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Oliver threw himself down next to me. “How are you feeling? How’s the head?”
I frowned at him. “Like I would like to remove the ice from it immediately.”
He leaned over to examine the injury. “I think it looks much better. Take the ice off. How is the pain?”
“Not great.” I shrugged. “But I’m sure it’ll be better in a few days. I love the music outside. It’s so festive. Is it because the women who didn’t meet the requirements to be Chosen in the ritual are meeting their loves?”
He rose, walked over to a bag, and brought it back over to me. “I doubt very much anyone is falling in love. I think it’s more like business arrangements that hopefully result in not disliking your partner too much.”
“You and Truett hold the same opinion on the subject, I see.” Pain throbbed, and I tried to ignore it, instead watching the sunset outside. There were so many colors, the sky bleeding in vibrant hues.
He shrugged. “Life has taught us some things. Here…” He held out the herb I gave to Charlie when he was hurt, the one Freddie smoked recreationally.
“You know I’ve never done it. I don’t know what it’ll do to me.”
He tugged me against him. “You smoke a little bit and maybe your head won’t hurt so much, like it did for Charlie. I’ll sit here with you, so you don’t do anything like try to run out and join the dancers outside. Probably, after a little while, it will make you go to sleep like it did for Charlie, too. But you know all of this, because you are the one who saved him. What did you tell him? You said you wouldn’t let him become addicted and to just try to relax.”
I scowled at him, finding it particularly mean he chose to throw my own words back at me when I was trying to be brave. “I’m not good at being taken care of. I’m not used to it.”
“I can see that. I saw it at your house, too. You and I are alike that way. I was also the oldest, and I had to take care of everyone. It’s why I became a Warrior. I wanted to send them money, which I have done every month for two decades. They’re so accustomed to it now that I don’t know what they’ll do when I die. Of course, I won’t be here to see it, so I guess I won’t ever know.” He shook his head. “Anyway, inhale.”
He pressed the blunt right into my mouth, and I inhaled deeply. I did want the pain to stop. In seconds, it was like it suddenly did. A whole peace came over me. I leaned back against Oliver, who held me tightly.
“Oh, she likes it.” He took it from me, putting it in an ashtray next to us where it continued to burn. “We’ll leave it there, in case it starts to wear off.”
“I…” Really, I had no idea what I intended to say. Words fled.
“Yes,” he said and kissed my cheek. “You are not a business arrangement. Not like out there. You are ours to care for. We didn’t do that today. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head, which blissfully felt painless. “I was right outside. You can’t be on top of me at all times.”
“Want to bet?”
That was sort of funny, so it made me giggle.
“What did you do to her?” Charlie asked as he came into the room, dropping a bag he carried on the couch.
“I gave her some of the happy weed we gave you. Now she’s not feeling too terrible.” He squeezed me, and I laughed again. “She’s a giggler.”
Charlie stroked his hand down my face. “What you need to do is sleep. The healer said she needed to rest, so close your eyes and get some rest. You’ll probably still have a headache in the morning.”
“Boo on still having one.”
But he was right. I did need to sleep, and Oliver was being a great, gentle guy. I squished down on him a bit more, and he let me.
Sometime later, I opened my eyes. Or maybe I didn’t. I was still where I fell asleep. In fact, Charlie hadn’t even moved. But next to him, a monster waited. I caught my breath and tried to scream, but I couldn’t. The red, giant, horned monster bent over, leaning close to me. His hand consisted of three fingers, and he stroked my cheek as Charlie had.
“You were offered to me, and I accepted, so know that you are mine.”
What? I shook in terror, but neither Charlie nor Oliver seemed to notice. Oliver held me, and Charlie squatted in front of me, but then they seemed to blur out like a wave moved through them. Instead, I was back at my home.
What is going on? I whirled around. I was on my back lawn. The guys were all there, Charlie sprawled out, sitting on my mother’s blanket. The other three looked down at him.
Oliver ran a hand through his hair. “This couldn’t be working out better. You getting hurt was absolutely what we needed to move things along.”
“Glad I could be helpful,” Charlie said and winced.
“We just have to stay the course.” Freddie looked between them. “She responds when we touch her, when we kiss her. She likes that. It puts the thoughts of whatever else out of her head. That’s how we do this. Stick to the plan. Once we get her home, it’s done. She’s in and whatever this is, we’ll figure out how to make it palatable.”
