were huddled very close together against the cold. All I could hear was the breath that puffed out of our mouths in clouds and the sound of blood pumping forcefully in my ears. I swallowed hard and stifled the anxiety rising in my throat.
With a subtle flick of my wrist, I sent dreamsand into the string lights hanging from the gazebo's ceiling. The cozy setup was blanketed with a soft, golden glow.
I tried to make myself look comfortable on the sofa, but Aila hesitated. She glanced around and pulled the shawl tighter. Slowly, she lowered down next to me and folded her hands so tightly over the memory cylinders that her knuckles turned white.
I released a pent up sigh and steeled myself. I unfolded my hand and held it out to her. Aila pursed her lips. She eyed the cylinders, then placed mine in my palm.
The memories felt heavy.
I took her hand in both of mine, startled by the sharp coolness of her smooth skin. I had to hurry. With every passing moment, she was fading farther into emptiness. I placed her fingers over the cylinder.
We both hesitated there for a moment, hovering over the blue diamond.
My heart was thumping hard against my chest, so hard it felt like my whole body was trembling. Aila must have felt my eyes boring into the top of her head, because she looked up.
I took a deep, shuddering breath. She had to feel my hand shaking.
I could still see those little hints of suspicion in her expression. But there was also another emotion in her green eyes… tenderness.
Underneath the layers of fear and regret, I felt a flutter of hope.
My Aila…
I let my eyes fall shut. I led Aila's hand, and, together, we pressed the diamond.
