“You okay, Sunshine?”
I summon a smile. “I like that nickname better than ‘princess.’ Even if it doesn’t make sense.”
He chuckles.
“Here. This should help your head.”
Tovian holds out a white packet of ibuprofen. My heart sinks. It’s not the right painkiller for someone with a concussion.
“Is there one with a red label? The first letter might be a T.” I form the English letter with my hands. I know he can’t read much English, but apparently his French is good enough to understand the words forpain relief.He unzips the bag, puts back the blue-and-yellow packet, and hands me a red-and-white one instead.
“Thanks.” I swallow the two pills dry. He hands me a water skin. The contents are warm but the wet relief is damn welcome.
“You should eat something.”
He’s right. It’s so weird to have someone taking care of me.
“I’m sleepy.”
Tovian presses a kiss to my forehead. “Food first. Then rest. No plotting and definitely no explosions for you, until you’ve recovered.”
I can’t help but smile.
“You’re not going to try and forbid me to fight?”
“Would it work, if I did?”
“No.”
“That’s what I thought.” He hands me a fruit. “Eat this, and let’s find your wagon.”
#
I pass out the instant my battered body is prone on the makeshift pallet, and awaken with a throbbing headache sometime after midnight. I’ve never felt this stiff and sore.
Luza snores softly on the other side of me. Feeling nauseous again, I crawl to the edge of the wagon and all but fall out of it. At least I managed to land on my feet. Sort of.
Plumes of smoke from raging wildfires paint the sky a ghastly shade of orange and gray. We’ve managed to disrupt the supply route from sea to Central Auralia, for a time, but there’s so much more to be done. With no crops to harvest, mass starvation is a real possibility this winter.
Despair threatens to consume me.
A man’s shadow separates from the campfire and strides toward me. Tovian.
“You feeling okay?”
I shake my head. He passes me a canteen of water. After a few swallows, I sat up, feeling steadier. “What are you doing awake?”
“I took the second watch.”
“Shrewd of you.” Taking the worst shift will ingratiate him with the rest of my co-leaders. “Have you told them about your tribe yet?”
“No. I told them I was from a village near Oceanside.”
Still secret. Still unwilling to commit to helping his country. With a jolt, I realize he’s helping me. Only me.
I don’t know how to feel about the fact.
“I never asked you why you were on the bridge. Traveling with the pirates, no less.”
