“But you killed her instead.”
“Yes. The captain did. There was one death on our side—one of Emrys’s men—and a few injuries. By the time I got back to camp, Grigor had already dosed you for the pain. Burns are so hard.”
She knew that from her experience as a healer. It was strange to be on the other side of it. “Is Casrian all right?”
Asher’s expression softened. “He had a minor injury to his arm, but it hasn’t slowed him down. He insisted on bringing you all the way back here to the estate himself. It took three days to get here. Do you remember any of the journey?”
“Not really.” Flashes only.
“That’s just as well. He set a hard pace.”
“My mother?—”
“Arrived yesterday and has been ordering me around since. She knows her craft.”
She winced. “Has she been very worried?”
“I’ll tell her you’re up as soon as I check you over, although she’ll probably do the same. May I?”
He gestured toward her head first and she nodded. He leaned forward and gently slid his hands behind her head. He felt at a sore spot there. “The swelling’s down. Any dizziness? Nausea?”
“Just when I first tried to move. It’s passed.”
“You need food. We’ve been forcing broth down your throat but you know how that is.” He pulled back. “How’s your vision?”
“Seems fine.”
He touched the wrist on her injured hand. “We’ll leave this for now. I changed the bandage this morning. It’s bad. I had to remove some dead tissue in the beginning. There was blistering, but no sign of infection so far. It’s going to scar, but I’m more worried about keeping it clean right now. Your mother made a salve.”
She smiled a little queasily. “Of course she did.”
“It will heal. We’ll talk about stretching exercises later.” He blew out a breath and lifted his gaze to hers. “What you did with the charm…it saved us. I know I argued against it, but it was a close fight to take down the witch even with two patrols. There are still men out in the woods hunting down the rest of the familiars. No one’s ever seen a witch that strong. She would have killed us before they had a chance of reaching us for a rescue. You saved my life. Thank you.”
She squirmed a little under his regard. “It was nothing.”
“It waseverything. I get to see my little girl again.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. She wasn’t used to receiving any kind of praise. She wasn’t used to people thanking her or looking at her with such open good will. But then…they’dbeen through something awful together. And they’d survived. She thought about how close they’d come to dying.
She reached for him, hooking him into a hug with her good arm. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”
“And I you.” He squeezed her shoulders.
When he pulled back, he said, “Casrian knows about the charm. Grigor and Emrys too. There was no way to hide it with the burn on your hand, but they haven’t told anyone else. They won’t.”
She stared.
“I won’t talk about the rest,” he said. “What happened in there—the things the witch said, what I saw—I won’t speak of it to anyone.”
What exactly had he seen?
She couldn’t ask. It was a door she really didn’t want to open. Maybe if Asher was willing to forget about it, then she could too.
He continued, all businesslike. “You should know that the physical recovery is only part of the battle. The memory of the ordeal can fester like an infection. You don’t have to talk to me, but you need to talk to someone. A priest would be best.” He correctly read her expression and smiled. “Or Casrian. He’s had the training for it.”
She didn’t know if she could go to Casrian for help with this. He’d overreacted to the tracking spell. How could she tell him about the trees using her to fix an ancient spell below the fort? It scared her. She didn’t want him to know. And a priest was clearly out.
“Casrian’s been near frantic with worry, you know. He’s been?—”
