“He must be your Eudaemon, then,” Terena said. The pang of jealousy sparking in her chest making her feel like the worst sister in the world. She did not begrudge Sonah having her own immortal bodyguard, but she was still nettled Daris was hers.
“So it’s a good thing then he’s going north with us,” she replied, cautiously excited. Terena gave her a look.
“I don’t know he’ll be fit to go,” Terena said.
Pytho looked uncomfortable and Terena noticed.
“What?” Terena asked, her eyes narrowing.
Pytho started, her eyes widening before she whiffled her head. “What? Nothing.”
Terena shifted, her eyes locked on the oracle. “What are you not saying?”
“Terena please,” she said, her voice low. “I already told you more than I should have and look what happened. The gods punished me for overstepping.”
“Well, can you at least tell me if he’ll travel with us?”
Pytho looked wretched, her gaze swinging between Terena and Sonah, searching for words.
“No, he will not.”
Terena’s skin prickled. Something shifted inside of her. “Why?”
Pytho shook her head and splayed her hands. “I cannot say, Terena.”
“If he’s bound to Sonah,” she bit out, “he should go with us.”
The pained look on Pytho’s face made Terena back down. She sighed, pulling her hand out of Daris’s. She dug the heels of her hands into her eyes, hoping to bully her growing headache into going away.
“I have a potion that will help,” Pytho said.
“Thank you, Pytho,” she said. The poor woman had been through so much herself. She didn’t deserve to be badgered into sharing celestial secrets. She was right. Look what had happened already because she’d shared more than she should have.
Pytho stood there for a long moment and Terena looked over. The woman was looking at Sonah with something like pride before she shifted her gaze to Terena. As soon as the oracle caught her gaze, she quickly left the tent. A few minutes later, Sonah stood, muttering to Terena about letting the food get cold before she, too, left the tent.
Silence fell when she was once more alone with Daris sleeping at her side, settling her. Terena sighed and dropped her head, then stood up, stretching and wincing as her body protested. Her muscles ached from sitting in one attitude for so long. It had been a while, too, since she’d eaten and she cast a longing look at the small bowl Sonah had brought her.
The sideboard off to her left near the foot of the cot Daris slept on held various tinctures and rolled up bits of cloth she’d used to wipe Daris’s blood.
But it also held a decanter of wine.
Her steps were heavy as they carried her closer, and she sighed, exhaustion settling on her shoulders. She lifted the decanter and an empty goblet and filled it to the brim. As she lifted it to her lips, she paused. Terena glanced over at Daris, his chest rising and falling slowly.
Rydon’s blood had brought her back from the brink of death, allowing her wounds to heal much faster than if she’d relied on healing ointments or poultices.
Maybe if she gave Daris her blood…
Before she could think more on it, Terena set the glass down and unsheathed the dagger at her chest. Slicing it across her palm, she winced as she fisted her hand over the wineglass, watching as the blood dripped and mixed with the wine. She swirled the cup and carried it over to the stool she’d been using all day, slowly settling herself on it as she stared at Daris’s closed eye.
Not wanting to wake him, she set the goblet down beside her and took his hands in hers once more.
The throbbingin his head woke Daris. It was as if his brain was on fire. He groaned, lifting a hand to his head, but soft fingers coiled around his wrist, and he stilled.
One eye fluttered open, and he blinked a few times to focus. His right eye wouldn’t open.
“Terena?”
The smile she gave him sent a wave of warmth over his chest, and he exhaled.
