Everything hurt.
Her head pounded, her breath pierced her side, even her skin felt like it was on fire. And beneath it all was a bone-deep ache that made her long for the gentleness she had just left.
If this was death, the gods had lied – it was not peaceful.
Are you surprised that hells claimed you?
Her mother’s tear-stained face rose before her and Aya blinked, the image dissolving into a pale gray ceiling.
She took in the white comforter. The window which the sun streamed through, casting everything in a bright glow.
Not the seven hells.
Her room. She was in her room.
Aya sat up, her head swimming with the small movement.
‘Easy. Your brain’s been rattled.’ Tova leaned forward in the rough wooden chair she’d dragged to the bedside. Her hair was limp, dirt and blood clotted in the white strands, her Dawning dress torn from her calves to mid-thigh.
Tova let out a long breath as their eyes met. ‘Praise Mora.’ Her chair scraped against the floor as she dropped back against it. ‘I really didn’t want to have to find a new best friend.’
Despite herself, Aya croaked a laugh, wincing as pain shot through her side.
‘Broken ribs. And let’s see, a handful of glass Suja had to pick out of your body, a nasty cut she wove back together onyour scalp, and, oh yeah, a concussion.’ Tova ticked each injury off on her fingers.
Aya touched her side lightly, wincing at the tenderness. Suja was one of the best healers in Dunmeaden. But even she couldn’t erase the aching from mending bones. It would be sore for a while. As for the concussion … healers weren’t gods.
‘How long have I been out?’
‘Eight hours.’
Aya swore softly as she took in Tova’s dress and dirt-streaked face again. ‘Have you been here the whole time?’
Her friend’s nostrils flared as she gripped the arms of the chair. ‘You look like shit too, you know. Suja thought you were dead when Will carried you in here.’
So he’d made it out alive. But did that mean …
‘Tyr is fine,’ Tova said, her voice softening. ‘They’re all fine. They made it back to the barn.’
Aya let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She’d never live down Will having to carry her back to the Quarter, but it didn’t matter. Tyr was safe.
‘Liam came by a couple of hours ago,’ Tova continued. ‘The wall was wrecked. Gianna had Lena searching the Athatis territory for whoever did the damage. Her bonded caught a scent. They found the man trying to escape through the Pelion Gap.’
Aya started. No one traveled the Pelion Gap unless they were desperate. Not with the Athatis, and not in winter. Surviving the vicious cliffs and freezing winds was nearly impossible, to say nothing of the wolves. It was no wonder Lena and her bonded had caught him within hours.
‘Who was it?’ Aya’s question was quiet and cold.
Tova sighed as she sat back in her chair. ‘That’s what Cleo is trying to figure out now.’
Aya frowned. Cleo was one of the best Sensainos in the Dyminara, but she wasn’t Will. If ever there were a time for the Enforcer’s talents …
‘Why isn’t Will leading the questioning?’
It was as close as she’d get to asking after his well-being.
Tova shrugged. ‘Suja says he needs rest. I thought she was going to murder him. He wouldn’t stop flitting around here. It was like he didn’t believe her when she said you were okay.’
Aya felt her shoulders tense. She didn’t think she’d imagined the flicker of shock on his face when the wolves left him.
