Page 25 of The Safest Place She Knows

“The otherquestion, will you accept us?”

She nodded.“Sure. Why not?”

Venka chuckled.“I will take it. Tamara, can you help me pack for your sister andyourself?”

“Sure. Wait. Weare going now?”

“Your sisterneeds medical attention, and this place is too damned snug for usto be comfortable.”

Iris got up. “Iwill give you a hand.”

The boys wentafter Iris and the others, leaving Tonlya in a room with fouralphas.

Nohehl smiledand examined the fingers protruding from the opening of her cast.“There is quite a bit of opening here. How long have you been inthe cast?”

“Six weeks. Ihaven’t been able to get it reduced.”

He was lookingit over and checking the edge by her elbow. “I am going to go to mycar for a moment. Stay here. I will be right back.”

The sound ofhis voice had a rumbling hiss, and she settled back in her chairwith her eyes closed. She missed her snakes.

One of Iris’smen asked, “Who struck you?”

“Oh, one of theElite who wanted to bend me over. I guess my suppressor wasstuttering, or the sky was blue that day. Anyway, when he grabbedmy forearm and twisted it behind me, there was a cracking sound anda lot of pain. He’d already struck me twice in the head by thatpoint, so my orbital socket was cracked. After that, he let me go.There were no good handles.”

The low voicewas back and said, “Where were you?”

“The ShatteredDiamond. I was doing costume repairs. I had just finished, and Iwas on my way out. Proposition, rejection, and a fist to the face.”She sighed. “It happened in under a minute, and from then, thingshave been difficult.”

“Ymer, can youremove this cast?”

“Sure. I amgoing to check security logs.”

“Oh, thesecurity guard came out, took a bribe, and dumped me at thehospital.”

“The day?”

She mumbled thedate, and then her arm was out in the cool air, and large handswere cradling it. She muttered, “Sorry about the smell.”

“Your skin isinfected.”

“Yeah. Thattracks.”

“This willsupport it.” He moved slowly and wrapped her in something that feltwonderfully familiar. She opened her eyes, and he was wrapping herarm in a snake shed. It was from a very big snake.

“That darlingmust eat a lot.”

The Nohehlsmiled. “He does. Even-tempered though and easy to handle if youaren’t timid. He’s only crabby when shedding.”

He finishedcarefully wrapping her in the shed and then whispered something.The slick but web-like substance tightened, and her hand hadsupport, but she could feel some air on her skin. It feltwonderful, but her arm was so sensitive.

“Flex yourfingers.”

She moved herhand and smiled. “Thank you. That feels so much better.”

“The shed hasmedicinal properties that will help with the skin inflammation, butI have made a call to get you a breathable cast for the rest ofyour healing time.”

The others camedownstairs, and Tamara was frowning. “Lya, where did all yourclothes go?”

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