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“What are you doing?” Baine dropped the bowl on the floor and put a hand over mine.
“I want to see it.”
Understanding filled his gaze and he slid back with a nod. “Careful.”
“I know.” Taking one end of the bandage, I slowly undid the wrapping.
Black thread stitched the oval wound closed. The skin surrounding the bite had become an angry shade of red and circled out like a terrible infection. My fingers shook as I traced the stitching.
“You’ll be fine,” Baine reassured. “Enola is one of the best.”
I thought back to the crone. It knew what I was. I didn’t know how, but it did. Knowing that creature knew my secret upset me more than the bite on my arm.
“What do you know about crones?” Baine asked.
Ignoring the way Baine studied my face, I took the bandage and re-wrapped my arm. “Nothing. What are they?”
“Creatures who eat magic.”
My fingers shook. “Oh, that’s morbid.”
Baine slid forward on the chair and took the bandage out of my hands and began wrapping it around my arm. “They rarely go after anything living, unless the power levels are immensely high.”
My throat became dry, and the room heated. I needed air. “That’s interesting. Can I get some water?”
Holding my arm, Baine forced me to face him. His lavender gaze seemed to see right through me, deep inside to all the secrets I held. “What are you?”
“Just a woman.”
The silence spread between us. He held on to me, staring, forcing me to speak my truth, but I wouldn’t, not for him, not for anyone.
“I feel much better!” Enola swung open the door. “Are you two ready?”
For one moment, Baine eyed me, before letting go of my arm and standing. “We are. I’ll wait outside.”
And just like that he disappeared out the door, leaving me with a ton of questions.
“How are you feeling?” Enola smiled and carried over a simple white dress with blue stitching along the bodice and hem.
“Okay. Thank you.”
She placed the dress on the bed. “Here’s a fresh outfit. Once you’re ready, we can leave.”
“Is there somewhere I can wash? I need a few moments.”
“Of course.” She pointed out the window. “The lake is right outside. There’s a spot behind the waterfall where you can wash your hair. The cave has an overhang and the water rushes over it.”
She reached over to a side table and opened the drawer. “Here’s some plum and vanilla soap.”
Taking the soap, I held it to my chest and stood. “Thank you. I won’t be long.”
Outside, Baine rested against a cart hitched to a goat, though the goat seemed bigger than any goat I’d seen before. Baine lifted his gaze to me and before he could ask me a thousand questions, I scurried off toward the lake.
I needed to be alone and make sense of what happened.
The sound of rushing water moved me forward, desperate for a moment alone. Something screeched overhead and I looked up into the shimmery sky to see a beautiful white hawk fly overhead.
When my brother left, he had promised to earn enough coin and return, but that never happened. Months passed and I’d spent everything we had on medicine for the firehawks. The old ranger who watched my flock now thought maybe they were sick from bacteria in the feed or the water. When that didn’t work, I’d gone to the bank, borrowing coin, and paying any healer in the North who could help.
