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“Wounds? How did—oh, stars blast it.” A memory surfaces from the haze in my mind. Swimming after the sun shark. Veltuk appearing out of nowhere beside me with a knife in his hand. Evya screaming in rage as the world faded around me. “How long have I been out? And—Evya, how did we get here?”
“I brought you here last night.” Her voice trembles. I lift my hand and gently cup her chin, brushing my thumb across her cheek. Even weary and bedraggled, she is as lovely as the morning sunlight. She closes her eyes and leans into the touch. “The tribes wouldn’t—You needed magic and Falamar was the only one—”
She bends forward, and her head droops onto my shoulder. Her body shakes with sobs. I gingerly wrap her in my arms. Even that simple movement sends needles of pain through my side.
“You woke up,” she chokes out through the tears. “You’re all right.”
I hold her, slowly piecing together more of what happened. Vague images drift in and out of my mind. Dark waves, raised voices, Evya singing as she carried me in her arms.
At last, she lifts her head and dries her tears. Her story spills out, filling in the rest of the gaps. I listen in stunned silence.
“You came here and faced the nobles alone? Against the will of the tribe?”
“The sea asked what price I would pay for you,” she says simply. “That was my answer.”
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I whisper. I wrap her in an embrace, ignoring the pain that burns through me. I should say more, but my tongue is heavy and my mind is in a fog. Her words seem to float on my surface of my consciousness. I’m too stunned and weary to understand them fully.
At last I let her go and try to sit up, slowly this time. I wince with the movement, but the pain isn’t quite as bad when I move mindfully. Against Evya’s protests, I undo part of the cloth wrappings and study the damage.
The sight isn’t as horrible as my fears predicted. The two wounds are ugly, but they are mending well. Another day or so, and they should only be scars, as long as I refrain from anything strenuous. Faint lines of rune-light glow beneath the bruises and scabs. I breathe a sigh of relief. Ass that he is, Falamar is still a skilled healer, and he’s set the runes well.
Eyva draws the bandages tight around me again, and her fingers fumble as if from weariness. “These need to be changed, but I don’t know where to get more cloth. I didn’t want to shred any more of your garments.”
“My ... what?” I give the fabric strips a closer look and recognize bits of embroidery that were once along the hem of one of my old tunics. I give an incredulous smile. “No one bothered to provide any actual bandages?”
“Falamar left no bandages, no water, no food. Just a locked door and a reminder that I should be grateful he chose to help you at all.” Evya draws her knees up to her chest and sits huddled on the bed. “Keliveth ... I don’t think Falamar and his council will ever accept a peace treaty.”
Her words sober me far more than the sight of my wounds. Horror grips me as I realize how awful last night must have been for her. When I stroke her shoulder, she’s trembling. I can’t tell if it’s from emotion or exhaustion or hunger. She swam miles to bring me here, carried me up the cliff, and faced off against the worst of the nobles, and they have treated her as nothing more than a prisoner.
“Come on. Let us refresh ourselves and get out of here. I know where we can find breakfast.” I swing my legs off the bed and stand, wincing the whole time. I start toward the wardrobe to retrieve fresh clothing and the hidden spare key to my door, but the world moves unsteadily beneath my feet.
“What are you doing?” She leaps up and steadies me. “You shouldn’t be walking yet. You’ll reopen the wounds.”
“The wounds are healing well. I’ll be fine as long as I’m careful.”
“You need to rest.”
“I know another place we can rest.” I wrap my arm around her and gently brush the tangled hair from her face. Drawing strength from her nearness. “Falamar doesn’t get to lock us in a cell.”
Idon’t want to admithow much each step hurts. Gritting my teeth, I try to walk tall as I lead Evya down a side corridor and out into the garden beyond. It isn’t far from my chambers to the library—just a short walk through the garden and up a small flight of steps to the neighboring wing of the fortress—but today it might as well be a trek up a mountain.
Evya comes up beside me and grabs my elbow as I start to falter again. She gives a disapproving hiss as she helps me along the stone path that winds between patches of budding shrubs and spring herbs.
“I’m fine,” I say, stifling a gasp as pain spasms through my side. “Really.”
“Don’t be a fool.” She loops her arm around me. I lean into her in spite of myself. “Needing time to heal doesn’t make you weak.”
“I don’thavetime. The challenge is still happening tomorrow, and—”
“Forget about the challenge,” she says with a growl. “It’s more important that you do not reopen the wounds.”
I look at her in alarm. “What do you mean, ‘forget about the challenge’? I can’t. Unless ... unless you no longer want me as your mate.”
The thought turns me cold. Her words from earlier from back to me:I don’t think there’s going to be a peace treaty. She just defied her tribe for me ... but perhaps it was only to save my life. Perhaps the cost of our scheme is too high after all, and this is when she bids me goodbye and goes back to her people without me.
Her eyes darken like storm clouds. She bends forward and catches me in a kiss so fierce it knocks the breath from my lungs and sends me staggering. Her strong grip holds me upright. I melt into her embrace, forgetting the pain for a long, perfect moment.
At last we break apart, still breathless.
