Page 83 of A Promise of Peridot
Kane slipped into the now very crowded tent behind me. His woodsy scent was amplified by the rain, and it assaulted my nostrils. I whirled on him, wincing at the pinching from my burns, and slammed a fist into his chest.
“How could you not have told me when I first woke?” I seethed. “And after all that you said about being less—”
Fedrik interrupted my tirade. “I asked him not to.”
“Begged, actually,” Kane amended.
I spun to Fedrik. “Why?”
“Kane said when he found you, you were in rough shape and needed to rest.” Fedrik’s eyes met mine, pain sweeping across his face. But not for himself... for me. “It’s just a leg,” he said, more buoyantly. “I do have two, you know.”
“Oh, stop.” It almost came out like a sob. “You have made a life of exploring. Climbing, hiking—” I shook my head. “Of course, you can do all that with one leg, but...”
“He can’t do it at all if he’s dead,” Mari muttered.
“Mari!” I snipped at her.
Fedrik stiffened a little.
“She’s just being theatrical,” Griffin reassured Fedrik. “I’ve seen worse on the battlefield.”
Griffin was lying, and if I could tell, Fedrik could, too.
They hadn’t taken him into town. I had to believe that wasn’t just to avoid the prying eyes of enemy soldiers. They had been waiting for me. To fix him. And I had returned without my lighte. I was sure it was the only reason Kane had kept me in the dark—he knew there was nothing I could do.
Well, even if I had no lighte to use, I was still a healer. I could still help.
I crouched to sit beside Fedrik. “I’m going to try to set your leg. I need two long, sturdy branches, and as many bandages as we have,” I said to Mari. “And if you can conjure ice, that would help as well.”
“I’m on it.” She stood and maneuvered past us.
“This won’t be pleasant,” I warned him, wincing as I shifted around. I could actually have used some ice as well.
“Distract me,” he said, holding my eyes with his. “Start by telling me that isn’tyourblood on your shirt.”
“Not all of it,” I said drily as I began to clear space to work.
“Wen,” Fedrik soothed. “What happened to you after we escaped the cavern?”
“Some pirates offered to help me return to Frog Eye. But they were ambushed and killed in front of me by Amber soldiers. They took me...” I swallowed. “And hurt me. An old friend did, actually.”
“Halden?” Griffin’s low growl rattled the tent around us.
I couldn’t look at him. I didn’t want to see the rage on my behalf.
“Yes.” I felt Fedrik’s shin, assessing the damage.
“How did you get away?” Fedrik asked through gritted teeth.
“I got very lucky. Kane found me outside the Amber encampment.”
“Right.” Fedrik fidgeted. “Watching Mari cast that spell was... illuminating.”
I was aware of both Griffin and Kane shifting around me. What was I missing? Griffin’s words cut through my confusion. “Why’d the Amber boy hurt you?”
“What, and not just kill her?” Mari asked, returning with my supplies. “Holy Stones, Commander, have you no tact?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Griffin grumbled, but his downcast eyes told me otherwise. Maybe Griffin was an even worse liar than I was.
