“Why did she stop?”Kai practically shouts, leaning forward as if he’s about to sprint onto the field himself.“She had her!”
“It’s a fucking practice fight,”I bark.“Were you expecting someone to die?”
“Oh,”Kai says, his good eye blinking rapidly.“Right, sorry. Forgot for a second. But seriously, why did she stop?”
“She won’t hurt an animal,”I answer, already running toward Aurelia.
When I reach her, Aurelia is swaying slightly on her feet. I reach out instinctively to pick her up, but she shoves my hands away. “I can walk,” she says, her voice low but steady.
I clamp my jaws together, grinding hard enough to crack my teeth. She’s right, it would be better if she left the field on her own feet, but fuck, I’m barely holding it together. My back burns where my wings press against my skin, desperate to burst free. I don’t even understand why I’m reacting this way. She won, didn’t she?
For once, we don’t need to pretend to be speaking to each other in our minds because we’re in total agreement. Aurelia turns and starts walking back toward camp, and I follow behind her, thinking vaguely that I’ll block her from view if she falls.
“You did so good,” I mutter as we reach the edge of the field and round a line of trees separating the practice field from the field where the camp is. “So fucking good. We’re almost there.”
As soon as we round the corner and the trees and the slope of the hill block the practice field from view, I reach out and scoop her into my arms. She doesn’t fight me. I carry her straight back to our tent, still muttering unintelligible praise into her hair.
Back in the tent, I lay Aurelia down on the bed and turn toward her pile of clothes in the corner. My heart is still pounding out of my chest as I rifle through her things until I’ve find the little leather pouch she usually wears on her belt. My hands trembling, I start pawing through its contents.
“What are you looking for?” Aurelia asks, propping herself up on her elbows.
“Your healing potion,” I say, not looking up as I push aside a half dozen glass vials, loose herbs, and several wrapped bundles.
“Should you be saying that out loud?” she asks in a loud whisper.
“Don’t care,” I growl.
Frustrated, I dump the entirety of Aurelia’s bag out on the three-legged table, and relief washes over me when I spot a tinyvial of that swirling, blue-white healing potion which spilled all over the floor of my room a few years ago. Snatching it up, I whirl around and shove it at her. “Here.”
She blinks at me, clearly shocked. “I don’t need that.”
“You’re hurt,” I manage to say, eyes raking over all the thin welts and bruises covering her legs and arms.
“Yes, but I’m not losing blood—I’m just sore. This will heal on its own by tomorrow. That potion is for emergencies.”
“I. Don’t. Care.” My fingers close tighter around the tiny vial until I’m in danger of breaking it. I force myself to loosen my hold, uncork the vial with my thumb and hold it out to Aurelia, mere inches from her lips. “Drink.”
She looks exasperated, but takes the potion and drinks half of it in one swallow before handing it back to me. “Put that back in my bag. We might need it again.”
I take the potion, but don’t move, staring down at the bloody scratch across Aurelia’s collarbone. “How long does it take to work?”
She doesn’t even have a chance to respond before the question answers itself. The scratch on her chest lightens in front of my eyes, the skin knitting back together. In less than a minute, the scratch disappears.
Letting out a long breath, I collapse onto the edge of the bed beside Aurelia. The adrenaline drains from my body all at once, leaving me hollow and shaking. I could use that damn potion myself right now.
“Why the fuck did you do that?” I ask hoarsely.
“Do what?”
“Are you fucking serious? Why would you agree to fight with Runa?”
“Because she asked?” Aurelia raises an eyebrow as if it’s obvious. “I didn’t know it would be so intense, but she’s a good fighter. Maybe the next time?—”
“What next time?” I snap. “You are not fucking doing that again.”
“Why? I won. Everyone lived. I don’t see the issue.”
I let out a growl, unable to even form the words to argue with her.
