She will do it again.
I'm still lost to the roaring in my ears when I feel her hand on my shoulder, near where the knife is still protruding.
"Lay down," she orders me.
I'm too shaken by her revelation to do anything but comply.
I barely feel it when she yanks it out. The sound of a staple clipper pulling into position tugs me out of my haze.
"No. That will just interfere with my scales shifting."
"But there's a lot of blood."
"It's as you said, just a puncture."
Her face screws up again into another unidentified expression, but she doesn't comment.
"Should we open his bag? There might—"
"Yes, that's fine."
I stalk over and slash open the pack, then quickly snatch up anything of use and push it into her hands.
They're shaking. "Will it heal alright? I'm so, so sorry, Thivoll."
I take a deep breath and push down my anger. "I'm not worried about the wound. I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you."
Her eyes are glimmering more than usual as she looks me in the eyes.
"But who will protect her? All of them? It must be me, but I understand it isn't your responsibility."
I growl out in frustration. "It's mine, too. It just can't be at your expense, Ree. I can't help you if you're dead."
An image of her laying behind that bush, broken, rises and my throat feels tight. The next breath sears my lungs and my chest aches.
She nods, but says nothing to help assuage my fear. It feels lonely to have it trembling through me, unacknowledged.
She glances down at the dead slime. "Should we move him? Will he attract people to her?"
"It would be more suspicious than leaving him. He isn't all that close to her."
I can't help the barb, though it does nothing to make me feel better. From the look that flits across her face, it hits home.
"We need to leave," I say instead of apologizing.
One of those would get stuck in my throat right now.
She bites her lip, her eyes glimmering again, but she simply climbs on.
Running soundlessly through the glow of trees in dusk helps slowly ease my racing thoughts, but the ache remains.
The light is almost gone when I hear a rasping sound. Like something soft is dragging against the ground. I pause and pivot my ears toward it to better hear.
Something chirps out, then continues into a melody, the structure suggesting language and not just a song.
34
Ree
