She... loved this man?
Did Seraphina love Rune?
She wanted to say yes, but something held her back. She didn’t know what it was, she couldn’t define it. But it was there, at the back of her brain – a feeling or an intuitive nudge that told her to wait. Wait, because there was more to be revealed.
They woke up at the crack of dawn, wrapped around each other, legs and arms tangled. They stayed like that for a while, neither of them wanting to move.
“They are covered in purple bruises,” Rune said out of nowhere.
But it wasn’t out of nowhere, Seraphina realized. He must’ve been thinking about this since they’d arrived.
“All of them?” she asked.
“Yes. Willa’s neck is spotted purple, and it’s spreading to her face. The boys, Hans and Kaspar, are looking better, but their father has spots on his neck, his hands and forehead. Last night, I could see beads of sweat at the roots of his hair. He didn’t sayanything, but he was running a fever. Barbara is bruised all over, there isn’t an inch of clear skin on her. Katharina only has a few spots on her jaw. I believe the younger ones have stronger bodies that are fighting the illness, but anyone who’s over forty doesn’t have long before they’ll need a bed.”
Seraphina sat up. The room was chilly, and she wrapped her arms around herself.
“Then we should get to work.”
Rune tugged at the sleeve of her cotton shift.
“What if you get sick?” he asked. “What if you’re already sick, and the bone aches and fever will start? We didn’t know what we were walking into, but maybe we should’ve turned around when Willa warned us.”
“And leave these people to die? Too many have died already.”
“I know. I’m torn, too. But I’m scared for you, Seraphina.”
She took his hand in hers and smiled at him.
“You shouldn’t be. Don’t you remember what I told you? When you have an implanted relic, it keeps your body healthy. You cannot get sick. And if it’s an apex relic that’s implanted, it may even slow aging. Not all relics behave the same, but since I’ve had Saint Vivia’s atlas vertebra in my eye socket, I’ve not been ill once.”
“Oh. Yes, I remember now.”
“See, then? I’m safe. I’m more worried about you, to be honest.”
“About me?”
“Well, you don’t have an implanted relic, do you?”
She chuckled, making it seem like she was trying to lighten the mood. Because she wasn’t actually asking that, was she? It never occurred to her that he might have a relic somewhere under his skin. He would’ve known. He would’ve told her. Right?
Seraphina huffed when she understood what was happening to her. The corners of her mouth turned downward. It was Briar.The things Briar had told her had messed with Seraphina’s head, and now all kinds of doubts were rising to the surface. She couldn’t believe she’d been so easily influenced by someone who didn’t know Rune at all, had only observed him from a distance and drawn judgements.
“No,” he said. “You know I’m strong, though. I’ve never been ill, not that I remember. If musket balls didn’t bring me down, I don’t think the bone fever will.”
“About that,” she whispered. “You never told me what happened after they shot you. You simply healed?”
Rune sat up as well and straightened his back. They were both leaning against the wall now, sitting next to each other in bed like two people who’d known each other their entire lives.
“I pulled them out,” he shrugged. “I would’ve left them alone, and my body would’ve healed around them, but they were bothering me. I could feel them.”
“You... pulled them out...”
“Yes, with my fingers. I told you they threw me in a dungeon with no window after you escaped, and cuffed my hands and feet. The chains were long enough for me to move around, and I dug my fingers into the wounds before they closed and pulled the lead balls out.”
Seraphina was silent for a few long minutes. She was trying and failing to wrap her head around what Rune had just told her. She could imagine him shoving his fingers into his bleeding wounds and fishing around for the pieces of metal, but the pain he must have experienced... How did he stand it? Not to mention that he probably hadn’t had clean water to wash his hands and wounds.
“You are remarkable,” she whispered.
