Page 51 of The Flame and the Forsaken

“That would be a travesty,” he mumbled as he scooped her up and into his arms. He bent to grab the crutch and saw she’d used it to draw some nonsensical loops and lines in the sandy dirt. “They also suggested you all take a nice nap before supper.”

“Will they nap with me?”

Erran nudged the door open. He laid her atop the cot. “They said they would.”

She flashed her fingers, curling them into her palms. “Bring them.”

It’s like dealing with a child,he thought, shaking his head in bewilderment as he entertained her delusions. But there was no way he was letting her consume more. “They said they would like to sleep on the floor. They, ah, prefer the ground.”

“Of course they do. Of course, that makes perfect sense. They like the dark.” Mariel wiped her smile onto the pillow as she settled in. “How thoughtful of you to listen to them.”

A few hours. Just a few hours and she’ll be back to ignoring me or cursing me.

Erran pulled a chair across the floor and placed it next to her cot. He’d been excited for a nap, but waking to find her climbing a tree or challenging boars to fistfights was not on his list of things he was prepared to deal with.

“Just rest,” he said, suppressing a yawn.

A delectable scentroused Mariel from a series of the most bizarre dreams she’d ever had. In them, she was dancing on top of the ocean with her brother, Destin, climbing the waves like steps. Then it was Augustine, who faded to Remy. Erran was last, sweeping her across the waves with the same effortless finesse he’d used on the sails. Observing them was an endless sea of boars, all wearing beautiful lace dresses and bonnets.

Rain battered the roof and windows. She sat up, worried about everything still outside, but Erran would have taken care of it already.

A familiar sizzle made her heart skip. Meat cooking on a pan. Fish. He’d fished today and brought some back, and oh, how she couldn’t wait to shove it all down her gullet.

“Still having conversations with your new friends?” Erran asked, turning just his head as he flipped the fish on the iron pan with a stick.

“Friends?” Mariel rubbed her head, heavy with the remnants of a headache. “What...” The afternoon filtered in. She’d gathered a ton of mushrooms, even eaten a few, and she’d...

Hallucinated. That was what she’d done.

“Oh, Guardians.” She moaned, flopping back, her arms crossed over her face. “Whatever I said or did when... I’m sorry. I don’t know...”

“Never seen you so happy,” he said. “Maybe you should eat them more often.”

“Ha ha,” she quipped, wondering what else she’d said or done. If she even wanted to know. “The fish smells amazing.”

“Got two today. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Were there so few in the pools?”

“Not as many as I thought, and they’re fast. I’ll need to work on my reflexes.” Erran wrapped his vest around the handle of the pan and brought it to the table. The mouthwatering scent pulled Mariel from her mortified stupor, and she went to join him.

“Don’t see any spoons or forks, so we’ll have to eat with our...” He grinned when she started picking at the flesh and eating. “Hands.”

They ate in silence, Erran finishing first. When he was done, he moved to the door, watching the storm.

“I’ve been thinking about the boars,” she said after licking all remaining evidence of the delicious fish from her fingers. “How we could take one down.”

“Before or after you devoured mind-altering mushrooms?”

Mariel hung her head in fake contrition. “We have a spear now. Between it and your sword, we’d have the advantage. Spear it to slow it, then stab it when its energy has dwindled. Weeks it would last us.”

Erran shook his head firmly. “Not worth the risk. We get too close and miss? He’ll be havingusfor supper.”

“Do boars eat people or just murder them?”

“Don’t know, but is this how you’d like to find out?”

Mariel laughed. The sound compelled Erran to turn.

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