“Even if it isbroken, I cannot stay in this bed. I will go mad.”
“Lin,” Venick tried. “Think about this reasonably.”
“If Dourin can come back from the dead, I can fight with a broken foot.”
“For the record,” Dourin said, “I never actually died.”
Lin Lill’s glare was razor-sharp. “Whose side are you on?”
“Venick’s, usually.”
“Venick is a lovesick fool with a hero complex.”
“Hey.” Venick frowned. “I’m right here.”
“Prove me wrong,” Lin Lill challenged. “Call in our troops. Announce our departure from Hurendue.”
Ellina guessed by Lin Lill’s tone—and by the sudden jump to a topic that had not even been mentioned—that this was not the first time they had argued about this.
Venick set his teeth. “We’re not done here.”
“Not done here? Venick. The Dark Army destroyed us. We need time to replenish our supplies and our forces, and we will not have a chance to do either if we stay in this city. You called a retreat, so let us retreat…to Kenath, where the rest of our army awaits.”
“You would leave the people of Hurendue undefended?”
“They can handle themselves.”
“No, they can’t. They don’t have the numbers. You say we need to retreat, but that’s what the Dark Army expects. It’s what they want. When they strike next, they’ll do to Hurendue what they did to Kenath and Evov. They’ll overtake it, kill or enslave all the citizens, and claim it for themselves.”
“If we stay, they will overtakeus.It’s a pointless endeavor.”
“It’s theright thing.”
They glared at each other.
“I hate to interrupt,” Erol said, “but I am needed elsewhere. Lin, can I trust you to stay off that foot?”
Lin Lill grumbled a reply.
“A little louder, if you please.”
She sighed, then spoke in elvish. “I will stay off the foot.”
“Good.” Erol turned his eyes to Traegar. “I know you said you have no interest in wartime campaigns…”
“That is right,” Traegar cut in firmly. “I do not.”
“Our soldiers are suffering,” Erol continued, “and we are woefully understaffed. We need every healer we can get. I ask you to reconsider.”
Traegar’s face was set. Yet he hesitated.
“I will help, if you do,” Dourin said.
Traegar’s gaze swung sideways. The air thickened, though Ellina could not tell if the sudden tension came from Traegar, who had chosen the Healer’s Academy over Dourin, or Dourin, who had effectively ruined Traegar’s healing career by reporting his illegal experiments, or Erol, who had been tangled up in that entire mess. Maybe all three.
Traegar’s next words were a clear insult. “You were not trained in healing.”
“Every elven legionnaire knows the basics. I will be your assistant.” Dourin shrugged, as if this offer was not entirely out of character. “You can tell me what to do.”
