Page 22 of Spark of Madness

“Mercy,” Cambria calls in a tired voice.

I move from my position on the floor at her side, rising onto my knees and taking her hand. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ll be all right,” she says quietly. “Did you sleep at all, or have you been up worrying all night?”

She knows me well.

I give her a small smile. “You know the answer to that question. Are you in pain?”

Her features wince as she shifts, and she presses her eyes shut. “You know the answer to that question,” she parrots.

I sigh. “I can get you something for the pain.”

“No. It’s not that bad. And you know I want to feel it.”

She always wants to feel the pain. She revels in it, as do many of the others. They take pride in their injuries and feeling them deeply, knowing it means they’ve served well.

It saddens me in a way I can’t explain, in a way Iwouldn’texplain to anyone in Ember Glen. No one would understand me.

I take hold of her hand and squeeze gently. “I know you do, but I wish you didn’t. I hate seeing you ache.”

She rolls her head on her pillow, turning her face to look at me. Her black hair is matted around her sweaty cheeks, and she gives me a smile. “Be happy for me, Mercy. I served well.”

My chest tightens. “You always do.”

“Did you rest at all last night?” Ellary’s cheerful voice comes from behind me.

I glance over my shoulder and smile at her approach, glad she’s not injured as well. “Not at all.”

“Well, I’m up now,” Ellary says, her striking green eyes showing a calmness I’ve never felt. “I’ll watch over Cambria. You should get some rest.”

“I’m too alert to sleep. My mind is already flooded with thoughts.”

“Your mind isalwaysflooded with thoughts.” She grins, shaking her head as she lowers to sit on the bed at Cambria’s feet. “What have you been up thinking about all night?”

Pain.

Torment.

Fear for the future.

“Nothing interesting.”

“Are you going to tell us how your night of service went?” Ellary asks. “What happened to you in the forest?”

She leans forward with interest, and I feel Cambria’s eyes on me as well. Both wait with something akin to excitement to hear what happened to me.

What do Itell them?

That I’m a sinner awaiting punishment?

DoI tell them that I ran? That I hid?

ThatArlo Rainn made me come against a tree?

A wave of pleasure from the memory ripples out from my center, rushing an odd feeling through my core that instantly makes me feel shame. I blink and shake my head to rid me of the memory. “I was…taken into the forest. There’s nothing else to tell.”

“Something interesting happened to you,finally,” Cambria says softly, “and you won’t tell us. I’m insulted.” She giggles and Ellary chuckles with her.

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