Lia closed her eyes as his deep accented voice washed over her.
Neve.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Neve
What an utterly horrible day.
Neve sat on a low bench as the fieldnonnaesewed a long gash along his left shoulder blade. Somehow, asaloeshad managed to sneak up on him and land a solid blow with an axe as they retreated. It had slid in between his pieces of armor. Luckily, the wound was not terribly deep, but it would remind him of its presence each and every time he moved.
Flyka paced to his right, her expression darkening each time he grunted in pain. The Haunt was beating herself up over his injury. Neve hissed as thenonnaesewed the deepest part of the cut. He had chosen to not indulge in any pain relief. Every time the needle threaded through his skin, it was a reminder of the mistake he had made. Turning his back to the enemy. It could have cost him his life, and now Flyka was blaming herself for it.
“This wasn’t your fault.”
She glared at him but said nothing as she continued to pace the length of the round tent. The fire popped in the woodstove, breaking up the silence that had settled over them. Thenonnaeworked swiftly and efficiently. He felt a gentle tug and then the healer dropped her needle and remaining thread into the bowl of hot water sitting on the bench to his right.
“That was the last one,Reillov.” Thenonnaerinsed off her hands in the water and quickly packed up her belongings. “Take care with your shoulder. It’s in a vulnerable place. You could tear your stitches with any number of movements.”
“Sei,” he replied. Neve had no doubt that she would be sewing him up again within the next few days.
The healer slung her satchel over her shoulder and picked up the bowl of bloodied water. She paused near the door and eyed Flyka. “Make sure you come by my tent tonight, too,valles. I can smell the blood on you, and it’s not human.”
Neve narrowed his eyes at his friend. Flyka practically growled at thenonnaebefore she left the tent. He rolled his shoulder, testing out his mobility. While the wound ached, the stitches held.
Good enough.
He inhaled deeply, scenting the air. Pain and fresh blood.
Bloody Haunt.
“How badly are you hurt?” he asked softly. Flyka was used to demands and barking orders. Being gentle always threw her off-center.
She blinked at him. “Just a few cuts and bruises.”
All lies.
No one bled that much from a few cuts.
He took a moment to really look his friend over. Her normally white skin was flushed and seemed almost gray. Big black circles shadowed beneath her eyes, and her lips were pinched.
Stupidvallos. He should have looked at her closer.
Neve rose to his feet and stared down at his friend. “I need you to visit with the healer, please.”
She bristled. “I’m fine.”
Being soft was not going to persuade her this time, it seemed. “You will visit thenonnae.Now.” A command he was not the least bit sorry to utter. If she would not take care of herself, he would do it for her.
Flyka straightened at his tone. She crossed her arms and met his gaze with a challenge of her own. “I am not to leave your side,Reillov. It is my duty to protect you at all costs.”
“Your health is notqovvingnegotiable, Flyka. You will visit the healer immediately, my Haunt.”
He almost never reminded Flyka of her station. They had grown up together. She was one of his best friends, but in this instance, he would not back down.
She gritted her teeth, fangs bared. “As you command,Reillov,” she all but spat. Flyka stomped out of the tent, leaving him completely alone.
Neve frowned at the tent flap. The stubbornvalleswas going to get herself killed one of these days if she did not learn to start caring for herself.
