Page 38 of Of Flames and Fallacies

I push through each wave of fear and guilt crashing over me until I finally slip into Cole’s room and update him on Daeja’s growth spurt.

Despite his promise to draw the patrol’s perimeter away from the southern half of the lake, I can’t shake the feeling of unease. Perhaps it’s because Cole says he still needs a few days to figure out a plan. And the plan in the meantime is for me to fake being his sister to stay nearby. And to fake being an apprentice.

Apparently, Marge is a hard woman to negotiate with.

Reluctantly, I return to my room. The overwhelming sense of loneliness nearly chokes the breath from my chest. The ring encircling my finger throbs almost painfully.

“I’m still here,”her voice floats over to me.

For the rest of the night, every time the next wave of loneliness and uneasiness lurches over me, her voice caresses my mind.

“I’m still here.”

“I’ll come back.”I promise.

fifteen

KATEENA

“Don’t touch anything without my permission or instruction,” Marge barks.

I retract my outstretched hand. The bottle I started to inspect has a thick green liquid inside, swirling with flecks of fizzled light.

Marge rips the bottle from the shelf in front of me and tucks it back into a corner of a high up cabinet. She locks the cabinet door and shoots me a glare.

“Sorry,” I whisper. Turning away, I awkwardly search for something else to do.

She returns the key to a pocket hidden in the side of her dress. “Do you know what ginger looks like?”

“Ummm, it’s red, right?”

The exasperated sigh slipping from Marge tells me it’s not the answer she was looking for.Shit.She’s already going to know I’m faking my medical background and it’s not even noon on day one.

“I’m going to go gather some from the forest.’’ She points a black gloved finger at a basket across the room.

When I don’t move, she snaps her fingers impatiently for me to fetch it for her.

Marge grumbles, “I can’t quite send you out yet since you don’t know what to look for.” She scoops the basket from my hand. “If someone comes, tell them I’ll be back within the hour. If they’re bleeding, hold those rags to the wound and apply firm pressure. If they’re dying…well…”

She grabs her staff, and I catch the last half of her sentence before the door shuts. “May the gods be with them.”

I wait a few moments after the door is shut before slumping back into a chair, unsure of what to do with myself. Temptation urges me to see what other odd potions and oils are stashed in the cabinets. A stab of homesickness hits me as I think of Willard and how willing he would have been to show me everything. More than willing—perhaps ecstatic.

The longer I sit, the heavier my blinks become, and I stifle a yawn. What little sleep I did get last night after seeing Daeja was interrupted by dreams of fire. And of my mother, my brother, the little girl and her family. Their screams were as audible as if they stood in the room with me.

“Daeja?”I test. “Can you hear me from here?”

“Yes!”

A smile pulls at my lips hearing her voice. I glance down at the band around my finger, wondering what it means. If it is somehow connected to the blue flame, and what might have happened if I were the one to touch the flame instead.

“What was it called that you gave me last night?”

“Chicken?”

“Yes. What do chickens look like?”

I can’t contain my snicker. Luckily, I don’t have to with Marge gone.“Well, they come in all sorts of colors. They’re birds, so they have wings and—”

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