Page 3 of Shifter King
Naatos must have tucked the blankets around her; they were neatly pressed around her neck and shoulders to keep every breath of heat in. It had worked. She was cozy. Tacky rested on her stomach. She sat up carefully, one hand holding Tacky up so he didn't slip away.
Someone had caught fish and butchered it. Large slabs of something that resembled salmon sizzled over the grill. The collapsible kettle hissed as well and the cauldron of stew simmered over another fire. Proteus rested on the far side of the fire, nearest the open air and clearing that trailed back to the Forest Between and Dry Deep. The bavril appeared perfectly healthy, still looking far more like a giant anteater than any predator she had ever seen. All appeared as ordinary as if they had been here for days. Perhaps they had. How long had it been since they left Dry Deep?
AaQar crossed in front of her. A little bit of ash streaked his gaunt cheeks, and the heaviness under his eyes suggested that he had not rested so well either. He held out his hand, his loose silver-blue sleeve swinging with the movement. "Do you need help?"
"I just feel a little shaky." She rubbed her arms. More than a little shaky actually. A bit hollow. A little raw. Rather spent. As if someone had scooped out her insides and filled her with over-boiled noodles. As if her body wasn't attached to her spirit just right.
He gave his hand a small shake and stepped closer. "You probably will for a few days. Maybe longer. There's no shame in needing help."
As she gripped his palm, she grimaced. The bones in her hand ground slightly, and she nearly toppled out of the hammock even with his help. The hollow sensation made her legs shake. Strange. Naatos had healed her. Yet even now she felt as if she had been unspooled onto hot pavement after swimming against the current for a good hour or two. She held onto AaQar's hand tighter, her body trembling with the effort. He slid his arm around her waist and guided her to the nearest log.
"You might want to eat before you try walking." He set her down and then stepped back. The family resemblance between him and Naatos was especially pronounced now with their black hair and sharp light-blue eyes. Though his features were more elegant and Naatos's more squared, it was that underlying intensity and sternness that really made them seem similar. He used words that made it seem like this was a suggestion, but it wasn't. "The fish is mild. You'll try that and tea. Then you'll be better."
Hopefully. Not especially likely though. People didn't just bounce back from something like this. At least she couldn't imagine they would. Her soul still didn't feel like it fit properly in her body. Despite all the horror, that blissful floating sensation remained clear in her mind. Returning to her body had felt…wrong. Like it wasn't hers. Really though it didn't look like her body.
Not really.
The long trailing black veins marked her arms and legs even more thoroughly than she remembered. The marks might disappear in time. Her bones and veins stood out. Her muscles seemed to have shrunk as well. Strange to look at your hands and feet and not recognize them. For once, the old scars were comforting. Familiar in their consistency like anchors to a past that now seemed far away.
AaQar placed a piece of fish wrapped in a leaf into her hand and set her canteen of tea beside her. "Small bites and sips. Chew thoroughly. Do not rush."
"I look like a relief map," she murmured.
"Frankly, you should just be relieved you're alive." WroOth dropped an armload of logs onto the fire. Sparks flew as they clattered against one another. "You got much too close to dying, and in the future, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't."
She glanced up at him, offering her own crooked smile as she tried to tease him. "I suppose if you insist."
"I meant it when I said I wouldn't forgive you if you died." His turquoise eyes remained stern, the pain vivid still.
The intensity underlying WroOth's words left her little doubt. She dropped the joking. "I'm not planning on doing it any time soon. I will be careful."
"Good." He adjusted the wood, his hands moving quickly. Smoke coiled up and disappeared into the air. "Don't ever."
A hard thing to promise not to do and mean in a world like Ecekom. The realization that there were indeed other people brought little comfort. Especially not based on how they acted. Not everyone could be that way here. Not everyone could be horrid. But what had happened to make it this way?
He left without saying anything more, shoulders tight and an obvious sign that he was still angry and worried. It must have been even worse than she thought. How long had it really been? Squinting, she realized that she had no concept of time. Though she had never been great at tracking time for more than a short period, it felt as if they had been in Dry Deep forever. Time had no meaning there.
The pulse in her skull continued, but it did not hurt. It was just uncomfortable. She closed her eyes, breathing in the steam from the tea. The Ki Valo Nakar lurked somewhere back in her mind. Probably resting as it had promised. Eager to assert itself eventually. Especially once she was stronger. If she stayed still long enough, she'd fall asleep again.
Cool fingers pressed along her throat, searching for a pulse. She winced a little, cracking her eyelids to peer at AaQar. "I'm fine."
He tilted her head back, examining something along her neck and shoulder. "You're doing far better than you have any business doing."
"I do enjoy being defiant."
"You'll need to continue to take it easy though."
"How easy is Ecekom likely to let me take it?"
The quirking of the smile at the corner of his mouth suggested it was amusing, but that ragged caution that exuded from him dominated everything else. Not that he would want her to know. "It's going to take you longer to mend than you or Naatos will want."
"Given that we both want everything now, probably so." She managed another sip of tea. "What can I do to make it faster?"
"Rest. Eat. Drink. Avoid getting into trouble. No more Dry Deep, of course. Certainly do not let the Ki Valo Nakar do anything with any of its powers any time soon. It took you to the brink of death to make its point, and it may do so again unintentionally."
"I don't think it's awake right now." She rubbed her temple. Her head did feel strange. Hopefully the Ki Valo Nakar continued to rest. Later on, she was going to have to deal with this, but she wasn't even sure what that would involve. The fact that the Ki Valo Nakar had no other option for a host other than her meant she had far more power than she otherwise might have. But that didn't mean it was going to cooperate or make her life easy. "Can I help with anything?"
"You can get better. Naatos can't heal you fully from this. Perhaps nothing but time can. You can also finish eating that fish and drinking your tea."
