The only priest she’d ever really had contact with was the one in Jarn who’d basically been the mayor’s pet, fed at his table, whispering gossip, voting in the town council as he was told. It hadn’t left the best of impressions. There was the priest in Sulen who’d seemed kind the few times she met him, but she’d done well enough without.
Rather than answer, she took a sip of the warm broth and sighed contentedly. “It’s delicious. Thank you.”
He seemed genuinely pleased. “You’re very welcome.”
He passed out mugs to the brothers before taking one for himself.
“I should have asked,” she said, after a moment. “Do any of you have injuries you need tended? At the very least we should clean them.”
“I twisted my knee when my horse went down,” Zac said. “But Daris wrapped it.”
“Do you need anything for the pain?”
He grinned, a flash of straight white teeth. “I wouldn’t mind whiskey if you have it, but the captain would probably object.”
“Does he keep you on a tight leash?”
“Nah,” Ty answered. “He’s not a bad sort, but he’s got rules. No drinking on a hunt for one. If we stop in an inn while we’re traveling, that’s fine, so long as we can ride the next day.”
“Does he join you?” She tried to picture that, the stiff and proper captain drunk off his ass.
“I’ve seen him indulge twice that I’ve known him,” Lew said. “And I’ve ridden patrol with him for five years. Both were after particularly bad kills. I suspect if we survive this one, it’ll make three.”
She shrugged off her uneasiness at that. “I don’t have any whiskey.” She looked at Zac. “I do have willow bark if you need it. I can make a tea or you can chew it, though I’d only recommend that as a last resort. I’ll check your leg in the morning when there’s light.”
He nodded his thanks, and she went back to drinking her soup. When she got to the bottom, she scooped the meat out and sucked the juice off her fingers. She looked up to find the Cardis brothers watching her with bemused fascination.
She slowly lowered her hands. “I suppose women don’t eat with their hands where you come from.”
Zac blushed and looked down at his soup.
Ty shrugged. “They don’t hunt witches either. I can’t imagine any of our sisters setting foot in the woods, not even on the family estate.”
Estate. She wiped her hands on her pants, because why not? “How many sisters do you have?”
“There are twelve of us together,” Zac said. “Three girls. Nine boys. I’m number seven, and he’s eight.”
Lew took a sip from his mug. He had long slender fingers that she associated more with a musician than a soldier. “Do you have siblings?”
“No. It’s only me and my mother.”
He nodded, a touch of sympathy in his pale eyes. “Is she a healer as well?”
“She was until she went blind,” Rowan answered him. “I suppose she still is a healer, though it does limit her a bit.”
“Well, we’re fortunate that you came,” Lew said. “With Asher gone, Sol wouldn’t have made it without you.”
She hoped Sol made it. The cut to his side wasn’t deep, but she remembered the fever that had taken Casrian. She didn’t know if it was rot or magic that had caused it, but she didn’t trust the claws of the familiars to be clean. She’d done her best to flush the wound, but she wouldn’t be happy until after he made it through the next several days. They needed to get him out of the woods. It made sense for her to take him, but she still couldn’t help but feel like she was being dismissed for bad behavior.
Daris and Casrian came up to the fire, Daris chuckling at something Casrian had said. He clapped him on the shoulder and went to fill his cup with some of the stew. Casrian stood beside her, but he didn’t say anything, just stood there. Close enough to touch. Miles and miles away.
She stood, leaving her mug in the dirt. She couldn’t be here.
Lew’s brows rose. “Do you want more food? There’s plenty.”
She shook her head. “Thank you though. It was delicious. The best I’ve had in days.” She felt Casrian’s eyes on her, but she turned away. “I need to go check on Sol.”
Rowan lingeredover Sol for longer than was necessary. He slept deeply and only stirred slightly when she checked him for fever. Rest would do more for him than food right now, although she might ask Lew to save him some of the soup for morning.
