Page 110 of Sun Warrior

“Nik, when are you going back to the Tribe?” O’Bryan asked.

“And are you taking me with you?” Davis added.

“Yes, he’s taking you with him,” Mari said, ignoring Nik’s frown. “He’s right, Nik. You need someone there in case something goes wrong. I’d come, but—”

“No! Thaddeus can’t get his hands on you,” Nik said. “Davis and Cammy can come.”

“But not today,” Mari said. “No, you can’t argue about this, Nik. You’re injured, remember? And if you have to fight to get out of there, and run and hide and race back here, you need to be healthy. How about we say you can go as soon as Sora says you’re well enough to go?”

“Me? Why me? You’re a better Healer,” Sora said.

“I’m also biased when it comes to Nik, and you’re not.”

“Oh, well, that’s true enough. Fine. I’ll let you know when his wounds are healed.”

“And then our future begins,” Nik said. “As we head to the land of the Wind Riders!”

CHAPTER 25

“Well, what do you think?” Mari asked, looking over Sora’s shoulder while she examined the wound in Nik’s back.

“I think the same thing you do—that’s he’s healing remarkably well for a man who was close to death not long ago and who hasn’t given his body time to rest and recoup since,” Sora said.

“This one is a lot worse than the laceration on his leg,” Mari said, reaching down to prod at the pink edges of the nasty spear wound in his back.

Nik sucked in a sharp breath but didn’t make any other sound.

Mari and Sora exchanged a look.

“You can say ouch,” Mari said. “You’re not going to fool either of us by keeping still. We know it’s painful.”

“And we can see that you broke this open recently, too,” Sora added.

“Yeah, but Mari repacked it last night, and it’s feeling a lot better.”

“And yet it still broke open. That’s not good, Nik,” Sora said.

He sighed. “How long before I’m cleared to do what I need to do?” Nik asked.

“This is just a guess, because it could change if you go out and do something stupid and break either wound openagain,” Sora said. “But I think five days of rest and you’ll be healthy enough to overdo withoutkilling yourself, though if you want the truth, you should give yourself several weeks before—”

“I like the sound of five days much better!” Nik interrupted.

“And I do mean fivefulldays of rest,” Sora reiterated.

“So, how about we leave at dawn, six days from today?” Nik asked.

“I wish we had longer,” Mari said. “But I really don’t think we can chance it. Thaddeus and the Tribe are going to start hunting us again. Soon,” Mari said.

From her comfortable spot by the hearth fire in the birthing burrow, Isabel looked up from the salve she’d been mixing for Mari. “Early spring crops will be ready to harvest from Farm Island in another week,” she said. “How many generations has it been since the Tribe harvested their own crops?”

“Generations upon generations,” Nik said.

“So, I think it’s safe to say that no matter how much time Nik’s back needs to heal, a few days are all that he has,” Isabel said.

“I don’t want to agree with you,” Mari said. “But I do.”

Nik took Mari’s hand in his. “I’ll be fine, and if I’m not, I know a talented Moon Woman who can heal me. Again.”