“Yeah. But there are none in this village. I mean, that’s not true. I’m sure there are strong women; they just won’t go against the grain. No one has approached me, for example, to learn how to hunt. Except Sable. I was teaching her about traps and small game before meeting you. But she also likes frilly dresses and looking pretty, so she can hide her weirdness a little better than I could.”
“I like your weirdness.”
“I didn’t think you liked anything of mine.”
“Water, please.”
“Right. Yes, of course.” I pushed back to get up, but one of my legs had fallen asleep. It gave out, and I dropped like a stone, hitting the edge of Sable’s bed and clattering to the floor. “Dang it.”
He jerked and then groaned, his eyes peeling open to peer over the bed.
“I’m good.” I gave him a thumbs-up as I crawled onto the bed. “All good.”
The bedroom door opened, and Hannon stuck in his bleary face. “What happened?”
“I need water for him. My leg fell asleep, and I fell on my head.”
He rolled his eyes and moved across the room to the water pitcher. He picked it up and filled a tin cup. As he bent to give it to Nyfain, I lifted back onto the bed and started to pound the feeling back into my leg.
“Can you sit up, or should we help you?” Hannon asked.
Nyfain tried to lift himself, but his arms gave out, and he fell back down to the mattress. “This bed is as hard as rocks.”
“Same denseness as your head, then,” I said without meaning to.
He grinned as Hannon moved to the other side and waited for me.
“You will go sit at the right hand of the goddess when you die, Hannon,” Nyfain said as I got up to help. Invisible pins and needles stabbed my leg. “You deserve the highest honor in death for dealing with a sister like that all your life.”
“Apparently you’re feeling better,” I grumbled as Hannon and I turned him over and propped him up.
“How do you feel?” Hannon asked, turning nurse again. “Has the pain receded?”
“A bit. It is biting deep into my bones, but it is no longer throbbing. Small miracles.”
“Do you need more elixir?” I asked, taking the cup from Hannon. Nyfain’s clumsy hand came up to take it, and I batted it away. “You’ll end up spilling it. You’re an invalid—act that way.”
His lips tweaked upward. “Yes, ma’am.”
He drank the contents, spilling the last bit out the corner of his mouth.
“That’s enough for now,” Hannon said softly.
I put the cup on the ground, and we turned Nyfain back over. He let out a ragged cough and gripped the pillow, but settled down, his face still angled to look at me.
“I’m in the next room if you need me,” Hannon said, holding out his hand.
I deposited the cup into his waiting palm. He nodded and made his way out the door.
“What will he do with it?” Nyfain asked, coughing a little more and then groaning.
“With what, the cup?” I got a weak nod. “Wash it. There’s another up there. When that one is clean, he’ll bring back the first. He’s really big on cleanliness when it comes to nursing people.”
“As he should. You two do make a good team.”
“Yeah. We were raised in hard times, with very few people to lean on.”
“No, no more elixir for now. I could use some of your power, though.”
I prodded my animal, and a wave of power washed through me and into Nyfain. When it washed back, we caught it in confusion, and it diffused through my middle and sank down deep. I sucked in a startled breath. It felt like I was still connected to Nyfain through the power, or maybe magic. Or maybe just our animals, I didn’t know. And while I couldn’t specifically feel him, I could feel his essence. His imposing presence taking root deep inside of me. It was something I should probably be annoyed about, or worried about maybe, but right now I just wanted him whole again. The kingdom needed him. I’d deal with the repercussions when he was well.
I sighed and slunk down next to him.
“You should get a haircut,” I said, laying my head on my arm this time as I twirled his hair with my fingers.
“I haven’t cared about my appearance in a really long time. There has been no one to impress. No one I wanted to impress, at any rate.”
“Well, thank you very little.” I laughed softly. “I had a boyfriend once, and a couple of times I tried to dress up. I wanted to feel sexy and turn him on.”
“What happened?”
“He got really weird about it. He said he didn’t want to take me out around people looking like that. I wasn’t exposed or anything. I didn’t understand his problem. He came clean when he dumped me. He apparently thought that I’d flaunted my appearance to make him look lesser. Like he didn’t deserve me. I guess he wanted me to kneel so he could stand taller. I was heartbroken at the time, so I didn’t punch him for that as I ought to have…”