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“So, I get now why you’ve been so hellbent on pushing everyone away, even your own fated mate. We could put some strategies in place to reduce our curse countdown timer, as it were. But please, Ayla, believe me, it doesn’t matter how long you try to shun us, your curse will find a way to hurt people. That’s not your fault. It’s the fault of whoever cast it on you. They’re the ones responsible.”
I’d never been so incredibly grateful for the psychic’s presence. She could be flippant and flirty, but she always gave a damn when it really mattered.
“Y-y-you can’t know that.”
“I do, and we won’t leave you alone because of your condition, okay? You never need be alone again unless it’s time to decompress and collect yourself.”
“All of us feel the same way,” Oren said quietly, though his eyes were squarely on Darla. He wasn’t exactly mooning over the woman, but he was gazing at the psychic withplentyof admiration. “We haven’t interacted much, Healer Everton, but anyone who means so much to our captain means just as much to me. We’re not going to abandon you because of the evil someone else wrought.”
“Hey! I was looking for you lot!”
I tore my gaze away from the scene to see Mad Dog limping toward us. It didn’t look dramatic, but his body was still repairing the damage.
“I gotta admit, I am not a fan of waking up with my bed in flames,” he continued before his gaze landed on Ayla, who still looked inconsolable. “Uh, did I miss something?”
Naturally, it was Darla who answered first. “Being the self-confessed fifth wheel, one would think you were used to it by now.”
It was a tiny attempt at a joke, but not enough to smooth over our sullen moods. All of us were comforting Ayla, yet pretty words and promises wouldn’t always do it. That was all right. Ayla didn’t owe us her happiness. She’d been through a lot, we all had, but the difference was we didn’t blame ourselves for everything, while she was soldiering all of it herself.
“We need to leave immediately,” I said, eyes turning back to the blaze still violently burning. Despite how much it hurt to look at the vibrant inferno, I did notice two things.
One, the flames were resisting all of the magical efforts to fight it, and two, it wasn’t spreading to a single other building.
Both of those seemed fairly improbable, and together? Borderline impossible, which led me to believe the fire wasn’t just Ayla’s curse.
It was something far more direct and dangerous.
“We need to get out of here,” I said firmly. “We need to continue our journey to Merrik and stop somewhere halfway through the day to rest and wash up. Somewhere not pre-planned.”
Mad Dog caught my drift. “You think there’s something freaky about this?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, mindful Mad Dog didn’t know about Ayla’s curse, and I didn’t need to expose it again. I’d done enough for one night. “But I’d rather not stick around and find out.”
“Right. I’ll get the word out. Our group is pretty scattered right now, and I’m not sure who needs medical.”
“I-I’ll help,” Ayla said, wiping her eyes as she stood up. Unfortunately, her arm was so filthy, it just smeared more soot across her face. We all needed a good wash, but that could wait.
“I’ll go with you,” I said, knowing I couldn’t hold her and kiss her as I wanted to, but at least I could be by her side while she tended to our crew. “I need to know how my men are, anyway.”
I figured that was enough of a reason. Still, I did need to start getting into the habit of not publicly showing any affection for Ayla. It’d be difficult, but it was necessary for her safety, and that mattered above all else.
Now I was eager to get to Merrik. I dreaded the court, but the sooner we got to the capital, the sooner we got to the enchantress who’d hopefully help Ayla.
“All right, I’ve managed to round up most of them, but there are still a few missing. This way.”
Thankfully, no one was grievously injured in the fire. Darla had gotten the worst of it, and Ayla had done a good job on her, but it wasn’t like they’d gotten off scot-free.
The shifters were physically fine, for the most part, though several of them were quite sick from their bodies getting rid of all the pollutants they’d inhaled. It meant a lot of violent heaving, but Ayla helped them as best she could.
I noticed how she’d reach for her side, only to let out a frustrated huff. It took me a minute to realize she was looking for the old medicine bag I often saw her carry but was lost during the fire. I resolved that, once we were in the capital, I’d buy her a new one, perhaps reinforced and made by a true artisan. Something to show her just how important she was to me without having to say it out loud.
The idea helped get me through the hours before we headed out. Once we were on the road, however, I took the opportunity to sit close to Ayla, my hand gripping hers down low against the seat so our driver and lookout couldn’t quite see.
I’d promised Ayla it’d be me up there, but after everything, I figured she prefer I be closer rather than sequestered at the front.
I wasn’t the only one hovering. Although there wasn’t any handholding going on, Oren’s attention was most attuned to Darla, protective and concerned pheromones rolling off him. I needed to get him some scent blockers when we got to the capital if he didn’t get a handle on all the ketones he was tossing out.
It was a mostly silent first half of the day. Both Darla and Mad Dog dozed, curled up with some blankets and pillows from who knew where. As much as I wanted Ayla to close her eyesand let herself recover—after all, she’d done a fair bit of healing—she seemed to be resisting it. She seemed scared of what would happen if she did close her eyes, but I really wished she’d just let herself relax.
