Page 194 of Seven Oars
“I know.”
“Do your eyes hurt?”
“A little. The tissues are healing.”
It must be excruciating for him to have sensations in his eyes but not the proper vision.
Without warning, she leaned over and kissed him.
“I like when you do that…” he murmured against her mouth—then froze.“Damn.”
“What is it?”
“It’s your body heat.”
“What heat?”
“The pulsing redness.” Slowly, he took hold of her braid and squeezed hard like it was his lifeline.“I can detect thermal waves.”
*****
They practiced Fincros’vision for several days, just the two of them, keeping it a secret.
His success was limited. Instead of Rosamma’s form, he could only make up a muted red blur amid the grayscale fog his world had become.
The fervent hope that not all had been lost that flickered inside Rosamma was slowly dimming.
Fincros thought differently.“It’s good enough,” he told her.“Once the tissues fully heal, it will improve more.”
“You still can’t see actual objects,” Rosamma said, forlorn.
“That I can detect heat is a miracle. Your miracle, stardust.”
“You suffer because of me.”
But he didn’t want to hear that.“I fucked up and took a hit, that’s all. It happens. But look at me, I still have my head and my skin. Phex is a lousy Striker. Too squeamish. Toodefender.”
Rosamma’s mouth quirked.“Are you saying he needs Aercer to train him out of it?”
“He wouldn’t survive Aercer.”
His arrogance was undefeated.
“You don’t think so?”
Fincros tilted his head, considering.“Phex is too easy, too predictable. Aercer liked mind fucks. He kept me alive because I was hard to manipulate. It was a game to him, the one he eventually lost.”
Rosamma gave him a wan smile he couldn’t see.“I wish I had your blind conviction in our success.”
“An interesting choice of words,” he murmured.
She blanched and cleared her throat.“I’m sorry. Oh, Finn, if only a medical doctor could treat your eyes! Many nations have advanced medicine.”
He soothed her with his touch, the gentle caress unobtrusive and welcome.“My eyes were ripped up. Their inner mechanics are broken, Rosamma. Some things are simply not fixable.”
She wasn’t ready to give up.“Enzomora has good doctors, doesn’t it? That’s where they took Lyle, the Shadow Flyer. He was in terrible shape, but Commander Aeshac believed they could help him.”
“I don’t know who Commander Aeshac is…”
