Page 47 of The Lost Guard's Healer

“I could say the same thing.”

“Your integrity isn’t the one being questioned,” I point out.

“You’ve done nothing to prove you aren’t like the other Oathlanders.”

“Bullshit.”

She just glares.

I think she’s lying to me and herself. This charged energy between us cannot only be felt by me.

I take a step closer and raise my hand to place it on her side and bring her closer, to convince her of what we are feeling. Galene flinches and slaps me hard on the face.

“That is enough,” she says through her teeth. Her trembling eyes are filled with emotion. “Leave, and never look back.”

With that, she storms away furiously.

I ache to make things better, but it’s too far gone for that. I shouldn’t have pushed things. I know I have to accept the truth, not the fantasy I’ve been making up in my head. I’ve been a fool. It’s time to return to my life.

There is nothing for me with the Shanti People.

The village has awakened by the time I reach the central field, with many people mingling and going about their chores for the day.

Aldus is pulling a cart with a mountain of wooden blocks, taking it to one of the huts being rebuilt. He pauses when he sees me and waves me over.

“I have the sister wives preparing a care pack for you,” he says. “You will have provisions for your journey home. And the map I promised you.”

“You have my thanks, Aldus,” I say. “For a great many reasons. I’m happy to help with the pack.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “They have it handled.”

“Is Leila around?” I ask. “It would be good to say goodbye.”

“She has already left with the boys. They have gone to tend to our crops in the northeast.”

I ask him to send my regards to Leila and her boys once they return, as I follow him to one of the huts being rebuilt.

Several people there are trimming thick wooden beams into shape. The woodworkers are cutting gaps in the wood to allow other parts to fit into place. I’m still amazed at how they can construct their huts by fitting wooden beams firmly into each other, with no other bindings required.

Aldus leaves to attend to some business, so I help those setting up the new beams into place while I wait for my travel pack to be ready.

A small girl watches me curiously and cautiously. I recognize her as the one who has mostly been watching me fearfully from behind her mother’s legs. Now she is smiling at me, which makes me smile back. She must have become accustomed to my presence. It makes me think how much I’m going to miss this village.

I notice a familiar face watching me from across the field. Wini, the young girl who had tried to seduce me during the festival. She stops to stare at me when our eyes connect. A passing look of what I guess to be regret, longing, or perhaps disgust, crosses her soft features. She strikes a strong figure with her blouse hugging her full chest and wide hips curving beneath her dress. Wini settles on a sneer and swiftly turns away. I guess that explains what she thinks of me.

A sister wife comes over to me, with a bowl in her hand instead of a heavy travel pack.

“Leila requested you keep your strength up,” she says, handing me the steaming bowl of stew. Large chunks of boar meat are mixed with the rice and vegetables. It smells delicious and hearty.

I take it from her gratefully.

“I thought Leila was away this morning,” I say.

The woman blushes. “Well… I’m not supposed to say, but Galene was the one who requested the meal for you. She told me to say it came from Leila.”

That brings a smile to my face. Though it makes me more confused than ever.

I sit and eat for a while, taking in the atmosphere, knowing these are my final moments in the village. A few familiar faces nod hello’s to me as they pass, while others are firmly trying to avoid eye contact with me.

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