He led Lemon Blossom to the fallen tree so he could use that as a mounting block, not wanting to even risk Tahlen’s touch on his boot, and hurried back to the road, leaving Tahlen to follow.
They reached a waystation not long after that. Tahlen gave Zelli another suspicious study when Zelli suggested they pass it without stopping. Since Zelli’s original plans had been to reach at least this waystation, and now he had not truly eaten as well and could use checking over the waystation as an excuse to stop, Tahlen was right to be suspicious.
It didn’t help that Tahlen had caught Zelli gnawing at the cord to his necklace. In another time, Zelli might have been delighted to witness Tahlen clearly holding back his questions. But all it meant was that when Zelli tried to avoid stopping, Tahlen said, “I’m hungry,” and stopped at the waystation anyway.
Whether or not Tahlen was actually hungry was hardly the point; Zelli wasn’t going to keep him from eating and Tahlen knew it.
He dug out a small metal cup from one of the packs and brought Zelli water the moment Zelli was on his feet. “You’re flushed,” Tahlen said shortly, and stood there, being resolute and armed and taller than Zelli, until Zelli drank it.
Zelli gazed up at him but had no idea what to say. Tahlen wasin a mood, as Nya would have described it, and it couldn’t have all been because Zelli wasn’t eating.
When Zelli didn’t speak, Tahlen eventually took the cup and went over to Starfall to replace it and to return with one of the apples. He offered it to Zelli with a stare that said Grandmother was going to hear everything about this if Zelli wasn’t careful.
Zelli raised his hands so Tahlen could drop the apple into his palms.
The tic in Tahlen’s jaw returned. “Do you think I’m going to…?” He cut himself off and shook his head. “You can chew an apple just as well as your necklace. Better, even, some might say.”
Zelli gave Tahlen a glower for that, then lowered his glower to the apple itself. “It isn’t that I’m not hungry,” he began tentatively, “it’s that I don’t feel well enough to want to eat.”
“Youaresick.” Tahlen snatched the apple from Zelli’s hands and stepped in closer all in one movement, so Zelli was too stunned to react in time when Tahlen put the inside of his wrist to Zelli’s forehead.
The sound that tore from Zelli, a rising gasp of pleasure that slid into a sigh of relief, made them both freeze.
Zelli stumbled back too late, tripping and landing painfully on his ass, where he stayed for a few stunned moments, wheezing.
Tahlen, out of habit, out of manners or concern, leaned down to tug Zelli back to his feet. The absence of itching at the strong clasp of Tahlen’s hand had Zelli shuddering and closing his eyes. He tripped on Tahlen’s boots instead of standing upright, squashing his face against a mail-covered chest.
Tahlen’s arms came up to steady him, hot as embers through Zelli’s cloak and shirts. Embers that warmed yet did not cause pain.
Zelli kept his eyes shut and swallowed the breathless noises that continued to spill from him. With more care, he pushed himself out of Tahlen’s arms.
Discomfort began to crawl through his skin again almost immediately.
“I’m sorry,” Zelli apologized feverishly, then tried to take another step back.
Something strong kept him from moving. He opened his eyes and found Tahlen holding him by a fistful of his cloak.
“You’ll trip again,” Tahlen warned him before letting go. He had color along his cheekbones. His eyes were wide. But he shut his mouth and stood there, his chest heaving for several moments more.
Zelli suspected his chest was doing much the same. “I’m sorry,” he said again, “I didn’t know they were listening. I know better, and I still…. They shouldn’t have involved you!”
“Zelli.” Tahlen stopped him. They both took another moment, Zelli to try to think of an explanation that wasn’t embarrassing. Tahlen… probably to compose himself after Zelli hadmoanedat him. “Zelli,” Tahlen said again at last, almost pleading.
“Fae blood!” Zelli blurted. “It does things. Attracts attention, I think.”
“What does that mean? Not in general.” Tahlen raised his head and crossed his arms. “What does that mean for youright now?”
Zelli hunched his shoulders and glanced away. “It shows up in different ways. Not strongly in most of my family. I mean, considering the generations since the original fae, uh, couplings happened, I’m surprised it still manifests at all. But that’s the fae for you.” Zelli paused, then raised his voice to a near shout in case they were listening again. “Bless them!” He cleared his throat, then returned to a normal speaking voice. “But the fae traits linger. Unusual hair or eye colors. Odd teeth. Sometimes, er, other physical conditions. And they listen to us, allegedly, more than they listen to others.”
He risked a glance at Tahlen.
Tahlen was a blank except for his tone, which was pointed. “But youdidn’tthink they were listening.”
“Right.” Zelli rubbed his neck, then across his upper chest, before he caught himself doing it and stopped. “I am more fae than most. I should have thought before I… I wear their emblem and I am the child of one of them and one of their descendants. I should have thought. But I was… upset last night.”
“Is this about what had changed about you this morning?”
Tahlen’s question was a surprise in several ways.
