Page 149 of Moon Chosen

“Days. He wants to end it, Nik. He’s been begging the Healers to give him the dram of monkshood.”

“No! That’s not going to happen. I won’t let it happen.”

“What are you going to do?”

Nik rubbed his shoulder, wishing he had a mug of Mari’s noxious tea to ease his aches and pains. “I’m going to find Mari and convince her to cure O’Bryan. Now.”

“We could go to the Elders and petition them to allow a group of Scratchers to go free. We’d have to tell them about Mari’s ability to cure blight, but that would be enough to get them to agree, though I can’t promise that they’ll continue to free the Scratchers after we do have the cure.”

“Father, you have to stop calling them Scratchers. They’re Earth Walkers.” Then Nik sat up straighter. “And we don’t need to go to the Elders because I don’t need a group of Earth Walkers freed. I only need one.” He met his father’s questioning look with a relieved grin. “Jenna is Mari’s friend! I’ll offer Jenna’s freedom in exchange for O’Bryan’s life. Mari doesn’t have to give me the recipe for her poultice right now, so long as she cures O’Bryan.”

“I don’t think the boy can travel, Nik. He’s pretty bad off,” Sol said.

“Then I’ll need your help twice—once sneaking Jenna off Farm Island, and again sneaking Mari here to cure my cousin.”

“Son, I’ll help you once, twice, a thousand times. Just don’t almost get yourself killed again.”

“Father, that’s a deal.”

“What’s this daughter of Galen like really?” Sol said.

“She’s smart and strong. She’s also kind, but I don’t think she’d describe herself that way. As tough as she is, calling her kind might actually be an insult to her.” Nik found himself smiling as he thought about Mari. “She’s an incredible artist. She even sketched a picture of Galen, Orion, and her mother.”

“I’d like to see that someday,” Sol said.

“I hope you will, Father.” Nik sipped his ale, thinking about Mari. “There’s a sadness about her. Every time she smiled it was like she’d forgotten how, and wasn’t sure if she even wanted to remember.”

“Well, she’s lost both of her parents. Her mother recently. You know how that feels, son.”

“I do, but I think it’s more than that. I recognize the sadness that comes with being an outsider in your own skin,” Nik said.

“You’ve never told me you feel like an outsider,” Sol said.

“It’s not an easy thing to tell, and I don’t want to disappoint you any more than I already have.”

Sol leaned forward, taking his son’s shoulders in both of his hands. “Nikolas, you don’t disappoint me. That’s something you’ve created in your mind. I don’t care if you are chosen by a dozen magnificent Shepherds at the same time, or no canine at all—I wouldn’t love you any more, and I’ll certainly never love you less.”

Nik blinked through tears, trying for a smile. “Father, are you just saying this because you thought I was dead?”

Sol’s expression didn’t lighten. He held his son’s gaze. “I’m saying it because it is the truth. Son, I want you to make your own choices, and if that takes you down a path I could never have expected for you, then follow it and know that you will always have my love as well as my respect.”

“Thank you, Father.” Sol hugged him, and for a moment Nik rested there, safe in his father’s embrace.

They parted, each wiping at their eyes. When their gazes met again the two men laughed.

“It is so good to have you back,” Sol said. “Wilkes gave a full report about what happened out there. He made it clear that your instincts were absolutely correct, and had they listened to you the outcome would have been much different.”

“I had to kill her. I couldn’t let them take her, but Father, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“You did Crystal a great kindness.”

“I wish that task had fallen to someone else.”

“I know, son. Sometimes it is our greatest kindnesses that are the most difficult to bear.”

“I want to see O’Bryan.”

“Son, wait. Stay here tonight. You’ve been through so much. You need to sleep and to continue to heal. At dawn I’ll go with you to the infirmary.”