Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
I shuddered with heat and connection.
I fought the urge to look at the sky, afraid of retribution for something that felt so good.
Wrapping her fingers around my wrist, she tugged me toward the river.
I went with her.
Wading into the icy water, I scowled at the blue glow that pulsed at the bottom, where our feet skimmed over slippery rocks. It disappeared as suddenly as it’d appeared, and the girl shot me a worried glance, proving I hadn’t imagined it.
The light had been real—existing where light shouldn’t exist.
Neither of us mentioned it, almost as if we didn’t want more mystery in our forgotten lives, and when we were hip deep in the flow, she met my eyes. “Lift up your arm.”
I obeyed, holding it aloft and away from me as her fingers feathered over the scalding, searing wound.
I swallowed a hiss of pain as she untied the knotted reed by my elbow and unwound it. As each spiral came undone, my arm throbbed even worse. The nauseating pulse of agony shot through me as she tossed the reed into the river and gasped as my flesh flopped wide, revealing the congealed mess of mud and blood covering the bone beneath.
“By the fire...” She slipped into Firenese—the language I’d had to wait for my mind to untangle. It bothered me that she used the same phrase I’d heard others in the clan use.
I snarled as her fingers suddenly prodded the hot, swollen edges of torn flesh. Ripping my arm away, I growled, “That hurts.”
The lynx hissed from the shore, pacing along the river’s edge.
“I did tell you it would.” She reached for me again, ignoring the rumble of warning in my chest. “Did you pack it with earth, or did it get this dirty when Syn pinned you on the ground?”
Throwing a quick glance at the culprit on the bank, I took too long to reply.
With a shallow inhale, the girl poked me again.
I swayed as the world shocked white.
“Oh no, stay upright this time.” Her prodding stopped, holding onto my elbow as if she was strong enough to keep me standing.
I didn’t want to lean on her.
My nostrils flared as I sucked in a breath, shaking my head free from the blinding blankness. “I’m okay. You can keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing.”
“You sure?”
Gritting my teeth, I nodded.
“Bend over then,” she commanded. “You’re too tall and it needs to be in the water.”
My eyes widened, but I did as she said, bending enough to fully submerge my arm, allowing her to tug me where she wanted.
Once again, a faint blue glow shimmered around our legs, highlighting my arm and the dark ruby red of dried blood.
“I’m going to clean it.” She flinched as if even speaking such things would cause me to drop dead. “It’s going to hurt, like I warned. Do you think you can stay awake, or should you sit down on the shore?”
I did my best to hide my quakes as the water continued to gush over my torn flesh, washing away the blood, the mud, the ooze. “I can stand.”
She scowled but nodded, trusting my word when she probably shouldn’t.
Bending closer to the water’s surface, she clutched my arm again and paused. “I’m sorry,” she breathed, just before agony exploded.
I cried out as her fingers didn’t just prod me—they spread my flesh and buried themselves inside. I groaned and tripped, fighting to lock unstable legs, squeezing my eyes closed as she rinsed and washed. It felt as if she scraped at my bones and chopped away at my flesh.
I shuddered and grunted, losing myself to the sickening sensation.
Her touch was so gentle.
Yet her healing was so cruel.
I panted hard by the time she stopped, pulling my wrist up and out of the water, studying the now cleaned wound. It’d started bleeding again, bright crimson seeping instead of the dark red of before.
“The wound is clean, but your arm is too torn.” She bit her bottom lip as I swallowed a wash of nausea. “I need something to hold it in place so it can stop bleeding.” Looking toward the shore, a smile struck her lips.
Following her gaze, I glowered at the lynx who stood on the bank with the discarded fur that the girl had worn around her chest in its mouth.
“Good cat, Syn. That’s perfect.” With another smile, she pulled me toward the river’s edge. “Come on. Let’s bind you and then we can return to camp. Solin might have retired to his sleeping furs, but I’m sure a healer will come and help.”
The river lost its blue glow the moment we stepped fully onto the leaf-littered earth, and I didn’t speak as the girl took the fur from the lynx, shook it out a little, then draped the thick-skinned hide around my arm. “Hold that in place.” She looked up, catching my eyes.