Page 59 of The Infirmary for Dragon Burns and Midair Mishaps

“And yet you left me crutches,” I teased.

She gave me a look. “For you to get around the infirmary. Not for you to go traipsing down a slippery path. You’re lucky you didn’t fall.”

“I’ve traversed worse,” I promised her. “Anyway, I wanted to see you as soon as possible.” I watched her closely, liking the way her cheeks flushed. The color spread down her neck, and I itched to catch it between my fingers. To feel the heat move. To trace the freckles in that sunset pink with my lips. I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her again.

She cleared her throat. “How, uh… How are you feeling?”

“Achy. Sore. All expected outcomes, I presume. Getting out and stretching is helping.” I straightened up, using the doorframe for support. “I figure I’m working the last of the venom from my blood.”

She nodded. “Any kind of light exercise will be good for you right now. But maybe limit flying any long distances for a day or two.”

“What’s considered a long distance?” I asked.

“You can go as far as the nesting shed,” she said after a beat, sounding very nurse-like.

I smirked. “No further?”

She shook her head. “And no dragon battles.”

“I can’t exactly control that.”

“The kingsguard are gone in pursuit of the Wretch,” she said, huffing. “Hopefully it’ll be quiet around here for a day or two.”

“Well, now you’ve jinxed it,” I teased. Eden rolled her eyes, and all I could do was stare at her. I couldn’t help it as fondness beat behind my breastbone. She broke eye contact first, that flush in her cheeks darkening.

“I, uh, presume you have my prosthesis,” I said, chuckling under my breath.

Eden blinked at me in surprise, then smiled a bit. She stepped back so I could join her inside. “Careful of the lip there.”

“I see it.” I crossed the threshold in one easy step, spotting my prosthesis on her desk. “Never a dull day around Ember Ridge, huh?”

“You know, that’s the exact opposite of what Gunther promised me,” she said, clicking her tongue. “Frankly, it’s why I came here. For boring, dull, mundane work. The kind that wouldn’t make me go gray before my thirties.”

“It’s not always like this,” I promised.

“You mean the kingsguard don’t always invade towns to hunt down a dragon they have no business trying to catch?”

“Exactly that,” I agreed.

A thump shook the floorboards suddenly, and a massive shadow passed the window. Eden startled, her head snapping around. The moment she spotted Min, her shoulders relaxed.

“She was out getting breakfast,” I said.

Eden waved as Min looked in through the window, her breath fogging the glass. “Anyway,” she said. “This is what you’re here for.” She plucked my prosthesis from the desk.

I plopped down in the rocking chair. “Excellent,” I said as she handed it to me. “Not that I don’t love these very wonderful crutches, of course.”

“They’re too short for you,” Eden admitted, wringing her hands together as she watched me examine the prosthetic limb. “But it’s the best the infirmary had.”

I rolled my trouser leg and bent over to fasten the prosthesis in place like I had a thousand times before. I didn’t know if Eden had polished it up, but the metal bits certainly looked shinier than usual. “I can see there’s this extra bit here,” I said, pointing out an unfamiliar latch that had been fastened to the wooden bit. “But how does it⁠—”

“Here, let me show you.” She knelt down in front of me, and I was overwhelmed by lavender and honey. “I’ve added a metal catch here. It flips down when you’re ready to fly. The idea is that you can hook your prosthesis around a dragon scale. There’s a spring here that allows the catch to be adjustable depending on the kind of dragon you’re on and the size of the scale.”

It seemed easy enough to maneuver. In theory.

“It’s not going to do you any good should Min decide to flip over or something,” she admitted, “but for keeping you in place during a straightforward flight… Well, hopefully it gives you a bit more stability.”

“It’s perfect,” I said.