I was beyond grateful for even that much.
For the first time in days, Wyll’s body released its rigid tension, and his facial muscles relaxed.
“What do you think?” I asked. “Can he be healed?”
She turned to face me, and her expression didn’t leave much room for optimism.
“He is in a very bad way, very weak. I’m worried the process may kill him instead of healing him.”
Wyll’s voice rose from behind her back. “Either way, I’ll be better off than I am now. I can’t go on like this.”
I was surprised he was conscious, as it was the first time in a while he’d been lucid.
“Very well then, I’ll do my best,” Solfrid said.
She turned back to her patient, but Wyll raised a hand. “I need to speak to Pharis first… if you don’t mind.”
“Of course. Call me when you’re ready to proceed,” the healer said, and stepped into the next room, leaving me alone with Raewyn’s father.
I moved to his bedside.
“The girls?” he asked.
“They’re well. They’re nearby.”
The old man groped for my hand, finding it and squeezing it.
“We don’t know each other well,” he began, “but there’s something I need to ask of you. You’re the only one I have to ask, and you’ve proven yourself an honorable man.”
The point was debatable, but I allowed him to continue uninterrupted.
“Take care of my girls. If I don’t make it, please take care of them.”
“Of course I will,” I assured him. “I don’t want you to worry about them. I’ll keep them safe.”
“Thank you,” he whispered. “And if the healing does work… I want you to leave us behind.”
My head jerked back, and I blinked. “What?”
Now Wyll’s wrinkled hand patted mine.
“If the healer’s magic works and I recover, I want you and Raewyn to leave me and the little ones here,” he said. “In spite of your patience about it, you can’t argue that we’re slowing you down. And it’s not good for these small children to be dragged all over the continent. They are tired. So am I.”
He stopped to take a labored breath. “We’re in a safe place here—far from the King’s eye. Without us, you’ll be able to take Raewyn even farther, all the way to the Sapphire Sea if necessary. And it breaks my heart to say it, but since she is a target, the girls are safer without her nearby.”
He was right, but Raewyn was going to be beyond heartbroken. Whether he lived or died today, she would lose her father soon.
“You’ll have to tell her that yourself,” I said. “I’m not taking her away from her family—not unless you tell her that’s what you want, and sheagrees.”
He coughed, his wince a reminder of the lingering pain. “She’s going to be angry with me, but Raewyn is nothing if not sensible. She’ll agree.”
“If she does, then I’ll do what you ask,” I said.
I stepped back, preparing to call the healer back in to do her work, but Wyll lifted a hand again, motioning for me to approach.
“I have one more request,” he said.
When I got close, he opened his eyes and held my gaze more steadily than he had since before we even made camp.
