“I’ll manage her recovery.”
His grin is unburdened. “She’ll be pissed to learn she’s being knocked out, over and over.”
“Leave that to me to deal with,” I reply, eyeing the men around that pass by us.
“I won’t fight that,” he croaks out before taking a swig of water. “She’s not easy to negotiate with. Never has been.”
“Truer words have never been spoken.” My voice carries nothing but respect for her. I look down at my hands, at the rings I wear, focusing on the one that’s the body of a serpent. The one my mother gave me when I left for Death’s Wing. “She’ll be taken care of when we reach my lands. My mother’s a healer.”
Ritter’s eyes flash with intrigue, leaning forward slightly as if thatdoesbring him relief, before his gaze drops back down, something nostalgic flooding him.
“Anyway, wanted some fresh air and to let you know,” I say, standing once more.
“Thank you, Soren.”
I grunt in reply, ready to head back to Basilisk as my head wanders down many different paths.
He and I have alotto discuss.
J A N E
My mind is as a mess of memories that repeatedly collide. There’s a vague awareness of drinking and eating, even of Soren cleaning my wounds only to re-bandage them.
But they’re so blurry.
My focus returns when a woman with kind eyes leans over me, ones that have the same crystal coloration of Soren’s.When she doesn’t disappear, I start to accept that I’m awake.
“Soren,” I state, my heart racing.
“My son is well. I am taking care of you now,” the woman comforts. Her voice is low and warm, dark hair streaked with white as it’s loosely braided down her back. Her face is marked with age, but there’s a certain vivacity to her eyes.
“You’re hismother?”
“Yes.” A strand of her peppered dark hair falls in her eyes as she moves away to tend to a bowl with a thick, gelatinous salve. “Your wound was very aggressive. I’ve been healing it for some time now,” she says, waving a hand over my chest as her wrist glows blue. Pain mixes with relief as it’sslightlyeasier to breathe, and I know that she must have helped some of the scar tissue heal.
She really is a healer. I don’t know why, but that detail digs massively into my heart, as if it legitimizes everything that Soren has ever said to me. I knew I trusted him, because Ichooseto, but this confirms my difficult heart doesn’t have to worry about him.
Not anymore.
He’smine.
“Why are you here?” I ask, looking around the small room that doesn’t look any different than the rest, although there’s a distinct lack of rocking from a ship.Are we on land?
“We’re in Serpent’s Crest. It’s our home. It’s where he was born,” she replies, bringing the bowl over to me as her other hand finished sending her healing magic into my body. She then pulls a wet rag off my chest that rested underneath a tunic I wear, revealing the gnarled wound. There’s a deep, red line where the compliant one stabbed me?—
The flashback to what actually happened sends my head spinning, my heart racing.
“When did I get off the ship I was on? Soren was there,” I ask with a high-pitched voice, trying to confirm Iamoff that ship.What if Misery is warping my dreams, and this is all his doing? Glancing back out the window with a pounding heart, I notice there are even leaves blowing gently in the distance.
“It’s alright, Jane. It’s all done. Soren got you off the ship, and I believe he had you sedated.”
The burning ship… Like I always do, I numb it all. Press on so I drown in it.
So, he had me sedated? The memory of waking up comes back, along with my offer to heal others. My huff rolls into a painful cough. “Those assholes sedated me?” I ask without thought, nearly covering my mouth as I look at her while she gently rubs the salve over my sewn together wound. “Sorry,” I say, holding a hand up. “No offense.”
Her smile deepens the lines around her crinkling eyes. “He is smitten deeply with you. Gained a few new, deep scars just for you, too.” She takes in a slow breath. “My son, unfortunately, has lived a very harsh reality. He can be a bittooblunt when he needs to be softer in his approach. Especially when he’s passionate about something.” She nods to me. “Such as drugging you to keep you alive without telling you. I can’t say it was the wrong move, because you truly did need to lie completely still.”
I take in the room all the more as a giant grin spreads across my face, getting the sense I might actually be in a normal dwelling, completely safe from everything that nearly tore me apart. “Was the injury that bad?
