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Hearing Bastian identify me as a member of the family warms something deep inside. With Levi, and even Grayson, acceptance is easier. To have the commander come around bolsters my confidence.
Ben’s brown eyes take me in, probing and seeking as if he can see into the very depths of my soul. He turns to Bastian. “Does she know?”
“I’m right here.” I brush my hair over my shoulder in frustration. “If this is about the prophecy, then yes, I’m well aware.”
“You can see why I brought her to you.” Bastian sits on the bed beside me. “Can’t save the world on a bum ankle.”
“I can see that.” Ben’s gaze is on me again, his brow furrowing as if he’s trying to figure out a complicated puzzle. “It’s only that I thought you’d be bigger and more… male.”
Of all the chauvinistic, pig-headed things to say. I can understand why an ordinary person from Avren might not make the perfect savior of the wilderness. But to say I can’t fulfill the prophecy because I’m a woman? My hands ball into fists as I dig my fingernails into my palms. “You get what you get, phaloc.”
Bastian covers his mouth to hide his smirk. From what I’ve garnered, the derogatory term is as about as welcome as the sound of a werewolf’s howl.
“You have the spitfire.” Ben touches my lower leg, and I wince. When he removes my sock, I see my ankle has grown to the size of a large rock. “With your mettle, this shouldn’t hurt too bad. But just in case.” He opens a drawer and pulls out a stick. “Bite down on this. Don’t want to lose that sharp tongue of yours.”
I do as he says, but not before glaring at him. Their friendship makes sense to me in a weird, twisted way. Ben’s not afraid to say what Bastian’s thinking. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Bastian takes my hand as my nerves ramp up. How will a magician healer set my broken ankle?
“What are you going to do?” It’s a legitimate question. In the city, healers used salt baths, massages, and gentle creams. They used casts to set a broken bone and ordered you to rest in bed for weeks.
Ben purses his lips as his eyes flick to mine. “I’m going to meld the bone back together with magic. It will hurt like hell.”
Pain wasn’t something I ever really experienced in Avren. The intent of the city is to avoid adverse experiences—avoiding childbirth, matching your ideal partner to limit heartbreak, and outlawing dangerous pastimes. Avren didn’t use sharp edges in its construction and made the roads and sidewalks with a cushioned material. The real pain in my life came from my father leaving and my mother’s death.
“Are you ready, Maribel?” Ben’s long fingers circle my ankle, causing a tingle of pain along my swollen skin.
I look at Bastian beside me. He gives me a slight nod, his hand gripping mine tighter. He won’t leave me to face this alone. It’s a rite of passage. If I can make it through this pain, I’m ready to move on to what the future has in store for me.
“Let’s get this over with.” I lean my head against Bastian’s shoulder, place the stick between my teeth, and close my eyes, unsure of what to expect.
It begins as a gentle heat, moving along my skin and prickling the nerve endings. If this is all I need to endure, it won’t be so hard. But then, it morphs into an ache deep within my ankle. I bite into my stick, closing my eyes tighter. At the sound of a crack, Bastian wraps his arms around me and holds me close to his chest. It’s no longer an ache but an excruciating pain running up and down my leg. Tears stream down my cheeks as my head spins, so I concentrate on the feeling of Bastian’s arms instead of the pain threatening to rip me apart. My whole body shakes with the magician’s touch, but if I make him stop now, I’ll never go through with it.
And as quickly as the intensity builds to an unbearable crescendo, it falls, and Ben’s warm fingers soothe my skin again in a gentle massage.
“You did it, Mari.” His voice floats outside of me somewhere as I come back down from the other place I took myself to endure the pain.
My skin is clammy, making me shiver. Bastian smooths back my hair and kisses the top of my head, my champion in the pits of hell.
The two men talk as I dwell in the space between this world and the one I inhabited to escape. I try to focus on their words—next steps, communication with the Seelie Court and reaching out to a vampire queen. It’s all a blur. The plans involve me, so I should concentrate on it, but I can’t. My body’s trying desperately to recover from the trauma it just went through.
“And what about the Northern Duke?” Ben snaps me out of my dream state. “His relations with the Supes in the north will prove invaluable if we want to present a united front.”
I bite into my lip, not ready to reveal anything to this man I met a half hour ago.
“It might prove beneficial if he’ll listen to us.” Bastian places his hands on his knees and stands before digging my other boot out of his bag. He kneels before me, placing it on my foot, and working the laces. The intentional swipe of his fingers over the bare skin above my sock has me squeezing my thighs together and hoping his friend doesn’t notice. His constant reminders of our connection make me wonder if either of us can hold out much longer. He takes my hands in his and pulls me up from the bed. My weight settles on my broken ankle, but it is no longer painful. I wobble and stumble into his arms as if I had I bit too much to drink.
“Let’s get you home,” he says, holding onto my arm to steady me.
I turn around and hold my hand out to Ben, the closed-minded magician. “It was nice to meet you. Thanks for your help.”
“And you.” Ben takes my hand. “You’re going to need all the magic of this world behind you.” He smiles at me and then at Bastian. “Take care of this one.”
“I will,” I say with a lot more confidence than I feel inside. Bastian is more there for me than the other way around. I’ve already faced one of Avren’s soldiers and come up short, relying on Bastian’s dagger to finish the deed.
About a mile out of the village, I break out of my daze, finally feeling like my old self again. Bastian walks beside me in silence. It’s a respectful way to honor my healing process.
“Do you think we could decorate with bones when we get back to the cabin?” I keep my mouth set in a straight line, looking up at him to catch his reaction.
