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She looks at me for a moment before understanding dawns. “Oh, no, it’s only large healings that drain me like that. A small cut won’t be an issue, but it will be for you if it gets infected. Look, I’m going to heal it one way or another. If I do it now, it will take barely any energy from me. But if we wait until it’s infected…” She lets the rest hang in the air.
I stare into her eyes, making sure she’s not lying. “Alright.” I hold my hand out to her.
She takes it with both of her hands and presses the tip of her pinky finger to the wound. I feel the heat first—a warmth that spreads through my hand and up my arm before a sharp tingling in my palm. I look down at my hand as the skin fuses itself back together as if by magic.
“There. Good as new,” she whispers, worrying her bottom lip.
“I don’t think I’ll ever not be amazed by that.”
She looks at me with an expression that’s an odd mix of hope and fear. She is not the kind of person who gives her trust easily, and after what she told us, I can guess why. But out here, when it’s just the three of us relying on each other for survival, we won’t have much choice.
“Thank you. Now let’s load up and get this stuff back to the plane before Oz thinks we’ve abandoned him.”
She nods and gives me a quick grin before turning to the items I tossed out of the wreckage. She picks up a backpack and slides it on before reaching for another, which she slips over one shoulder.
I grab the other two and the bedding I’ve used to wrap the loose things up in. “You ready?”
“Yeah.”
“Stay close, and if you need to stop for any reason, tell me. The last thing we want is you getting lost.”
“I’ll stay right with you, I promise.”
I turn and lead the way, the sky darker now than it was before. I focus on our surroundings, listening for anything that sounds out of place. Other than the distant call of birds and the light breeze making the trees rustle, it’s quiet.
Once the plane comes into view, I hear Salem blow out a relieved breath. I turn to look at her. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I just never thought I’d be so relieved to see the very thing that sent me hurtling toward the ground. But the thought of being out here when it’s dark is terrifying.”
“You’re doing better than you think. Most women I know, except for my slightly unhinged sister, would be a fucking wreck. But not you.”
“I think I’m just worried that if I give into the fear, I won’t be able to turn it off again.”
We walk up to the edge of the mound, where we jumped off the plane, and I call out to Oz.
His blond head appears over the rim. “Took you guys long enough. I was starting to get bored.”
“How is that even possible?” Salem looks at him like he’s nuts, and she’s not wrong.
“He has the attention span of a fish,” I answer.
“You want to haul Salem in while I throw up what we retrieved?”
“Haul me in? Wait, we’re going back up that way?” She looks at me before tipping her head back to take in the plane.
“I realize it’s not as far down as it looked from up there, but it’s still much higher than this body can jump. Even if you reach down, I don’t think I’ll be able to grab onto you.”
“Don’t worry about that,” I tell her, letting my stuff slip to the ground at my feet as I take the bags from her shoulders and place them next to mine.
Before she can protest, I lift her as high as I can and sit her on my shoulders. She does a pretty good impression of a parrot as she squawks in shock, making me laugh. Oz leans down and reaches out, grabbing a hold of Salem’s wrists and pulling her up with ease.
Once she is on her feet, she looks down at me with a scowl. “You two are menaces.”
I shrug. She’s not telling me anything I don’t already know. “Stand back.”
Salem does as I ask, but Oz waits where he is, and when I toss the first pack, he catches it and sets it to one side before catching the next one and the next. Once everything is on the plane, I climb to the highest point and take a running jump. My hands land firmly on the plane, and when I’m certain it won’t move, I swing myself up.
Salem stares at me with wide eyes. “How the heck did you do that?”
