Taboo Online

Her gaze moved across North Basin.

Hundreds of elves filled the protected field beneath human floodlights. Some lay beneath blankets while medics worked around them, while families sat together near the young silver roots and Rootkeepers moved constantly between the shelters.

Several Thornmenders had gathered around human medical equipment. One medic slowly demonstrated a scanner against his own arm while an elven healer watched the display and pointed toward a nearby patient. Where gestures failed, Lauren allowed the most urgent questions through the Heartroot instead of opening herself to the entire crowd again.

Aelira took in all of it.

Red Hound noticed how much weight she had begun placing on the Rootkeeper beside her.

"There’s a medical team waiting for her too."

Lauren passed the message through the bridge.

Aelira’s answer returned immediately.

My people come first.

Lauren translated.

Red Hound looked toward the already crowded medical area. "They already are."

When Lauren carried his answer back, Aelira turned her face toward him. Neither could speak directly to the other, yet the meaning was clear enough.

Red Hound did not repeat himself. He simply stepped aside and left the route toward the shelters open.

Several elves finally noticed who had emerged from the passage.

One stood, then another, and soon people across the field were turning toward their Queen.

No one cheered. There was too much grief in North Basin for celebration, so they simply looked at her.

Aelira stood beneath a foreign sky, surrounded by the people who had escaped Lethariel with her. Every elf who had reached the Central Heartroot was now beneath Earth’s sky.

The Central Heartroot began changing almost the moment Aelira disappeared from Lethariel.

The green passage remained open, but the empty sanctuary around Luke started contracting. Silver rails sank into the terraces, abandoned platforms folded toward the trunk, and the ceiling lowered while entire layers of living wood drew themselves into the core beneath his palm.

A system window opened before the four awakened visitors.

[Native resident evacuation complete.]

[Central Heartroot core transplantation available.]

[Preparing source compression.]

[Warning: Core transfer load exceeds stable controlled capacity.]

Luke read the final message and looked toward the walls closing around them.

Kellan sat near the central rail with his injured leg extended. The white-bark splints the Thornmender had bound around his thigh remained beneath Iris’s golden lifeline, and he watched one of the upper terraces disappear into the trunk.

"At least it waited until the elves were out."

Dorian followed his gaze, keeping his wounded forearms close to his body. "If it had started earlier, we wouldn’t have had enough bridge capacity for everyone."

Kellan gave a tired nod and said nothing more.

Another pulse moved through the Heartroot, and every remaining terrace shifted at once.

Luke’s shoulder gave out.

Pain tore through the joint before most of the feeling disappeared from his arm. His knees buckled, but the roots supporting his ribs tightened and caught him against the core while another living strand wrapped around his forearm and pressed his palm firmly against the bark.

By now, Luke was no longer sure he could claim to be holding anything. The Heartroot had decided where his hand belonged and was keeping it there.

Iris hurried toward him.

"Luke, look at me."

He forced his head up. "I’m awake."

The words came out weaker than he intended.

Iris reached for the dark anchor that had belonged to Aelira’s lifeline and opened her hand, trying to call the connection back. Nothing happened.

A thin streak of gold appeared across the anchor on her second attempt, flickered, and vanished again.

Kellan watched her. "Still nothing?"

Iris shook her head. "I don’t know whether crossing the passage disrupted it or whether it just needs time. Either way, I can’t use it now."

The Heartroot contracted again.

Luke’s breath stopped halfway into his chest as pressure spread from his shoulder down his spine. More of the sanctuary collapsed toward the core, and Iris immediately looked at the two lifelines she still had active.

One held Kellan’s ruined thigh together, while the other supported Dorian’s damaged ribs and forearms.

Her attention shifted toward Luke and stayed there.

Kellan noticed.

"Move mine to him."

Dorian turned toward him. "Your thigh is barely holding together."

Kellan looked down at the white-bark splints beneath the golden bands. "The Thornmender slowed the bleeding."

"She also told you the splints don’t replace the lifeline."

"I heard her."

Iris crouched beside him before the discussion went any farther.

"Kellan, once this comes off, the leg stays exactly where it is. She stabilized the deeper bleeding, but the muscle is still torn in three places."

Kellan nodded.

"If the blood starts coming through those bindings too quickly, I put the lifeline back immediately."

"I know."

"You also lose the support that was keeping sensation in your foot."

His expression tightened.

"I know that too."

Earlier in the battle, Kellan probably would have followed that answer with some stubborn claim that he could still move if necessary. This time, he simply placed both hands carefully above the splints.

"Luke needs it."

Dorian shifted closer.

"I’ll keep his hip steady."

Kellan glanced at Dorian’s injured forearms. "Can you?"

Dorian tested his grip once before positioning himself beside him. "For this, yes."

Luke heard enough of the conversation to understand what they intended. He tried to turn, but the root around his ribs stopped the movement before his damaged shoulder could twist.

"Keep it on him."

Kellan looked toward him.

Luke swallowed and forced out the rest. "I’m still awake."

"You’re barely staying there."

"That still counts."

Kellan did not argue. He simply looked toward Iris.

Another contraction passed through the Heartroot.

Luke’s vision darkened at the edges, and the sensation of Lauren at the other end of the bridge faded beneath the overwhelming presence of the ancient tree.

Iris made the decision.

"Kellan, keep your hands exactly where they are. Dorian, lock his hip in place. If those bandages start soaking through, tell me immediately."

Dorian wedged himself against Kellan’s side. "I’ve got him."

Kellan leaned back against the living rail and took one careful breath.

"Do it."

Iris closed her fist, and the golden bands around his thigh loosened.