“Our packs are heavy,” Caius said. “This is good.”
“It is.”
“Maybe our luck is finally about to change.”
I hadn’t felt any kind of life in my heart for a long time, but now I felt something.
Hope.
We returned to the Gathering and dropped our packs on the table, the root vegetables rolling out everywhere. The muscles in my back and shoulders finally relaxed once the weight had been removed. My forearms ached too.
“What’s this?” Caius grabbed the new vegetable Hanne had found.
“A beet,” Hanne said. “Remove the skin and boil it, and it’ll turn soft. It’s not as filling as a potato but has its own hardiness.”
“How long do they last?” Liam asked.
“The beets, for a month,” she said. “The potatoes, a couple weeks. The carrots probably for a month.”
Caius couldn’t hide his surprise. “So, we can store them until we’re ready to use them?”
“Yes,” she answered.
He looked at me, a grin on his face. “Can you believe this? We don’t have to rely on the next hunt. Or split a fish twenty-five ways. Eat a stew with chunks of fish, water, and rosemary. We actually have food.”
“And we can grow it too,” Hanne said. “That way, no one has to leave.”
“And you said there’s more?” Liam asked her.
“I imagine there are mushrooms here,” she said. “But I haven’t come across them yet. Honestly, they aren’t as filling as these, so we can do without.”
The ache in my muscles faded, but the burn in my forearms remained, like I’d somehow pulled a muscle I hadn’t even used. But I kept my focus on the conversation and tried to appreciate their excitement. No one had been excited in a very long time.
“The timing couldn’t be better,” Caius said. “The babies will be here any day. The mothers need the sustenance.” He glanced at Hanne, looking at her like someone who had been in the tribe forever, had moved with us every time theapricumhad changed, had survived the bleakness of the dark. “You saved us.”
Her eyes immediately shifted away like she wasn’t prepared to accept such gratitude. It seemed like she wanted no recognition at all. When her eyes lifted again, they flicked to me for just a second before they looked at Caius again. “You saved me first.”
I watched the pot over the fire begin to boil, the air bubbles dancing on the bottom before they exploded to the surface. When steam skated over the surface and a froth developed, I wrapped my hand in a cloth and grabbed the pot by the handle. I extended my forearm, the bandage gone, exposing the bite that had reddened and moistened with pus. I sucked in a breath and held it before I tipped the pot, pouring the boiling water directly into the cut.
I released a groan I couldn’t contain then set the pot aside before I applied pressure with a clean cloth, hoping the scalding water would be enough. I continued to grip my arm as I waited for the burn to fade, remaining calm as the pain slowly began to drift away.
My concentration was shattered by the knock on my door.
I sighed in annoyance, company unwelcome right now. I tossed the linen aside and pulled down my sleeve before I opened the door.
My annoyance deepened because it was the company I wanted the least—Allegra. “What?” I barked. It was the worst person at the worst time. Our final conversation had been pretty conclusive, so her only purpose now was to dig into old scars.
Her anger rose to meet mine. “You act like I never meant anything to you.”
“You don’t mean anything to menow.”
Her anger should have intensified, but it actually subsided. “I did nothing to deserve this ire.”
“I know you talked to Hanne.”
She flinched outside the door, the bonfire far in the distance on the other side of the cabins.
“I don’t know what you said because she refused to rat you out.” Hanne had lied straight to my face when I’d asked her what Allegra had spoken to her about. I was annoyed with the deceit, but I also respected her for refusing to be a snitch. “Be grateful for that.”
