But fuck, this journey has never taken this long.
Two miles after the last village, Alf’s off-road vehicle waits for us. I throw cash at the driver and dash out of there.
I yank the door open, and our gazes meet. He nods. No words needed between us. A curt bow of his head to confirm she’s alive.
I climb into the passenger seat, and we drive in silence. I have questions, but none of them seem important. Not as essential as getting to her.
The house squats at the edge of the clearing, woodand tin and stubborn survival. Light spills from one window.
She’s there. She has to be.
The car jerks to a stop.
I don’t wait for the engine to die before I’m out, boots sinking into wet earth, the air thick with rot and rain and green.
“Liam,” Alf calls after me.
I turn, annoyed by the delay. His face is carved from the same patience it’s always been. “She needs you whole.”
I don’t answer. I just move. But his words steady me… just barely. She needs me. I can fall apart later.
The room is dim and cool. The scent hits me first. Herbs, earth, smoke, something bitter and grounding.
A mosquito net drapes over the bed like a veil. I pause. I want to take her into my arms. I don’t want to disturb her. I’m lost.
Roxy lies on her side, curls damp against her temple, skin flushed with fever. Her lashes rest against her cheeks, too still, and my chest tightens until it burns.
Wrestling with my useless panic, I stand there like an idiot. Needing her. Missing her. Loving her.
None of it is enough. I don’t know what to do. The uselessness seeps through me with a vengeance.
She moans and turns onto her back. My gaze landson her chest. The shallow rises and falls. Fast, feverish, but present. Alive.
I drop to my knees before I realize I’ve moved.
“Hey,” I whisper, like my voice alone might tether her here.
My hand hovers, afraid to touch, afraid not to. I settle it on her forearm, the net scratchy in my palm. Her skin is warm. Too warm.
She doesn’t stir. Fuck, why are we here? We need to take her to the hospital.
My heart starts doing that dangerous thing… speeding up, spiraling, rewriting every worst outcome I’ve ever survived.
“She sleeps.”
A soft voice cuts through my loud heartbeat. Low. Calm. Female.
I twist. A woman stands near the door. Her face sports too many lines. Wrinkles of age, intelligence, experience.
She is small and skinny, with a kind smile on her face, her eyes sharp with intelligence.
Her hair is braided tightly. Her hands steady, folded in front of her.
I stand up carefully, not to disturb Roxy. With one more glimpse at her, I step outside and find Alf in the kitchen.
“You fucking called a medicine woman?”I whisper through my teeth, the words ripping out of me, ugly with fear.
Alf doesn’t flinch. “Was I supposed to leave her in a local hospital where she’d catch something? You know that place is not safe.”
