“Ifeelokay. Just a little shaky.” She gazes up at Rhune, her bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. “Am I dying? Is that why I’ve been feeling so…off,since I got here?”
“Of course you’re not dying, pup. You’re going to be just fine.” Rhune turns his attention to me, his eyes flashing with worry.She’s going to be fine, right?
His voice rings in my mind, full of doubt and heartbreaking despair, and I find I cannot tell him the truth.Of course she is. I’m sure there is a simple explanation for this.
“What did you mean when you said you have been feelingoffsince you came here?” I ask. In all my research, I haven’t found anything to indicate that living in The Far Place can make humans sick. Perhaps she has an allergy to one of the foods she ate?
“I’m just really tired all the time,” she says. “My body aches—mostly my joints—and I haven’t been getting hungry or thirsty as often as I would on earth.” Her brows pull together in a frown. “Oh, and there’s this weird tugging sensation in my chest that happens sometimes.”
I share a look with Rhune.Tugging?As in, the pull of a fated mate bond? It can’t be… she’s ahuman. It’s impossible. The sensation must be due to something else.
“Is there anything else?” I try to keep my tone level. “Headaches? Chills? Hallucinations?”
“Actually…” She drops her gaze, her bottom lip firmly clenched between her teeth. “I get these daydreams. They’re not hallucinations—at least, I’m pretty sure they’re not—more like memories. Visions of things I can’t explain.”
Hmm.“Fascinating. Can you tell me about them?”
Her eyes gloss with a faraway memory, and she whispers just two little words. “The tree…”
“The what?”
“The tree,” she murmurs. “It’s the only thing I can remember. That, and a horrible sense of dread.” She lets out a deep breath. “I have no idea what it means.”
“What does the tree look like?” Rhune asks.
She frowns, thinking hard. “It looked like a willow tree from earth, only it was completely frozen over, like someone dipped it in nitrogen and hung it from the ceiling.”
“A welwig?” Rhune’s eyes are wide as he meets my gaze. “What does it mean?”
“I don’t know… It’s almost unheard of.”
“Somethingiswrong with me, then?” Willow’s voice cracks heavily. “You can tell me. I can take it.”
“Nothing is wrong with you. You are perfect, Willow,” Rhune says. “And if there is something, we will fix it. Right, Nyx?”
“Right.” I give Willow a bright smile to assuage some of the worry in her gaze, and luckily, it seems to do the trick. “Now, let’s get that beautiful face cleaned up.”
I leave to retrieve a bucket of water and a small rag from the bathing chambers. When I return, I’m shocked to find Rhune and Willow gone from his bedroom. Rolling my eyes, I go to Rhune’s bedroom, and sure enough, they are sitting in the center of his nest of furs.
“What? She looked cold.” Rhune wraps a fifth blanket over Willow’s shoulders, and she casts me a pleading look. He has her bundled up tighter than a newborn in a snowstorm, and though she looks adorable, I can tell by the pink of her cheeks that she’s getting a littletoowarm.
“You need to get some of those off so I can clean her skin. We’ll warm her up after,” I tell Rhune with a wink.
Appeased, Rhune starts peeling layers of furs off Willow. Once her face and neck are exposed, Rhune takes a seat andpulls her into his lap, his arms curling protectively around her stomach as a low purr rumbles in the base of his throat.
Jealousy roils in my veins as I watch the two of them cuddling, but I push it to the back of my mind so I can focus on cleaning her.There will be time for snuggles later.
Carefully, I draw the moistened rag to her face, dabbing at the skin under her eyes where the blood is thickest. Willow sits still as a statue as I clean, her strange eyes scanning my profile with an intensity I can’t place.
“There. All done.” Sitting back on my heels, I grin as I take in my handiwork. Her eyes still have that strange ring of red around the pupil, but otherwise, her skin is clean, her gaze is clear, and she seems in good spirits. “How do you feel?”
“Better now. Are my eyes still…?”
Rhune nods. “I think the red is there to stay.” He slides his hand up, pinching the streak of red hair growing from her temple. “Your eyes match your mane. Brown and a hint of red. It is unique and beautiful, like the rest of you.”
She drops her gaze, a hint of pink creeping into her cheeks. “Are you always this sugar sweet?”
“He is.” I chuckle when Rhune shoots me a glare. “What? You’d have me lie to her?”
