Anger heated Bastion’s blood until the crisp winter wind diminished to something inconsequential.
“Where is the nearest town with a garrison?”
The elder pointed south.“Cypress Shoals is that way.A day and a half’s walk.”
“I’m acquainted with Lord Kyrith,” Bastion said.“I’ll go and send a message to him.”
The elder practically burst into tears with relief.“Oh, thank you, kind sir!”
Bastion scanned the darkening sky and the crumbling village.“I’ll leave at daybreak.How can I help in the meantime?”
When the elder regained his composure, they assessed the damage together.
Only one home had escaped the fire enough to be usable.Bastion got to work putting it back together as best he could, using fragmented pieces of wood from the surrounding destruction to reinforce it and provide shelter from the elements.He directed a few of the women to clear out the inside to be used as an infirmary and sent a handful of calmer children to gather armfuls of grass for thatching.
All the while, the Yvri maiden went from person to person, healing those too injured to move.
Bastion watched her from the corner of his eye, fascinated.She stepped around debris with the grace of a dancer, her long, blue-black hair swinging around her hips and falling forward each time she knelt.The pain and fear of the villagers immediately softened in her presence, and Bastion wondered if she was using her telepathic gifts to soothe them.
He’d seen more Yvri in Tynamara in the last five years than he had in his entire life, mainly because one of King Torvald’s first acts when he took the crown was to appoint an Yvri headmaster to the university.It had taken time for people to acclimate to such a controversial decision, but eventually things settled, and the city grew more receptive to their presence.
However, he’d never seen a dragon-kin so invested in average citizens.Many of them were gifted healers, as this woman clearly was, but they were difficult to find.Joining a guild or setting up a practice meant staying in one place, and they were often as fluid as the tides.
As dusk approached, Bastion began helping the injured inside, either carrying or stabilizing them as they hobbled alongside him.When everyone was accounted for, he approached the dragon-kin and the prone woman beneath her hands.
She startled as he knelt over her patient.Recognition flickered in her sea green eyes, bright against twilight skin.Her vertical pupils narrowed, and Bastion was once again caught in her thrall.
When she quirked her brow he finally said, “You should rest.”Her eyes fell to his mouth as he spoke.She stared, her scrutiny unsettling, and Bastion licked his lips.“May I take her?”
She met his gaze again.Goosebumps raced across Bastion's shoulders and down his arms.Then she looked beyond him, to the villagers gathering around his handiwork, and stood in one graceful motion.She beckoned him toward the infirmary and strode away.
As gently as he could manage, Bastion picked up the wounded woman and followed the healer.Inside, Bastion settled the woman with her kin, while the healer went to a nursing mother.He joined the elder near the door and watched her place a glowing hand on the woman's shoulder.
“Where did she come from?”he asked quietly, indicating the Yvri maiden.
The elder shook his head.“She’s passed through once or twice.We don’t know much about her except that she’ll see to what ails us.I’ve heard tell that she’s visited other villages besides Windwick.We’re lucky you both showed up when you did.”
Bastion gave a vague nod, scanning the room.Firelight cast shadows on the ruined walls, and the room felt hungry, like the inside of a mouth, and the people were its teeth crowded together.When he circled back to the Yvri, she watched him, her expression indecipherable.He smiled and dipped his head.
She looked away.
Abruptly, and unexpectedly, shame lanced him, and his heart sank like a shard of broken stone.Most women gave him a warmer reception.It was hard to tell when it was because of his dimpled smile or his connection to the prince.That smile hadn’t crossed his lips in weeks, and now, insecurity battered at his gut like a moth trapped in his hands.
“I’ll keep watch,” he told the elder.He slipped outside before others noticed his burning face.
Bastion sighed, seated himself outside the door, and ran his hands through his hair.He was nervous she, more than anyone, would see what was hidden there.
For the first time in a long time, he found himself intrigued by a woman, and her blatant dismissal lingered like a slap.Logically, he knew it had nothing to do with his failure on the island, but the experience was too recent and raw.Compounded by old hurts he hadn’t been mature enough to face, his mind insisted they were connected.
Bastion glanced back inside, letting his eyes rest on the curve of her horns and the fullness of her lips.An Yvri snubbing him shouldn’t be a surprise.
A flash of movement in the dark made him tense.He rose, reassuring himself that his sword was loose in its scabbard, and strode forwards.It was probably an animal, but he wanted to be certain.
Skittering footsteps preceded him through the village, with only a thin crescent of moon for light.Just beyond the last skeletal home, something darted through the tall grass.Bastion paused, a prickle of doubt slowing his steps.
This felt familiar.Like a trick.
Then, agiggle, one that had plagued his nights on the island, sent him reaching for his sword.
