The shaman rose, catching her arm. “It isn’t wise for you to go alone.”
“I have to agree, Lis,” Mavka said.
Dhara stood. “No one should go anywhere alone right now.”
Aloisia glanced between them all. “And I don’t think they will show if we all pile into the Dead Woods.”
“The wisps are not the only things out there.” Inari’s voice strained, his jaw set.
“I know. And I won’t go unarmed.”
“Take Kaja with you,” Dhara ordered.
“I understand everyone’s concern. I won’t go far. There’s a better chance if I go alone.”
Dhara glared. “Then Kaja will stand guard at the treeline. Being on your own is foolish.”
“Fine. That’s a fair compromise.”
Inari’s gaze flickered to the fading runes on her arms. “At least let me renew the healing runes.”
“All right.”
Mavka gave a nod, placing a hand on Dhara’s shoulder. “Be careful, Lis.”
“Of course.” Aloisia headed out of the hall, Inari trailing behind her.
She led the way back to her home, where Inari’s concoctions remained. Once inside, he went to the various pots and bowls, each filled with different mixtures. Aloisia did not know what any of them were, much less what they were for.
“Sit.” He pointed to the benches, pushed back from her firepit to make room for her bed.
She did as he bid, tracing the faint lines etched across her skin. “Is it good they’re fading?”
“Yes,” Inari said, carrying two pots to her. “It means their effects are working.”
“Hmm.”
He perched on the bench beside her, turning her arm over. “Walking here unaided is further proof they are taking effect. Of course, it will take time. These things are not immediate.”
Aloisia frowned. “Then how did your wrist heal so quickly?”
Inari chuckled. “I am a shaman. I would be pretty useless if I did not heal quicker than most. Such is the curse of my profession.”
“Curse?”
He fell silent, tilting his head further forward, his auburn curls hiding his face.
“Why is it a curse?” Aloisia pressed, watching as he renewed the lines of the runes.
“The things which may harm those around me, which I may not be able to stop from harming them… Those things may not even affect me at all. That is the curse. I will be the one left unharmed.”
“What happened?”
Inari lifted his head. “When?”
“I don’t know. But something happened. Sometime. And it’s why you’re here and not there.”
He turned his focus back to the runes, not answering her question. She hadn’t expected him to. Tension stretched between them like a thread pulled tight.
