Page 16 of Mountain Summons

The scent of chamomile filled the air, but Lena didn’t stir.

“Lena,” he murmured again, shifting her carefully. “I need you to drink this.”

She stirred, then, blinking slowly, like waking was the hardest thing in the world.

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

“Please drink this.” Tristan lifted the warm cup to her mouth, tilting it just enough for the liquid to touch her lips.

She swallowed weakly, her lashes fluttering as she managed a tiny sip.

“That’s it,” he murmured, relief washing through him. “Again.”

After a few sips, she rested her head against his chest again, as if the effort of drinking had exhausted her. But at least she was responsive.

The storm raged on outside, the rain hammering against the rocks, but inside the cave, Tristan focused only on her.

“Tristan?” she finally whispered. “I don’t feel as c-cold anymore.” Her chattering teeth belied her words.

“Good. I’ve got you, Lena. You’re safe.” He tightened his arms around her, pressing another soft kiss against her hair.

“You’re not Dream Tristan.”

“No?”

She shook her head faintly. “He wouldn’t just be kissing my hair.”

Tristan smothered a laugh. “We can talk about where you want me to kiss you later, okay? Now I need to look at your ankle.”

“Do I need to move?”

“No. Let me just wrap the sleeping bag around you … like this … and take a quick look.” He took her boot in his hands, very gently. “Can you flex the foot at all?”

Lena nodded, wincing. “A bit. But it really hurts.”

“Okay. Stop. This is good. It might just be a bad sprain, rather than a fracture,” he said. He wished Ry were here with them. “I’m going to stabilize it until we can get you to the hospital.”

He took a bandage from his backpack and wrapped it around her boot for support. He then placed it on top of his backpack to keep it elevated. By the time he was done, Lena’s breathing was shallow. He could tell she was in a lot of pain. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” she finally murmured, her voice slurred with exhaustion. “You came for me.”

Tristan exhaled slowly, his forehead briefly resting against the top of her damp hair. He wanted to tell her he’d always come for her, but he knew how unfair that would be. The two of them … now that he knew who she was, and she knew who he was … it was all so much more complicated than it had been.

He lay back next to her and tightened his arms around her, letting the steady warmth of their shared body heat settle between them. Outside, the storm was still a living, breathing thing—wind whipping against the rock, rain still hammering down—but already he could feel it slowing. The downpour wasn’t quite as relentless as it had been. And daylight would follow.

That meant help would be here soon.

Still, not soon enough.

“You doing okay?” he murmured after a while.

Lena shifted slightly against him, sighing softly. “You’re warm. I like it.”

That shouldn’t have made his chest tighten the way it did, but it did.

“Good,” he said, voice rough.

A beat of silence passed between them.

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