“You’ll like him even better once you bang the beast. What? It’s true.” She smirks, glancing off-screen to where Fen is probably sleeping, and her face goes all dreamy. Ugh, I’m interrupting their honeymoon.
She pretends to wipe drool off her chin, and I roll my eyes. “Go back to bed, slut.”
Giggling, she logs out. I’m smiling again. Usuri doesn’t seem so cold when I have friends like Tamira. We’ll be sisters-in-law now, I realize. Family, not just friends. Getting stuck with Nik might be a pretty good deal if I’m also stuck with the rest of his family.
I miss my brothers. I hope they’re okay, wherever they are. I push down the little pang of regret I feel that I’ll probably never see them again. Between their deployments and busy lives, I probably wouldn’t see them much, anyway. It’s a shame I can’t comm them, though. Tell them I love them. Tell them to be safe.
After I finish the firstmeal Nik left for me, I layer on fur-lined svelis until I feel like the marshmallow man and find Aqen in the passageway. We press palms.
“Did you eat? How’s your arm doing?”
He rotates his shoulder, wincing as orange pigment flashes over his face. “Cidro says it’s healing, but I’m not allowed to spar or drill. I’m falling behind the others.” He looks troubled.
“Hey. It’s only been a few days. You haven’t missed much.”
He gives a reluctant nod, but his skin grays to charcoal. “The healer said it may take weeks more. What if I can’t catch up?”
I try again. “A lot of apprentices are injured. You’re not the only one sitting out on the physical stuff, right? We can ask Cidro for some exercises you can do in the meantime so you don’t lose muscle.”
The idea cheers him up a little, so we head to the makeshift infirmary in the sleeping quarters. Cidro and his assistant are distributing firstmeal and fresh bandages, so we join in. I ladle stew and Aqen passes out stacks of the crunchy, salty tili wafers. The mood is upbeat, and I’m glad to see Aqen forget about his own worries as he helps out, chatting with others who are in a similar boat, waiting for their injuries to heal enough so they can get back to their training.
The back of my neck prickles seconds before a low sound vibrates the stone passageway, like the mountain is a giant coffee grinder and we’re the damn beans. Everyone goes silent as the ground shakes, like we’re all bracing for another explosion. It doesn’t come, and after a few beats of silence, we all let out the breath we’ve been holding.
I hear some muttered curses, and the warrior in the sleeping pod nearest to me, who has burn bandages on all four limbs, starts trembling. I crouch down next to him so we’re face-to-face. His skin is fogged with colors—orange pain, dark purple fear, gray dread, pure white shame. His eyes meet mine, but it’s like he can’t see me.
“Hey, friend.” I keep my voice soft. “The quake’s over. Everyone is safe. You’re safe. Just slow down your breaths a little. Pull them deep into your belly. I’ll be right here if you need me.”
I hold out my hand, and he grabs it with his bandaged one, his expression urgent, teeth bared. I hope he’s not hurting himself by squeezing my hand with his burned fingers. I stay calm and repeat the same reassuring phrases—it’s over,everyone is safe, you’re safe—until his breathing evens out and his limbs relax.
I can tell when he comes back from his episode because his eyes focus on mine. I smile. “Hi there. I’m Delphie.”
“Orush,” he grunts, withdrawing his hand.
“Can I get you anything? Water?”
“Nomo.” I bring him a fresh cup, and he accepts with a grateful murmur.
“Want to talk about what just happened?” I ask gently.
His expression shutters. “Nothing to talk about.”
“Okay. If you change your mind, I—”
“Where is she?!”a voice thunders from the other end of the sleeping quarters, drawing my attention. It’s Nik, and he’s clearly looking for me. Apprentices hurry out of the way, and he strides toward me. I stand up to greet him, but he ignores me, jaw set as he scans me from head to toe.
“I’m fine,” I assure him. “It was just a little tremor.”
“You weren’t in our room,” he says grimly, finally looking me in the eye. “I looked for you, and you were gone.”
“Aqen and I are helping Cidro with firstmeal.” He still seems twitchy, so I reach out to stroke his arm. “It’s okay. You’re safe.”
Irritation flickers across his face and Nik shifts away, breaking contact. “Of course I am. I was concerned about you and your thin terrakin hide.”
People around us are listening, I realize. He doesn’t want them to know that he’s literally freaking out right now. Surely, they’d understand his level of concern if they knew I was his Alara.
Oh.Theydon’tknow. And he’s not rushing to fill them in, either. Maybe he doesn’t want them to find out.
“I think I’m wearing enough layers of braxa hide that the whole mountain could land on me, and I’d be fine,” I joke, swallowing the sting.
