but then stopped and pulled it back. "Do they bother you?"
He looked up, water dripping from his hair into eyes.
Brushing it away he frowned, and then noticed her staring. "No. It was a
necessary sacrifice at the time."
She blinked, opened her mouth and then closed it
again, unsure what to say to that.
He’d gone back to scrubbing dirt off his hands. "Since
the slavers took my amulet, I knew I had to conserve what power I had left.
Healing my broken arm was more important, so I allowed the scars."
"I see," she said quietly. Her mind turned that
information over and about, trying to make sense of it. "Wait, you can
heal like the Fey?" Kei healed quickly, very quickly, and with no
scarring.
He glanced up at her again, his brows drawn down in
confusion. "Of course. As do the Were." When he noted her confusion
he continued, "It takes power to do so."
She dropped to her knees and grabbed his shoulder, roughly
turning him to face her. Her lips hardened into a thin angry line when, as she’d
suspected, the wounds he’d taken fighting to escape the besieged city were
gone.
They were quite simply not there. Her eyes lifted to
meet his. "Why did you do that?"
His brows rose. "Heal my wounds?"
She nodded and sat back, crossing her arms.
"I had the power to do so."
"I don’t know how much we gave you!" She
shook her head, trying to keep her sudden fury contained. "Are you trying
to kill yourself? We have no idea how this Were power works, how much you’ll have
or for how long. How could you waste it like this?"
"Waste it?" He brushed water off his arms
and stood angrily. "They pained me, and were draining. I did not want to
risk infection and having to deal with sickness."
"But the scars–"
"They were few and small. It did not take a lot
of power to be rid of them."
She scrambled to her feet. "And you are a prince."
"That has nothing to do with it."
She raised her chin. "What will your people say,
seeing you scarred like this?"
"Very few will ever see them," he said
calmly. He shook his head slightly. "What is making you so angry?"
His words were like a slap. Kei’s worry about her
growing anger, about her changing, came back to her. "You don’t seem to
want to make it home," she finally whispered. "Are you intentionally
sabotaging our efforts?"
Laughter sprang out of him, startling her so much she
took a step back.
"Oh, Arowyn. You do have the strangest ideas."
"I don’t understand you sometimes," she muttered.
"You are not an Elf," he said in amusement.
She had no idea what he found so funny. His reminder she
was merely a human twisted her gut. Her cheeks warmed slightly and she looked
away. "The boys have gone upstream to fish, should you want to join them."
Before he could answer, she turned and walked quickly away.
Chapter 9:
Stormy Weather
Walking around the general area calmed her down. She
took her frustrations and confusion out by stomping and muttering to herself.
It wasn’t at all a mature reaction, which made her even more frustrated. Being
stuck between a child and an adult made her want to scream. She didn’t, if only
because she didn’t want to attract any attention to them.
They traveled in woods ruled by Fey and Were. Humans were
forbidden on pain of death. Despite Garen and Kei’s comments, she was still
human, and so was Bo. Meeting the inhabitants of the forest was the last thing
they wanted to do. Garen had been clear on that, and so had Prince. They’d kept
as close to the forest border as they could.
She found a few edible plants and collected them to
add to their supplies. Keeping close to the forest’s edge helped with their
supplies at least. Kei or Garen often made runs to the edge to see what crops
they were passing. If it hadn’t been harvested already, they grabbed as much as
they could.
Bo called her back, later than she’d have thought if
they were going to set out, but there was still a lot of light left in the day
for foraging if they were going
He looked up, water dripping from his hair into eyes.
Brushing it away he frowned, and then noticed her staring. "No. It was a
necessary sacrifice at the time."
She blinked, opened her mouth and then closed it
again, unsure what to say to that.
He’d gone back to scrubbing dirt off his hands. "Since
the slavers took my amulet, I knew I had to conserve what power I had left.
Healing my broken arm was more important, so I allowed the scars."
"I see," she said quietly. Her mind turned that
information over and about, trying to make sense of it. "Wait, you can
heal like the Fey?" Kei healed quickly, very quickly, and with no
scarring.
He glanced up at her again, his brows drawn down in
confusion. "Of course. As do the Were." When he noted her confusion
he continued, "It takes power to do so."
She dropped to her knees and grabbed his shoulder, roughly
turning him to face her. Her lips hardened into a thin angry line when, as she’d
suspected, the wounds he’d taken fighting to escape the besieged city were
gone.
They were quite simply not there. Her eyes lifted to
meet his. "Why did you do that?"
His brows rose. "Heal my wounds?"
She nodded and sat back, crossing her arms.
"I had the power to do so."
"I don’t know how much we gave you!" She
shook her head, trying to keep her sudden fury contained. "Are you trying
to kill yourself? We have no idea how this Were power works, how much you’ll have
or for how long. How could you waste it like this?"
"Waste it?" He brushed water off his arms
and stood angrily. "They pained me, and were draining. I did not want to
risk infection and having to deal with sickness."
"But the scars–"
"They were few and small. It did not take a lot
of power to be rid of them."
She scrambled to her feet. "And you are a prince."
"That has nothing to do with it."
She raised her chin. "What will your people say,
seeing you scarred like this?"
"Very few will ever see them," he said
calmly. He shook his head slightly. "What is making you so angry?"
His words were like a slap. Kei’s worry about her
growing anger, about her changing, came back to her. "You don’t seem to
want to make it home," she finally whispered. "Are you intentionally
sabotaging our efforts?"
Laughter sprang out of him, startling her so much she
took a step back.
"Oh, Arowyn. You do have the strangest ideas."
"I don’t understand you sometimes," she muttered.
"You are not an Elf," he said in amusement.
She had no idea what he found so funny. His reminder she
was merely a human twisted her gut. Her cheeks warmed slightly and she looked
away. "The boys have gone upstream to fish, should you want to join them."
Before he could answer, she turned and walked quickly away.
Chapter 9:
Stormy Weather
Walking around the general area calmed her down. She
took her frustrations and confusion out by stomping and muttering to herself.
It wasn’t at all a mature reaction, which made her even more frustrated. Being
stuck between a child and an adult made her want to scream. She didn’t, if only
because she didn’t want to attract any attention to them.
They traveled in woods ruled by Fey and Were. Humans were
forbidden on pain of death. Despite Garen and Kei’s comments, she was still
human, and so was Bo. Meeting the inhabitants of the forest was the last thing
they wanted to do. Garen had been clear on that, and so had Prince. They’d kept
as close to the forest border as they could.
She found a few edible plants and collected them to
add to their supplies. Keeping close to the forest’s edge helped with their
supplies at least. Kei or Garen often made runs to the edge to see what crops
they were passing. If it hadn’t been harvested already, they grabbed as much as
they could.
Bo called her back, later than she’d have thought if
they were going to set out, but there was still a lot of light left in the day
for foraging if they were going
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