The courtyard fell into silence. Shocked, stunned silence.
Ferrula dropped beside Jax, her hands already pressing into his side, her blade forgotten in the dirt.
And Iron Fang… they just watched.
Because they hadn’t come to win.
They came to break us.
The three of us, Tae, Riven, and I moved quickly across the courtyard, Jax’s weight slung between our shoulders, his arm looped over mine, blood soaking through his tunic with every step.
He grunted but didn’t complain, though his skin was too pale, and his breath came in short, shallow bursts. He’d lost too much blood, and though he tried to act like he could walk himself, we all knew better.
Meri was already waiting when we burst into the healer’s wing, hands slick with salve and her apron stained with whatever patient she’d just patched up. The moment she saw Jax, she cleared a cot quickly.
“Here,” she barked. “Lay him down gently.”
We got him onto the cot, and the second he was down, his eyes rolled slightly, the fight finally draining out of him.
“Don’t you pass out on me, mountain man,” Meri muttered, placing her hands on either side of his wound.
Her healing magic flared soft gold, washing over his side in waves. His jaw clenched, a groan escaping his lips as the flesh slowly began to knit back together.
Riven stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed, brows drawn. “Where’s Ferrula?” she asked, voice tight. “She didn’t come with us?”
I glanced away, my lips pressed into a thin line.
But Tae answered for me, voice quieter than usual. “Jax… this is going to go badly for you.”
Jax, still half-drowsy from the pain and the healing, blinked. Then his gaze narrowed and snapped to Tae. “Why? Isavedher life.”
“That’s not how it works in Diria,” I said softly, resting a hand on the side of the cot. “Ferrula’s a warrior. She would rather die than have a man be her shield.”
Tae nodded. “You never interfere with a Dirian duel. No matter what it looks like. No matter how close it is. When you stepped in, you didn’t just disqualify us… youembarrassedher.”
Jax paled. Not from the pain, but from realization. “She’d rather be dead than saved by me?”
“Byanyone,” Riven muttered.
“She may kill you for this.”
Jax groaned and slumped back into the cot.
“Worth it,” he muttered. “Take me to her.”
Chapter
Twenty-Six
We guided Jax slowly down the corridor toward the barracks, each step steadied by Tae and me, though Jax grumbled under his breath the entire way. He’d been healed, but the blood loss still clung to him like a shadow, and his face was pale beneath the healing glow Meri had left on his skin.
Riven walked ahead, clearing the way like she expected Ferrula to be waiting on the other side of the door with a fist or a blade.
She wasn’t far off.
When we stepped inside, Ferrula was already standing by her bunk, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her jaw clenched, eyes locked on the door like she’d been waiting for a fight.
Cordelle was gone. His bunk empty, his books stacked too neatly to have been a hasty departure. It struck me as strange. He was the last person I expected toleavewhen one of us was injured. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
