"That would be cheating." I patted his arm. "We are supposed to abstain from food for three days. It shouldn't be that difficult."
"So they say," Shovia muttered. "They also say that the thin air helps us commune with Elu. Personally, I think it just makes us lightheaded enough to believe whatever the shaman tells us at the top."
"Shovia!" I hissed. "That's blasphemy."
She shrugged. "Just saying out loud what we all think. Even Saphir jokes about it."
Alar chuckled, then quickly sobered as another wave of dizziness seemed to hit him. This time, I wasn't quite fast enough to catch him, and he sat down hard on a nearby rock.
"I need a minute," he said, his face pale and sheened with sweat.
I crouched beside him, worried by his rapid breathing. "Try to slow your breaths. Deep and steady, like this." I demonstrated the breathing technique Gran had taught me for managing panic attacks.
He tried to match my rhythm, but I could see him struggling. The altitude was hitting him hard, harder than it should even for a flatlander.
Something wasn't right.
"Lysara," I called. "We need a break here."
Our group leader backtracked to us, her expression neutral as she assessed Alar's condition. Without a word, she pulled out his water flask and added something to it—more herbs, I guessed.
"Drink," she ordered, handing it to Alar. "All of it."
"Hold on." I lifted a hand. "What's in it?"
She regarded me with thinly veiled hostility. "Are you questioning me, Kailin?"
"I know all of the remedies for altitude sickness, and I am not familiar with what you put in Alar's flask."
Her shoulders stiffened. "Do you think I would purposely do anything to harm a pilgrim?"
Sabotaging a pilgrimage was a grave offense in the eyes of Elu, but not everyone was a believer.
"No, but as my grandmother says, life is all about learning. If there is an additional herb that treats the sickness, I would like to know what it is."
That was the truth, just not all of it.
The tension in Lysara's shoulders loosened. "This stuff is proprietary. It was developed for riders, and we use it for the more difficult cases on the trek."
She wouldn't lie about it in front of everyone, would she?
"So, it's a secret formula?" Codric asked.
"Yes." She turned to Alar. "Drink, or I'll have you taken down the mountain."
He complied, but given his expression, the taste was even worse than the leaves. Almost immediately, though, his breathing began to ease.
"Better," Lysara nodded. "But you'll walk with me for a while. I need to monitor you."
I didn't like that because I wanted to keep an eye on him, but there wasn't much I could do about it other than join them, and I'd already antagonized Lysara enough. I had to trust that her intentions were good.
As they walked ahead, I couldn't help thinking it was strange that the Citadel didn't share its medical discoveries with the rest of Elucia. I also didn't know that the riders had their own apothecary, but it made perfect sense since they had other exclusive medical facilities.
Dylon had not mentioned that, though, which was peculiar since our entire family was involved in running Gran's shop.
Was it supposed to be a secret? And if it was, why?
27
