Page 15 of Wraithwound

“Tell me,” Jessa said.

So, Lena did. Lena told her everything, stopping when she got to the part about Henry. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Jessa that Henry had given her his soul, or that she’d taken a life in the forest. She wanted to tell her friend these things, but shame made her tongue feel leaden.

They’d been so close growing up, but after Lena’s mother had disappeared, Lena stopped talking to her. She stopped talking to everyone. Jessa had sent letters and even rode out to check on her, but Lena had withdrawn. Given herself to the grief consuming her. Jessa had taken it personally, and after a while, she’d stopped sending letters or visiting all together. That had been more than two years ago. Now, Jessa sat across from her in stunned silence.

“Let me see,” Jessa said after a moment.

Lena pulled back the neck of her shirt, securing it over a shoulder, and peeled the bandages back. Jessa stared at Lena’s mutilated skin, her eyes wide.

“You would come here, with that? A wraithwound? Lena—” Jessa whispered, stunned.

“There has to be a way to reverse this or at least delay it,” Lena said.

“How is it that you haven’t turned yet?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” she lied.

“Doesn’t that make it more likely that you’ll turn here? Didn’t you consider—of course you wouldn’t! Because since when do you consider how others feel?” Jessa scoffed and shook her head. Shame set Lena’s cheeks ablaze.

“I wouldn’t be here if I thought I’d be a danger. I just need to talk to Ahgrie, see if there’s anything that might help . . .”

Lena trailed off hearing her words out loud for the first time. Because the truth was, Lena wasn’t sure that was true. She’d only hoped she wouldn’t be a danger.

Jessa searched her face, seeming to catch the uncertainty in her statement.

“You have some nerve.” Jessa let the silence hold her disapproval. And then after a moment, she sighed and her shoulders sagged. “Mom’s out right now.” Jessa ran a shaking hand through her hair. “Have you eaten?”

Lena shook her head, unable to remember when she’d eaten last. Jessa slipped into the kitchen, returning with a bowl of hot stew that Lena promptly finished. Jessa took the empty bowl back into the kitchen and returned with another steaming portion that she handed Lena before taking her place on the sofa.

Sitting there in uncomfortable silence while Lena ate, Jessa blurted, “How did you get through the gate?”

Grateful for a question to break the tension, Lena told her about the Hollow’s Leaf and then Oscar and James and their search for Camille.

“Things have gotten worse since you were last here,” Jessa admitted. “People, well, mostly women, are disappearing more often. The Commander’s men have only gotten crueler with increased beheadings, health checks, and more restrictions on the use of medicinal herbs under the guise of fair distribution. As if he hadn’t already corrupted the intent behind the Goddess’s gift.” Anger flared in Jessa’s eyes. “Not to mention that more and more people have been siding with The Veiled.”

“I hadn’t realized The Veiled were growing in size,” Lena said.

Jessa nodded solemnly. “People are scared. They’re turning to whatever will offer them hope. However small it might be. There are those who have been pushing to study —”

The door swung open, letting in a cold gust of air, and Ahgrie rushed through, arms loaded down with bags. Her ash brown hair was pulled back into a knot at the nape of her neck, unruly curls framing her face. The lines around her mouth and eyes were more pronounced than the last time Lena had seen her, but her eyes were clear and bright. Her gaze swept around the room and landed on her mother’s cloak, with its sparkling emerald broach gleaming in the firelight, and then on her.

“What’s happened?” Ahgrie asked, her voice hard.

“Here, Mom, give me those,” Jessa said, standing. Lena stood as well, stepping towards Ahgrie, who opened her arms for an embrace. She held Lena for a long moment before pulling away to look at her face and then motioned for her to sit.

Lena sat with Ahgrie, who slipped her hand into hers gently after noting the missing fingernails. Ahgrie listened to her retelling of the story, punctuated only by the crackling fire in the hearth that occasionally interrupted the sorrowful silence.

When she was done, Ahgrie wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, Lee,” she said squeezing her hand gently. If she was at all concerned that Lena had been infected, she didn’t show it. “Let me take a look at that now.”

Lena pulled the neck of her shirt down, peeling back the bandages a second time.

“That’s a very active infection. These veins here and here.” She pointed at two thick, black veins that spiderwebbed out of the grotesque injury, one towards her heart and the other towards her throat. “When did they become so prominent?”

“I don’t know,” Lena said, shaking her head.

Ahgrie nodded, continuing to assess the injury and taking note of where it felt inflamed or tender to the touch. Then, she motioned for Lena to head into the kitchen. Ahgrie cleaned her wounds thoroughly, ignoring the occasional hiss of pain and flinching. Then, she turned to the salves and tonics lined up on shelves throughout the space.