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“Yes, he did.” Adry flexed her fingers on the strap of her leather satchel. “He mentioned he’d called here first.”

Aunt Patience glanced upward, her mouth thinning. “I haven’t told Merrik yet.”

Adry straightened her shoulders, gripped the strap of her bag tighter, and gave Aunt Patience an attempt at a smile, though it held more grim determination than mirth. “Don’t worry. I’ll shake Merrik out of this. I’m not taking no for an answer today.”

Aunt Patience searched her face, then nodded. Perhaps she was desperate enough that she wasn’t going to dissuade Adry from whatever she was planning.

After crossing the kitchen, Adry stalked up the stairs to Merrik’s room where it perched in the branches of the tree above the main house built on the forest floor. At the top, she banged on Merrik’s door more loudly than she had previous days. “Merrik.”

“Go away.” The same shout she’d gotten when she’d tried before.

“Not happening. Not today,” Adry shouted right back. The time for coddling was long past. “You know I can break down this door.”

With her magic, it wasn’t like something as simple as a wooden door would stand in her way.

“But I won’t.” She tried to temper her tone so she didn’t sound quite so belligerent. “I’m not going to come in until you tell me I can, but I’m not leaving either. I mean it. I’m going to camp out here all day and night if I have to.”

Was that a frustrated growl she heard from the other side of the door?

She waited, forcing herself not to pressure him. He knew how she could be when she set her mind on something. Hopefully her determination would be enough, and she didn’t actually have to camp out here. She wasn’t sure her commanding officer would be understanding of her skipping practice.

A full minute passed before Merrik called out again, “Fine. Come in.”

Adry lifted the latch and pushed the door open. It caught on something, and she had to shove it harder than she expected.

Once she had it open, she took in the absolute wreck that was Merrik’s room. Roots and vines tangled along the ceiling and throughout the room, and one of the branches was impeding the door. Shattered glass was scattered in places along the wall while other items had been tossed around.

Merrik lay on the bed, his back to her. His chestnut hair—long in the style of the elven warriors and something he normally cared for with pride—was tangled and greasy. The stench of unwashed body and stale sheets permeated the room.

This was even worse than she expected. She’d have to take things in hand here before she enacted the rest of her plan.

Calling up her magic, she swept it across the room, incinerating the worst of the vines and branches. Merrik gave a flinch at that, but he didn’t protest. At least he retained some of his normal elven resistance to killing plants.

Once she could stroll across the room freely, she halted next to the wheelchair parked beside the bed and yanked back his blankets, revealing his rumpled shirt and trousers, as well as the bandages that swathed his left foot and the stump of his right leg.

“Hey!” Merrik turned his head enough to glare at her. His skin had a more gray, unhealthy pallor than his usual pale skin, and the dark circles beneath his eyes stood out starkly.

“Get up. I’m going to wash your hair.” Adry turned and headed for the water closet attached to his room. At least it was all on one level, unlike her set of rooms where hers was up another short stretch of stairs. Even better, the door looked wide enough to fit the wheelchair.

She busied herself retrieving his shampoo and conditioner from his shower and setting up the sink to use as a basin. She didn’t so much as peek through the door to check on Merrik. He wouldn’t want her watching while he transferred himself from the bed into the chair.

After several minutes, the rolling wheels on the wooden floor sounded before Merrik appeared in the doorway. His brown eyes were as dull as his hair, but he was up and he’d pushed himself here.

Behind him, Aunt Patience darted into the room. She stripped the sheets from Merrik’s bed with swift movements, as if she thought he’d change his mind at any second.

“Can you back up to the sink?” Adry gestured to it. She’d set the bottles of shampoo and conditioner on the ledge, ready to go. She’d also located a cup so she could pour water over his hair.

Merrik eyed the sink, a hint of a curl to his mouth. “Has the sink been sanitized? I spit into there.”

She sighed, shook her head, and turned on the faucet, splashing the water around and scrubbing the sides with her fingers. The sink was cleaner than his hair, but whatever. At least he was showing some sign of life if he was expressing his preference for cleanliness.

Once the sink was reasonably clean, she washed her hands with soap. “There. Happy now?”

Merrik just eyed her, sighed, then pushed the wheels to send the wheelchair rolling forward.

It took some jockeying for him to back the wheelchair up to the sink. At least the water closet was roomy enough that he could somewhat maneuver even if Adry had to stand in the shower for a few minutes to give him enough space.

Once he was in place, she draped a towel around his shoulders since, knowing her, she was going to splash and make a mess.