Page 85 of The Last One
His eyes soften. “Promise.”
My cheeks grow hot.
“Here we are!” Veril announces, tottering back into the room. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything!”
Startled, Jadon sits back, and just like that, the air around me turns chilly again.
Veril sets an armful of clean cloth, several small bottles and jars, and a big bowl of soapy water on the table.
“Would you help me expose the wound again, young man?” he asks. “We’ll start with the leg and work our way up, just like before.”
Jadon meets my eyes. “Kai?”
I nod. “Go ahead.”
Jadon’s touch is soft and careful as he tears away the rest of the tattered pants leg, then peels back the gauze above my ankle. He pulls his hands away in horror and whispers, “Fuck, Kai.”
I shudder at the exposed injury. “Oh no.”
Long, jagged claw marks stretch across the length of my thigh. No longer smooth, the skin is inflamed and swollen, hot to the touch. Fresh blood seeps from the deep, raw gashes. No matter how much I want to look away, I can’t. Heart hammering, I draw a ragged breath. The metallic scent of blood mixes with the smell of brewing infection. While I’m satisfied I’ve survived this attack, I shudder knowing that despite my new powers…
If he breathes, he bleeds. That’s what I knew about the Otaan back in Maford. And if it bleeds, then it can die.Ican die.
Jadon makes room for Veril to work. Scraping a hand through his hair, he retreats to the fireplace, that deep, broody scowl back on his face.
“They certainly took a few good swipes,” Veril says, his expression grim.
“One of them died with a little bit of me caught beneath his nails, that’s for sure.” I try to smile bravely, but the smile slips as the pain flares hot and sharp.
“Oh, he got more than a little bit,” Veril says with a wink. “But worry not, dearest. It may take a moment, but we’ll get you patched up. Then we’ll sit down to a good meal, and you can share the adventures that led you to fight burnu in the dell.”
“Whatever you need me to do,” Jadon says, pacing now, “please let me know.”
Veril looks over to Jadon and nods. “First things first…again.” He reaches behind him and turns back to me holding a cup and a flask. “Rum, the most proficient medicine of all.”
As I drink, the good kind of heat spreads across my chest. I hold the cup out to Jadon. “You need medicine, too.”
He laughs, then returns to crouch beside me. He drains the cup, and color blooms in his face. “That makes me want to cry.”
Veril says, “The best rum in all of Vallendor.”
Jadon returns to the fireplace, averting his gaze as Veril dabs my skin with wet rags.
“Progress,” Veril says. “When I cleaned your leg the first time, I used eight rags. Now, only three.” He selects a pearled vial from the many spread around him and pulls away cotton from the bigger puff. “You’ve told me how you know about shothi, but tell me about you.”
“What do you want to know?” I grit my teeth even before he applies the soaked cotton to the top of the gashes.
“Your amulet caught my eye back in the woods,” Veril says. “This sounds dramatic, but it wasalive.Glowing. Beautiful. I’ve seen—” He pauses, his gaze on my neck.
“What’s wrong?” I reach for my amulet and then move my fingers over my collarbone. I don’t feel the chain, and I don’t feel the pendant. “Oh, no.”
Jadon glances at us over his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Where did it go?” My heartbeat bursts through the rum cloud and hammers wildly again. I sit up, patting my tunic, checking the floor around me. “It’s gone. My amulet is gone!”
Is this why I’ve been so weak? Is this why I can hardly stand the pain from these wounds? Is my amulet as protective as I’m making it out to be?
“When did you last have it?” Jadon asks, shuffling the pillows to look underneath.
