I take it, because what else am I going to do? The male just admitted he doesn’t trust me and in the next breath offered me a direct line into his good graces. I think.
Muffled voices filter in through the thick walls and he helps me to my feet, dropping my hand as he heads for the door. I follow him out, squinting against the blinding light of the morning sun. Awri and Riesh head a small party of mounted soldiers up the steep incline leading to the cabin.
“A little excessive,” the general says.
He directs the comment at Riesh, who laughs his reply, “Be happy Toren didn’t send the entire army to scour the forest for his missing general. These are the least he would allow me to bring when I told him we lost you in the woods.”
My brooding companion hardly seems surprised, turning to Awrithe next moment. “Kishek?”
“Still recovering,” she sighs with a solemn shake of her head.
“Have you brought a healer?” the general asks with a dipped brow.
A thick tension saturates the entire party, every back stiffening, every eye searching the general for his wounds.
Riesh waves a dark-haired male with ebony skin forward, who asks if the general has been injured. He shakes his head and motions toward me, the tension leaving the party as quickly as it came once they realize the only one injured here is the fragile mortal. I suck in an annoyed breath and glare at the general.
“I’m f—”
“Fine,” he says, finishing my repetitious claim. “So you’ve said. You will still let Caden look you over before we head back.”
Not an offer. A demand.
I manage to suppress my protests about taking orders from him. I don’t disagree with the premise of being checked by a healer, but the self-important male has no right to force me to live my life on his terms.
Caden doesn’t even dismount before shaking his head, offering the general an apologetic frown. “You’ve used the ilyandis salve on her. I can feel it.”
The general gives the male a nod.
“Then you know she can’t be healed until the effect of the herb wears off.”
The general’s jaw stiffens, relenting in his pursuit of my healing with a heavy sigh. Seeing he’s not surprised by the healer’s declaration, I have to wonder why he even asked.
I repeat the name of the herb in my mind until I’m sure I won’t forget it. An interesting dichotomy. An herb that when applied will render pain nearly absent but prevent healing. I imagine the battles that could be waged with such an herb. A soldier that would never yield until their dying breath. I wonder briefly if the herb can be turned into a draught or tonic before the general snaps me out of my musings.
“You will ride with me,” he says, tying his satchel to a riderless mare.
“That is unnecessary,” I voice firmly, my eyes falling on anotherriderless horse nearby.
I want to add that I feel fine but decide to leave it at that.
He leads his horse to me, blocking the rest of the party from view, lowering his voice to a whisper. “You’re injured. I know you feel better right now, but that herb will likely wear off before we reach the palace.”
I don’t immediately argue, but I’m sure he can see that it’s in my mind when he adds, “I’ve ridden with a similar wound and trust me, you’re likely to hate yourself if you don’t rest until it can be mended.”
He has no idea how familiar I am with the exact form of pain he’s describing, but it will give too much away to tell him. I nod, allowing him to grip my hips and lift me onto the mount. He swings his leg up behind me, settling me snugly between his thighs just as he had the night we’d delivered the sword to the orphanage.
He pulls a dry cloak from the rucksack strapped to the mare and wraps it around us. With the click of his tongue, we begin our descent down the rocky path leading south. Awri’s eyes meet mine as we pass through the soldiers, and I can’t help the flush of my cheeks as she observes us curiously.
Without a single word from their leader, half the soldiers take their position at our front, the other half falling behind as we head out at a leisurely pace. I can’t help but feel that the pace they set is for the benefit of my comfort alone. A small pang of guilt stabs at my gut until the contented murmurings of the feyn and their jovial conversation rise around us. No one seems terribly displeased to have been called into the woods to recover the missing general and Awri’s reckless human guest.
Awri and Riesh fall in alongside us and I begin to wonder what became of them after my pursuit of the boar. Awri explains that they stayed at a shelter close to where I’d last seen them. They remained there until the storm let up, all day and a good portion of the night. With the heavy rain having obscured our tracks at the river, they returned to the palace for fresh food and mounts.
Despite my own experience in the forest, Awri tells the tale in a casual and unworried tone. Encounters with the wild fea must not be rare if they hadn’t been terribly concerned.
With a wry smile, Riesh adds that they intended to come andretrieve us alone when Toren, whoever he is, insisted on an escort, a tracker, and a healer.
“How did you know where to find us?” I wonder.
