Page 24

“In the meantime, I will see to it that you have what you need to begin building strength in your left leg.” Aunt Illyna nodded as she jotted more notes on her pad of paper. “A set of crutches, a brace for the ankle, and a better wheelchair actually fitted for you. Once you have more strength in your left leg, I will see that you are given a resting leg. It will attach to the knee of your right leg rather than the stump so you can start walking that way. It will take time for your stump to adjust to putting weight on it, and even going forward, you will likely need the resting leg for times when your stump is aching after a long day.”

Merrik tried to wrap his mind around the sheer number of tools and things he was going to be issued. “I am never going to be able to pack light again, am I?”

“No, probably not.” Aunt Illyna gave a shrug. “But if these are the tools you need to navigate the world, then do not begrudge yourself taking them.”

Merrik released a long breath. He didn’t just have to relearn how to walk. He needed to learn a new way of thinking, both about life and about himself. That might, in fact, be the hardest part.

Merrik gripped the metal bars on either side of him, the elf nurse hovering close to steady him should he stumble.

He flexed his fingers on the bars and drew in a deep breath. This was it. His first step since the crash.

Balancing on the peg-style leg attached to the knee of his right leg, he moved his left foot forward and slowly eased his weight onto it. Even with his grip on the bars, he hardly dared transfer his weight to the weak ankle and foot.

“Good job, Lt. Loiatir.” The nurse gave a nod, her tone unemotional despite the encouragement in her words. “Now the next step.”

Gritting his teeth, Merrik dragged the peg leg forward. Since it was attached to his knee, nothing bent from his hip to the bottom of the peg. To lift it off the ground, he had to lean more weight onto his bad foot.

His left foot rolled oddly beneath him thanks to the missing part of his foot and lack of two toes. His ankle threatened to twist, too weak to hold up against the rolling motion. Only the wooden brace and his grip on the bars kept that leg from giving out entirely.

The nurse reached for him, likely seeing his wobble.

“I am fine.” Merrik drew in another deep breath, shifted his weight to the peg leg once again, and shuffled his bad foot forward.

It was slow. Awkward. But he was walking.

Merrik sat on a cushion on his balcony, the stump of his right leg crooked as if to sit cross-legged while his left leg, his ankle in a wood-and-leather brace, stretched out before him. He sorted through a pile of wood, picking out the various pieces he wanted to use. “This is entirely unnecessary. I can just lower myself like before.”

“But this will be better. You need a proper lift.” Adry straddled the large branch overhead as she fiddled with a chain, a geared pulley, and a track so that the pulley could travel back and forth.

Merrik had arrived home from the hospital yesterday evening, although he would need to report back frequently for continued strength and skills training. First thing this morning, Adry had shown up, declaring that the two of them were going to re-rig the rope and pulley from his balcony into a lift that would fit his wheelchair.

Merrik gestured toward his room, where the sounds of hammering, thumping, and the occasional banging filled the space. “The construction crew from the Foundation has things well in hand.”

They’d arrived a good hour after Adry, a crew of elves with one human in the mix. They were currently reconfiguring the stairs to his room so that there were two moving wooden tracks on either side of the narrow stairs, spaced the width of his wheelchair. When he rolled his wheelchair onto the track at either the top or bottom, he could pull one lever to lock in the wheels, then a second lever to power the tracks to bring him either to the top or the bottom. Yet the stairs would remain in between so that he could walk up and down once he got to that point.

“Yes, they do. But you won’t always want to go through the main part of the house.” Adry sprawled on her stomach on the branch, her legs locked around it, as she adjusted the pulley. “Besides, the two of us are perfectly capable of constructing a lift. Both of us have magical engineering degrees. If anything, we’re overqualified.”

“Overqualified in knowledge, but underqualified when it comes to experience.” Merrik shook his head. Now if Pip—the half-dwarf female mechanic for his squadron—were here, he’d feel a whole lot better about the mechanics of this lift.

“Pfft. We’ve got this.” Adry grinned as she tested first the pulley function, then its movement on the track. “Maybe after this, we can rig an engine on your wheelchair.”

“Not a chance.” Merrik shuddered at the thought of her fiddling with his chair. He’d find himself speeding through Estyra at a breakneck speed before slamming into a tree because she forgot to install both brakes and steering controls.

“But it would be so much fun.” Adry’s teasing smirk twinkled in her eyes.

“No way. Maybe if Louise offers, I will take her up on it. Or Pip.” Merrik used small bits of his magic to secure the section of railing he’d assembled onto a square wooden base.

“I’d be hurt that you’d trust Fieran’s girlfriend over me, but from what I’ve heard, she’s pretty talented.” Adry laughed as she shimmied backward along the branch. “Louise has been singing her praises.”

Merrik paused in reaching for the next section of railing. “Fieran and Pip are officially courting?”

Something ached inside of him. Part pain at the thought of Fieran, part sorrow at having missed Fieran finally asking to court Pip after spending months subtly nudging them together.

“Yes, they are.” Adry dropped from the base of the branch onto his balcony. Her smile, too, dropped. “He asked her the day after he came home from the hospital. Louise called me in absolute raptures.”

Merrik cleared his throat, a tightness filling his chest. Was he missing Fieran and Pip and the rest of the squadron? Or resentful that Fieran was moving on with his life so easily and quickly? “It does not surprise me that Louise is bonding with Pip. They are pretty similar, although Pip is quieter. More…steady, if that makes sense?”

Adry threw her head back in a laugh before she plopped onto the floor across from him. “No one in my family is exactly steady. Except maybe Ellie. Our magic is too much. But from what I’ve heard, Pip sounds good for Fieran.”