Page 116 of Of Flames and Fallacies

He chuckles nervously, patting my shoulder. His smile fades quickly as his voice drops to a whisper, “Please don’t tell her. She scares me.”

My head tilts back with a hearty laugh.

When we get back to camp, Cole strides straight toward us from across the camp.

“Hey, I’m going to go check on Marge. I’ll catch you at dinner?” I smile at Archie.

He nods, and I break off toward the healer’s quadrant, quickly slipping into the door before Cole can catch up to me.

“I thought I told you you were dismissed for the day?” Marge narrows her eyes in suspicion.

“I just wanted to make sure there was nothing else I could help you with—”

Cole enters the room. “Hey.”

My gaze flickers over to him, my jaw tensing. Damn, wasn’t quite fast enough.

“Did you want to get something to eat with me?” Cole asks me.

I shake my head, avoiding his eye contact. “I’m fine, thanks.”

He tries again, “You should still—”

“I said I’mfine,” I level, skewering him with a glare.

He flinches. “Okay,” he whispers. His gaze falls to the floor in defeat, before reluctantly turning to leave. The door shuts behind him.

“Brothers can be a little overbearing, can’t they?” Marge asks from behind me.

I laugh half-heartedly, not sure how to answer her. When I think of my brother, he was anything but. He was kind, sweet, strong, and independent. “Yeah…how do you know? Do you have a brother?”

“Two of them. I was the youngest of three. We were all healers aside from my eldest brother. He was in the military.”

I glance at her over my shoulder. “Are you close to them?”

“I was. My eldest brother died in battle against the King years ago.”

“Your brother was a rebel?”

She nods. “He left for the north when we were in our thirties. It nearly broke my other brother’s heart. They were twins—critically connected, as if they were one soul split into two bodies. When my eldest brother died in the battle, my other brother went a little…crazy. He started dabbling in blood magic to try to bring him back. But he lost himself and died trying.”

“I know how it feels to lose a sibling. I’m so sorry to hear that, Marge.”

A sad smile warms her eyes. “Sometimes love is our greatest strength. And sometimes it’s our greatest weakness. It all just depends on how you wield it.”

We stand there, letting the words soak into the silence of the moment.

She retrieves a glass of water and hands it to me. “Stress, grief, and shock will ruin your appetite. Take a few bites here andthere to revive it. I still need your help around here. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Otherwise, Cole might go a little crazy himself trying to mend you. ”

I smile and nod before I take a sip.

She rests her hands on her hips, watching me. “Now…you came back wanting to know if there was anything else you could help me with? We could always use more ginger. See if you can find any in the forest.”

As I leave the healer’s quadrant and pass the camp’s crumbling wall, a movement catches my attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Darian’s cat-like stalk from across the camp. His gaze is as intimate as a caress against my skin. I pick up my pace, and he matches it. We reach the trees, and he’s hot on my heels, close enough I could throw this basket at him. Or an elbow. I’m starting to consider both.

“Ahh, so we’ve gotten to the ignoring part?” Darian’s voice is as soft as velvet.

“Are you expecting some sort of thanks for finally training the soldiersyouwere sent here to train?” I call from over my shoulder. “Because you won’t get one from me.”

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