“It’s kind of you to care about my well-being.”
Ha! “I don’t care what happens to you, witch hunter. It’s just a stupid plan. You were half dead last night. I put a lot of time and effort into healing you. Getting yourself killed would be a hell of a way to thank me.”
“Language, Rowan,” her mother murmured.
She huffed.
“Thank you,” he said, staring straight into her eyes with a sincerity that was unnerving. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to help me. I will see that you are paid. For your time, the supplies, lodging, food. Tally it up. You can name your price.”
She stared at him, certain he was toying with her. No one threw money away like that. But he’d paid George a fortune just for delivering a message, so maybe he was good for it. She wondered how much she could ask for. She’d have to talk to him about it later when her mother wasn’t around. Her mother had weird ideas about life debts. He did owe them though. He owed them for so much more than a few bandages and some salve.
He’d just go stumbling around looking for his men until his wounds got infected all over again. He didn’t know the woods. He didn’t know how to find the safe paths and which spots to avoid. He wouldn’t even be able to find safe drinking water without using charms to clear it. She didn’t go into the woods lightly, and she was so much better equipped to deal with it than he was.
“There’s no reason for me to sit idle while I wait for reinforcements,” he said. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I know what I’m doing.”
“What’s to stop you from getting snared like your men?”
“I have the witchstone to warn me of any spells cast my way. Holy water to anoint my eyes. Prayer.”
He was going to die.
“And if you’re attacked by another one of the creatures that nearly ripped you in half?”
“I’ll kill it.”
She rolled her eyes. “It snuck up on you once and that was when you were surrounded by all of your men. It can do it again. At the very least, you’ll have to close your eyes sometimes to sleep.”
“I don’t require much sleep.”
He still requiredsomesleep and he wouldn’t get any without someone to watch his back.
“What if the witch comes after you?”
“It would make things easier if the witch did come to me, but it won’t happen. Demon-ridden witches aren’t stupid. Once they create a nest, they dig in. I can’t sit here for two weeks waiting for reinforcements, not when my men are in danger.”
He went to his bag and pulled out his packet of writing material. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper and slid it in front of her. He placed the pen beside her hand. “Draw me a map, Rowan. I’ll pay for that too.”
She glared up at him, wondering if she should refuse. Maybe then he’d change his mind and wait for his friends before he went off into the woods. Maybe he’d wait a day or two for his wounds to heal, and she’d be able to find him an idiot or two to go with him to help.
His wide shoulders cast a shadow across the table. He stared down at her, waiting for her to do as she was told. His jawwas set. His eyes blazed with righteous determination. With the uniform, he looked like a hero out of a storybook. Stupidly brave. Impossibly handsome.
She didn’t want him here, but she couldn’t send him off to die.
“You can’t go into the woods alone, Captain,” her mother said, holding her teacup too tightly in her hands.
She got attached to her patients. She would hate it if he ran off to die before his bandages were even off.
Casrian didn’t take his eyes off her. “Hate me if you must, but please…help me save my men.”
She felt herself softening, even though she knew she wouldn’t be doing him any favors by drawing him a map. The woods were dying. There were whole swathes that were too dangerous to cross. She didn’t know where they all were, and the bad parts were always spreading. Even she had to be careful. If she drew him a map from memory, she might send him straight into one of those bad spots without even knowing it.
Before she’d made up her mind about what to do, her mother broke the silence. “You should go with him, Rowan. You know the woods better than anyone, certainly better than any other guide he might find out here. Show him the way to the fort. Help him find his men. You’re the only one who can do it.”
11
“What?”
Rowan stared at her mother in horrified disbelief.
