Aloisia wavered in and out of consciousness as they travelled back to Littlewatch. Each time she opened her eyes, the world was different. The unearthly glow of the cave, the midnight blue of the night sky, the blood red poppies of the Vale, the deep green of the Great Hawk Forest. Throughout it all, there was only one constant: Inari’s arms around her, carrying her home.
The final time her eyes opened, the night had long since passed. Sunlight filled her house, bright and brilliant. Inari’s warmth had faded, replaced by blankets and furs and a heat scorching her skin. Her bed was still in her living room. And her body was still singing with agony. Only now, it was not just the sharp ache of her ribs, but the dull throb of her entire being. Her mind was sluggish, her breaths slow and pained.
A damp cloth pressed against her forehead, cooling the heat pulsing through her.
“Ow,” she moaned.
“There’s no killing you, is there?”
Aloisia searched for the face to match the voice. Dhara perched on a stool, much as she had the previous morning, watching her with a smirk.
“It’s not for lack of trying,” Inari said, wringing out the cloth.
Dhara chuckled. “She is a trying lass, this one.”
“Charming,” Aloisia rasped.
“Never a dull moment with you.” The lead huntress pushed off her stool. “Mavka is sick with worry.”
“Sorry.”
Dhara shrugged. “I’d be more concerned if she were not.”
“The trial?” Aloisia glanced between the two of them.
Inari placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You’ll be there. There’s still a few hours yet.”
“Ezra?”
“Is in our custody,” Dhara said. “Though I cannot imagine the magistrate will be pleased about it.”
“Oda?”
Inari exchanged a look with Dhara. “We don’t know. I imagine she made it back, but I would have expected a welcome party for us if she had.”
“The spell?”
“On the vale? Undone, as I promised.”
Aloisia managed a nod. “Good.”
“Right now,” Dhara said, “all you need to focus on is getting your strength back before the trial.”
“Ezra. He promised answers.”
“He did.” Inari pressed the cool damp cloth to her forehead again. “And we will get them.”
“Mavka and Kaja are with him now.” Dhara returned to her stool. “They will ask him the questions. We will have evidence to bring to the trial.”
“And we know,” Inari continued, “you’d want those answers yourself. But right now, you need to heal.”
Aloisia peered at her arms, covered in runes. Her left palm itched, the one that had been held to the Bloodstone. As she lifted her hand, it shocked her to see not only was it unbound, but the skin was unblemished, neither the cut nor the marking upon it.
“They should be enough to get you back on your feet. But these things take time.”
She struggled onto her elbows, her head swimming as she did. “I don’t have time.”
Inari pushed her back into her pillows with ease. “There is time.”
