She throws her hands up in surrender. “Fine. I was just trying to help.”
“I can take care of her.” I know I’m being overly defensive, but the thought of anyone carrying her while she’s hurt and unconscious like this makes my stomach roll.
Leina plants her hands on her hips and purses her lips. She’s annoyed. Good. I’ll take annoyance over pity any day. “Nobody said you couldn’t take care of her, but…” She shakes her head, as if trying to dislodge whatever’s floating around in there. “How are you even standing? I mean, we all saw what happened to you in the arena. You should be dead or dying. At the very least, you shouldn’t be able to just pick up a woman and carry her gods only know how far after being sliced to bits by a dragon.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Yes. It was.
“Yes. It was,” she says, echoing my thoughts.
“Don’t you have things to do?” I ask her.
She lets out a huff. “Fine, but don’t think this means you’re getting out of telling me.” She spins around and claps her hands. “Alright, we’ve waited long enough. It’s time to go. Those barricades won’t hold them forever.”
51
The first thing I notice when I wake is the light, not the warm flickering of candles or gas lanterns, or that strange bluish light emitted by crystals in the underground.
No. This is daylight. It glows red behind my eyelids, the visual both familiar and foreign. The surrounding air is frigid, but the sun’s warmth kisses my skin, making the cold more tolerable if not chasing it away completely.
My eyes flutter open. I’m in an unfamiliar room—someone’s bedroom by the looks of it—covered in a scratchy blanket, bits of hay from the mattress poking me in the back.
It’s amazing.
I roll my head to the side, and there is Aemon fast asleep, his big body curled up into a faded-blue wingback chair. I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. I’m definitely in somebody’s bedroom. The entire room is decorated with a hideous wallpaper covered in tiny pink and green flowers and some greenish-brownish spots thatI’m guessing is mold. A wardrobe sits beside Aemon’s chair and a vanity to the left of the bedroom door, both a golden maple to match the bed. There’s a tall window on the right of the headboard, and I slip from the bed, pausing to test the strength of my legs before I pad across the chilly wood floor to peer outside. The sunshine’s even stronger here, its warmth soaking through the white tunic and pants I’m wearing. I hope whoever changed me saved the dress I was wearing when I arrived, so I can burn it.
The light stings my eyes, and I’m forced to squint. Who knew a few weeks underground could have such a profound effect? I’m in an apartment sitting atop what appears to be a shop and looking out over a small town, intriguing in its normalcy. Simple two and three-story buildings boasting shops and restaurants on the first floors, line a street just large enough to drive two carriages side by side, though all I see down there now is a horse-drawn cart parked across the street.
“Katya.”
I spin around at the sound of Aemon’s voice. He’s sitting up in his chair now, a tiny smile on his face.
I rush across the room and jump into his arms.
He hugs me back, chuckling as he says, “I take it you’re feeling better?”
“Where are we?”
He glances out the window, then back at me. “A little town on the edge of Elterra. It was the closest one to the caves where we came out.”
I search my mind for any recollection of caves or even leaving the arena, but it’s fuzzy, just flashes of bodies moving, people shouting and smoke—lots and lots of smoke. I rub my forehead, as thoughit might jar something loose, but there’s nothing. I’m struck by a sudden wave of dizziness, and Aemon is out of his chair in a flash, hand to the small of my back as he guides me back to the bed.
“I’m sorry,” I say as he helps me sit.
Aemon sinks to his knees on the floor between my legs, and gazes up at me, eyes squinted. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I don’t remember what happened.”
“Well, Jael said—”
My heart leaps. “Jael? She’s here?” I ask, glancing about myself like she could be hiding in this very room. “What about the other girls? Oh, gods.” I throw a hand over my mouth. “Leina. Have you seen Leina? Did she get out? What about the others? I told her to get them out. What if she tried and got caught or killed or—”
“Woah. Slow down.” Aemon pulls my hand from my mouth, clasps it between his and rests them on my lap. There’s something so comforting about his big, warm hands wrapped around mine. I just want to crawl into his arms and never leave. “Jael and the girls are all fine,” he says, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Leina is fine.”
I let out a choked breath that turns into a relieved laugh. “Yeah?”
A huge grin spreads across his face, setting off little crinkles at the corners of his eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile like that—so open and unrestrained. It’s beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, I’m admiring it instead of listening to him, so it takes me a minute to comprehend what he’s saying. “—freed everyone. Everyone. She had to leave to take the healthier ones to the next town over because they couldn’t handle so many here.”
And that’s when my giggles start. I don’t know if it’s relief or excitement or simple joy bursting out of me, but I start gigglingand giggling and the longer I giggle the more perplexed Aemon’s expression gets, which makes me just giggle more and soon he’s laughing along with me and wiping the tears from his eyes.
