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“Did you build that hut?” I ask.
She shrugs and gestures to her sister and me. “Couldn’t have been any more difficult than whatever you two just went through.”
I lift a brow and carefully cross the river to the other side.
Harmony sets her pile of wood down, then sets to work on building a fire.
“You know how to survive in the wilderness?” I stare in curiosity as Sera crouches with a handmade flint.
Both sisters exchange an annoyed look.
I frown. “I just don’t get it.”
Sera huffs. “I told you: the Heir wants us prepared for anything.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I sit down beside the fire as it blazes to life. I shuck off the three backpacks I strapped over myself and rummage through them in the hopes of a salve for my wound. “I don’t get why he chose me for this. I can kill, but that’s about it.”
The sisters settle on the other side of the fire. Harmony kicks her boots off, and they both take off their capes.
“We don’t get it either,” Harmony says after a moment.
My heart sinks in my chest a little, but I remind myself of the belief I saw in Cristen’s eyes. The belief I had in myself for a moment.I can do this. I just need to be smart. I need to learn.My fingers scrape against a plastic container at the bottom of one of the bags. I take it out and pop off the lid, letting out a sigh of relief at the sight of a first aid kit.
“Let me do it,” Sera says and scoots closer.
I tense as she takes a bottle of alcohol out of my grip before she drizzles it over my wound without warning. “Fuck,” I bite out as the wound bubbles.
Sera cracks a smile, and Harmony chuckles.
“Not funny.” I glare at them, then hiss as Sera cleans the wound with a cloth.
“This is pretty deep. We’ll have to keep an eye on it for infection.” Sera lifts my arm up, then wraps a bandage around the wound. She ties it off, cinching it directly over the tear in my skin.
“Don’t ever be a nurse,” I say with a wince.
Sera laughs and gives the bandage a flick. “I don’t know. I think I did pretty good.”
Harmony undoes her leather chestpiece and slides it off. “I’m going to rinse off. Sera, keep watch.”
I look over to the river. “Is it safe?”
“Until sundown,” Harmony answers as she pulls off the rest of her clothing.
“But it’s…” I trail off as I look up at the sky.When did the sun come up?“Morning,” I finish. “We were fighting all night? It felt like an hour at most.”
“Adrenaline does that to you.” Sera takes out her weapons and takes turns sticking them in the fire to burn off the blood. “You should always keep track of time during a fight. The last thing you want is for it to get away from you and to die of exhaustion.”
“Will the others not find us here?” I wonder as I lie down on my side, my back to the fire and my eyes glued to the set of vines separating us from our enemies.
“It’s possible, but my guess is we won’t have any intrusions until nightfall. Those left after the initial battle are strong, but we are the strongest. They know they won’t stand a chance in combat.”
“So, they’ll try sabotage,” Harmony adds in a sing-song way as she plunges into the river. She disappears beneath the water before her head pops up and she slops her hair behind her.
“The keyword istry,” Sera continues. She shrugs. “We’re ready for anything.”
“Because you have insider information,” I say.
Sera grins. “We’re Evercores. It has perks.”
