Page 19 of Heart’s Rescue

Rowan

We Have a Problem

“We have a problem,” I announce as I rip the door open.

Phaedron and Charay are standing by the fireplace. Phaedron’s left arm is draped over Charay’s shoulder, his face gleams with sweat, and even from here, I can see how tightly he’s clenching his jaw.

Damn. I totally forgot Charay was here during the day.

“Is it that you lost your cloak?” Charay asks, and she can’t quite keep the disapproval out of her voice.

Damn. I forgot about my cloak too. I force myself to laugh.

“Oh, it’s just such a pleasant evening,” I say. “I thought I’d take it off for a while.”

Charay and Phaedron stare at me. The sound of ice hitting the windows behind me fills the awkward silence. Slowly and painfully, Charay helps Phaedron inch his way across the room. My chest feels tight as I watch my brother wince with every step. Why does this madwoman even have him out of bed? Hasn’t he earned the right to as much of that magical painkiller garbage as she’s got?

They reach the edge of his bed, which is still taking up most of the space in the middle of the room, and Phaedron collapses with a groan that almost sounds like a victory cry. Or a scream of pain. Really, it can be hard to tell those two apart sometimes.

“Good, good,” Charay clucks. “That’s enough for today, Phaedron.”

Phaedron nods. His face is flushed, and the muscles in his neck and jaw are tight. “Felt… good,” he pants.

Charay nods as though that isn’t a complete, blatant lie. “Moving will help you heal. But don’t push it too hard.”

She gives him a stern look that reminds me, once again, of our weekly lessons in her neat little cottage, back when the Outer Ring was warm and the glowsoft orbs never went out. Charay turns to me with a raised eyebrow but says nothing as she begins to gather her things. Good. It’s been a very long time since the Outer Ring was warm and we were young enough to share our secrets with her.

Charay finally pushes open the door, letting in a swirl of delicate ice crystals. I thank her politely for everything she’s done and then close the door behind her. Finally. Phaedron’s shifting uncomfortably on his mountain of pillows. He tries to lie down, hisses, and sits up again.

“You need something?” I ask. “More of the pain stuff?”

Phaedron shakes his head. He’s got that line between his eyes that tells me it’d be worthless to try to argue with him. Tougher than a void beast, my brother. Voids, I’m proud of him.

Phaedron huffs as he seems to abandon his attempts to get comfortable. He meets my eyes.

“What got in?” he asks.

I open my mouth. Close it. Open it again. Stand there like a voids-damned idiot.

I’d left the monster, the woman, wrapped in my cloak in the remains of Kara's barn with a stern warning not to go anywhere. That woman was a problem I didn’t want to solve on my own, and the ruined barn was the closest place to dump her. I wasn’t sure she’d actually listen to my advice, of course; she’d come back to life a little as I’d carried her through the forest and her body had gone from uncontrollable shivering to almost relaxing in my arms as her soft floral scent wove its way through the air. My cloak was going to smell like her, damn it.

But it didn’t matter if she ran. I’d been close enough to her now that I was sure my magic would find her again. Besides, I didn’t think she’d get far. The glowsoft orbs are going out any minute now.

That thought makes my chest clench. Void beasts were still rare this close to the inhabited rings, but sometimes—

“Rowan?” Phaedron’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “We have a problem?”

I rub the back of my neck. “It’s a… lady.”

Phaedron’s eyes narrow as if he didn’t hear me correctly. “Like the first one?”

“Nah.” I shake my head. “This one’s a crap fighter.”

“You kill her?”

It’s just a question, no expectations, no value judgment. Phaedron seems like he honestly doesn’t care much one way or the other whether I’d done what I was supposed to do and actually killed the monster. Voids, I love him.

“Nah,” I say. “She, uh. She asked for mercy.”