Page 56 of The Infirmary for Dragon Burns and Midair Mishaps

I needed to get to her. I summoned all my strength at once and surged. I wasn’t sure where to, but suddenly I was falling, and then—thud!

I groaned as I crashed into something. Hard.

“She’s on the floor!” a voice cried. “Reo, help me here.”

Hands touched me all over. I winced, flinching away from the burn. I needed to know if Min was okay, but my worry quickly gave way to exhaustion, and a dark wave dragged me down. I fought it long enough to hear another voice.

It was Eden. That much I was sure of.

“Get out!” she seethed. “This is an infirmary where the ill and injured are treated, not a pub where confrontation is welcome.”

“If I have an issue with one of your patients, I’ll speak to them when I see fit,” Cyrus grumbled.

“You’ll speak to them when I’ve decided they are well enough to handle it!” she snapped back. I envisioned the fury in her brown eyes, the way her hands would curl at her sides. “Now remove yourself before I throw you out!”

Cyrus sneered. “A little thing like you?”

“All she has to do is say the word and you’ll be tasting dirt.” That sounded like Matty again, and I knew Cyrus wouldn’t put a foot wrong against him. Matty might be harmless most of the time, but he could have easily tossed Cyrus out on his rear with one arm tied behind his back.

“Go!” Eden growled. “Or you’d best wish you never need the aid of the infirmary. Because we might just not be taking patients.”

Her threat was clear, and Cyrus blustered in response, footsteps stomping across the floor.

Eventually, his protests faded to muttered grumbles. A door slammed and I imagined Eden, hands on her hips, huffing angrily at his retreating figure.

I imagined it, and I might have laughed. Then the darkness came for me, tugging me into that black nothingness.

* * *

When I woke next, the room was lit only by candles—a recovery room.

I’d never been in one of these rooms before, fortunately for me.

I shifted and my shoulders ached.

I turned my head instead, glancing at the window. Outside, the blue-black of night pressed up against the glass. How long had I been asleep? Next to me, Eden was slumped over in a chair, her arms tucked against her chest, fighting a restless sleep.

I nudged her gently, and her eyes shot open, looking around for trouble before her gaze landed on me. “You’re awake,” she said, sinking down by my side as she reached for my hand. “Does it hurt? Nisse has been supplying you with something for pain, but if you need something stronger I can⁠—”

“Min?” I croaked, finding my voice through the sand in my throat.

“She’s okay,” Eden assured me, stroking my hand. “She turned up here and curled up outside a few hours ago. She hasn’t left.”

I nodded, wading through the foggy memories and questions.

Eden clutched my hand even tighter. “You can’t worry me like that again.”

I clung to her like she was the only thing keeping me from drifting back into that dark abyss. I didn’t want to go back there. Not yet. Not when she was looking at me like that.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision. “What happened? It’s all so muddied.” I remembered the screech of the Wretch. I remembered scrambling onto Min and shooting into the sky. And I remembered Min’s roar as something collided with us, as claws scraped my ribs.

Then nothing but a fiery pain and falling…

“It was a Bane,” Eden explained. “When it collided with Min, you were grazed by its claws and⁠—”

“—envenomated,” I said. Of course. I looked down at my side, where the skin still smarted. “A Bane could have killed me.”

Eden nodded. “You were lucky. We removed as much of the venom as we could, but we couldn’t do anything about what had already been absorbed into your bloodstream. You’ve had to burn that off yourself.” She gingerly touched the bandage along my ribs. “You’ll have some scarring.”