With each unsteady breath, my strength drained further. My hands collided with dirt as I braced my fall. Lioran ran toward me, scooping me up into his arms.
“You just left her standing here?” The fae woman scolded him. Her silver streaked, golden hair fell forward in her eyes. Glass bottles clanked within a wooden crate. She placed it at Lioran’s feet. “It’s good you came when you did. Let’s get her inside. I’ll take a look at her.” She nodded toward the stairs that braced the massive tree.
The spinning haze of brown and green wouldn’t stop. My eyelids snapped shut. He ascended each step, bracing me against his chest. An icy chill rolled through me. My only warmth from him.
Light caught through scattered leaves when my eyes opened again.
Fyn pressed his forearm against a curved wooden door. It moaned as it swung open. I quaked. Lioran brought me closer to his chest as he hurried through the little cabin.
“In here,” Neena urged.
He gently lowered me onto the bed. It cradled me.
Lioran leaned against the wall in the corner of the room. He sat there, staring at me.
Neena unwound the strip tied around my wound. “She’s feverish. All of this is from this wound?” Neena fumbled through her wooden crate. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”
She brushed the hair from my face. A muffled gasp slipped from her lips as her eyes settled on my ears.
“Considering her state, we can discuss it later.” Lioran grunted.
“As you wish, your—” she began, but Lioran raised his brow.
“Please don’t start with that,” Lioran interjected.
“This will sting, but if I do not treat it, you will succumb to infection,” Neena said as she ran a wet rag along the wound. It burned fiercely.
I wailed. The fragments of sunshine blurred.
“You could have at least sent word of what you were doing.” Fyn grumbled from the other room.
Lioran didn’t respond.
I exhaled as exhaustion threatened to take me once more. When my eyes opened again, Lioran was watching me still. I longed for home. Wished I hadn’t crossed the divide, but I knew I was lucky. He saved me.
The dense aroma of herbs and spices trailed into my nostrils,followed by lingering stench of blood. Neena slathered paste onto my wound. I squeezed the bedding between my fingers. Lioran remained planted where he sat. Monitoring me from the distance.
“I’ve known these two a long time. You’re safe with them.” she said in an even voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”
“It’s Aelira,” I whispered.
She squeezed my hand in hers. “What a unique name. I am Neena. I will return to check on you later.” Neena placed her hand on my shoulder before she rose.
“Let her rest,” she said.
Lioran stood. He bowed his head to me without another word, before he gripped the handle and pulled it closed.
The crackling fire drowned out their hushed voices.
I made it through the divide. Somehow, I survived the sylkren. I would have to trust the fae to survive.
He protected me and didn’t ask for anything in return.
At least not yet.
My eyelids grew heavy, and I succumbed to the darkness.
Chapter 8
