Page 73 of The Infirmary for Dragon Burns and Midair Mishaps

“Get back!” I yelled at the boys who’d fallen to the ground in shock. They scrambled away on their hands and knees, fat tears welling in their eyes. I reached them, checking them over for burns. They were miraculously unscathed. “Go,” I said, shoving at them. “Get out of here.”

They didn’t wait to be told again, jumping to their feet and dashing away.

“Grady, stop!” Trystan cried as the soldier stumbled around.

The leather straps that fastened his metal armor together were on fire. He screamed again.

“Water!” Trystan barked. Other soldiers came running. He tried to grab Grady, tried to stop his frenzied panic, but Grady spun in desperate circles, feeding the flames.

I quickly braced my leg, making sure the prosthesis was secure. Then, with one bounding step, I launched myself in Grady’s direction. I crashed into him, taking him to the ground with me, feeling the flame lick at my skin.

We hit the ground hard, the air rushing from my lungs.

Grady’s voice echoed like a tinny wail in my head. I rolled over, slapping at the flames I saw, fighting the burn even as it smarted. We had to put him out before the padded undergarments beneath the metal caught.

“Over here!” Trystan called, and the next thing I knew, buckets of water were being tossed over us. The flames were doused immediately, and Grady’s wails became painful little moans.

I sat up, dripping as I stared across the field. There was a scorch mark in the earth, left in the wake of the fireball. It blazed still, burning up the dried grass and roots.

Through the flames, I saw Eden. Her face was a pale mask of shock. Breakfast tumbled out of her arms.

And the next thing I knew, she was running right toward me. She didn’t stop to assess Grady. She threw herself against my chest and curled her arms around my neck, her grip tight enough to choke.

Eden pulled back suddenly, staring at me like she’d seen a ghost. “The fire,” she said. “All I could see was red and you… right in the middle of it all.”

“I’m okay,” I promised as she sank back into my arms, trembling. “I’m right here.”

“Healer,” one of the soldiers snapped at Eden as Grady moaned.

She shoved her hair back, looking distraught as she took in the scene, and I knew all she could see was flames.

“Take him to the infirmary,” I said, getting their attention. “Hurry. Gunther will know how to help him.”

The soldiers scrambled to get Grady on a horse, then took off with him at a run.

“Come on,” I said to Eden, catching her chin between my fingers. I looked into those terrified brown eyes.

Those eyes that only held concern for me.

She could tell me she didn’t want this until she was blue in the face, but I knew how she really felt. And right now, I knew what she needed.

I helped Eden to her feet and threaded my fingers through hers, slowly coaxing her back from a distant memory. “I’ll take you home.”

24

EDEN

I knew Vaela was talking to me, but for several long minutes, nothing made sense. Her voice was simply background noise competing with the frantic rush of my pulse in my head. All I could do was cling to her hand as we made our way back to Bramble Cottage.

As we reached the boundary of the meadow, the cottage rising up between blackberry bushes, my panic started to fade and my heart settled into a steady hum behind the cage of my ribs. Finally, Vaela’s words started to penetrate the fog in my mind.

“Grady is in good hands.” We continued down the path and she stroked her thumb across the back of my hand. “You’ll see. The kid will be back patrolling in no time. And thankfully there were no other injuries. We got away light, considering what could have happened.”

By the time we stepped onto the porch, guilt ate at me. “I should be at the infirmary,” I said, turning to her, feeling silly, “helping everyone. Gunther might need⁠—”

Vaela clutched my hands between hers. “He has an entire team of burntenders at his disposal. He’s not alone.”

“But—”