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Her eyes widened, but a deep smile crossed her face, and she glanced back at the closed door from which I could hear male voices.
“I shall keep that in mind, my lady.”
The younger girl, who I had to assume was the healer's apprentice, rushed up to us.
“Katia has taken a turn for the worst! I think she has mere moments. Is there anything we can do?”
Sorrow passed over the older healer's features, and she shook her head. “I'm afraid we can do nothing but ease the pain as she passes.” Solemn blue eyes lifted to mine. “If you'll excuse me, my lady.”
“Of course. Is there anything I can do?”
“I'm sure we could use your help.”
I followed her into another room, where a woman, probably only a decade older than myself, looked frail and worn on a cot.
“What is wrong with her?”
“She has had a rare blood illness for many years now. Probably since birth, to be honest, and we have been regulating and maintaining it so that she may lead a normal life, but we’re afraid we are at the end of what we and our treatments can do.”
It was sad to see such a young person brought to death this way. Ativan’s wife had gone through something similar. This entire journey made me realize my mortality. I had grown up, and this was just another thing to show me life wasn’t fair, but it also showed me not to take anything for granted and to find beauty in the small stuff before it was too late—a lump of emotion formed in my throat. I was thankful for that wolf in the wood. It had inadvertently saved me by giving me a reason to make my would-be murderer indebted to me. Had that wolf killed Sahlyn, someone else would have come for my heart, only delaying my end. Maybe that was still the case, depending on how Sahlyn got out of neglecting to kill me.
Fate was a strange mistress. The interwoven connections of actions and decisions stacked up to create, sustain or end an entire life timeline were incredible. Horrifying but extraordinary.
I watched Katia’s body be brought to a carriage for preparations for burial. Ativan came up beside me. He didn’t move with his usual purpose, and his confident, weighted steps were tentative.
“Are you sure you’re up for this journey, old man?”
He chuckled. “I’m fine. You’ll be there to protect me.”
My eyes grazed his, and he grinned. Sahlyn must have told him I had saved his life.
I wonder what else he had told him?
“I hope I would be as lucky a second time.”
“When you are as good as you are, Autumn, you don’t need luck.”
What anunclething to say. I rolled my eyes. “You’re delirious. I’ll ensure the healer packs more good stuff for you.” I turned quickly and hollered for Leisa.
Ativan gripped my arm with a laugh. “Shut your mouth, young lady!”
I laughed and bumped his shoulder. Then my eyes caught movement. Sahlyn watched our exchange with interest, a smile edging his mouth.
This marked the end of our time together, and I didn't quite understand the tension I felt or the disappointment at saying goodbye. I should be happy to see the huntsman go because my life could become whatever it was supposed to be, minus the name change in my socialite circle, but I wasn’t.
Before I could open my mouth and Ativan noted my change in attitude, Sahlyn slipped away.
I needed to put all of this past me, so I turned back to Ativan with a forced smile. “Let’s check in with the lovely healer and be on our way. We can probably hit the next town by nightfall.”
He nodded, but his eyes gave away that he understood the unrest I was feeling.
Watching Leisa and Ativan say goodbye sent a pang through my heart. I could tell Ativan didn’t want it to affect him, but it did. The healer tried not to cry, unsuccessfully. Ativan promised to visit, and Leisa’s eyes found mine before I could avert them. What I had told her about visiting Geva stretched between us. Ativan would see her sooner than he expected, and the idea made a smile plaster my face. Maybe there was one good thing that could come from this trip, aside from the northerner's satisfaction with our weaponry.
Getting our horses ready gave me an excuse to get out of the healer's home. I provided Ativan a few minutes alone to ‘get any last-minute medical instructions.' I envisioned Leisa giving him an unexpected kiss and Ativan having no idea what to do. The thought pulled a grin to my mouth.
“Are you ready, old man?” I asked as soon as Ativan came out of the door. I held his horse's reins for him.
He grumbled. “I’ve been ready for days.”
