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“You’re lucky I fought the rat for it!” Boy beamed. “Little bugger almost made off with that piece.”
My expression soured. “What? Whatrat?”
“When the guards dumped the bread off, a rat grabbed the—”
I held up a hand, stopping him from going any further. “I’d rather not know.”
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to the kabob.
While he ate, I took in the night.
Apart from the crackling fires and steady, light conversation, things were quiet. Here, in the woods, there were no sounds of castle guards patrolling the halls or busy lady’s maids chattering about dresses, gossip, or balls. It was just the light whisper of the breeze rattling the leafless branches of the trees and the odd animal who wanted to have their say. Every once in a while, I heard the raucous caw of a raven calling out.
I wondered if I were to track it down and speak to it, if it would be able to relay a message to Kaleb. To tell him to meet me in the Cursed Lands.
But the raven was probably just that—a raven.
I wondered if Kaleb had returned to my chambers since I last saw him—if he had found it empty and was now looking for me. His visits were always so sporadic, so it was hard to say if he had or not. There was also a possibility that he had no idea what was going on. Regardless of if he knew or not, he had made connections with Ezra in the Cursed Lands, and as that was where we were headed, if anything, I figured we would meet up there. Eventually.
Crunching snow and stiff armor sounded to the left of me.
I glanced up to the towering fire twin.
“Alright, let’s take a look at that side of yours,” Ryker said, two wooden bowls in his hands. I suspected one of the Earth Cursed had made them for him.
I patted Boy’s back. “Enjoy that rabbit. I’ll be back in a bit.”
He nodded in reply, his mouth full.
Ryker and I walked to a private area in the woods, far enough away from the group to grant me some privacy, but close enough we could get back quickly if we needed to.
While I held onto a tree, Ryker unlaced the back of the corset of my dress, his fingers making quick work of the laces—something that didn’t surprise me. When he was finished, I sat down on a stump beside the fire, my arm barred across my chest, keeping my dress from falling down.
Ryker crouched beside me. His hand emitted a white, heatless flame, something he used for light as he surveyed my side.
I had put off looking at my injury, reasoned there was nothing I could do for it anyway while I was in the Well. When the guards brought in the barrels of water, people drank from them with their hands—slurping it up eagerly. I reasoned that using the water everyone drank out of to clean the injury would do more harm than good, and so I had left it.
“Arrow wound?” he asked, more statement than question.
I nodded. “How’d you know?”
“Not the first one I’ve seen.”
No, I would suppose not, considering he’d fought in his fair share of battles over the years, defending the Cursed from the king’s soldiers.
“It doesn’t look as infected as I expected it to, so that’s a good sign. I suspect your divinity might have something to do with that. The entry point is fairly small, must not have been a very big arrowhead,” Ryker stated, continuing his assessment. Dark-brown eyes met mine, a grin on his lips. “Still, I bet it hurt like a bitch.”
“It did.” I sighed, remembering that gut-churning feeling of the cold, sharp metal chewing into my torso. But the pain I felt then was not nearly as bad as when it was being pulled out of me. Nowthathurt.
I heard the sound of water trickling before I felt something soft, spongy, and wet being lightly pressed against my wound. On reflex, I jerked away.
“Sorry,” Ryker said with a lighthearted chuckle. “I should have given you a bit of warning.”
“It’s alright,” I replied, easing back into his touch.
Tenderly, he began to clean the wound. As he did, he said, “A woman with the Earth Curse helped me find some moss. She revived it so it should help to disinfect the wound.”
I glanced over my shoulder, peering down at the green, spongy mat he dabbed against my skin. I had seen Ezra do the exact same thing countless times before.
