“Ryker.” He nudged the plate toward me. “You going to eat?”
“Yeah, thanks.” I reached out and took a piece of the chicken off the plate and went through the motions, even if the last thing I wanted to do was eat. I reached for another piece, since Ruck was watching me like a hawk.
He leaned closer. “You sure you aren’t sick? You look sick.”
“A little sleep and I’ll be better.”
He nodded, but his lips were downturned.
A hand on my forehead woke me again and I tried to swat it away. I knew it was Ryker without opening my eyes. I could feel his magic, but at least it was behaving itself tonight.
His hand shifted from my forehead to my cheek. “Ruck said you barely ate.”
“Because I’m sleeping.” I knew I hadn’t eaten much. People didn’t eat and sleep at the same time. I’d meant to, but that pile of food was a lot of work, and I’d drifted off before getting far.
He was still right beside me. What did he want? It couldn’t be practice time yet, could it?
“You threw her in the lake and now she’s broken,” Ruck said from somewhere in my room. How many people were in here?
“You broke her. You need to fix her,” Sinsy said.
I opened my eyes to find that my room was packed. My entire crew was gathered around Ryker, giving him the evil eye.
The sky was tinged with early morning sun. I’d slept almost straight through since yesterday.
“I’ll fix her.” Ryker pulled the pelt snugly around me, and then I was pressed against his chest as he lifted me off the ground.
“What are you doing? I’m sleeping.” If I could just get my damn arms free, I’d zap him this time for sure. Why did he have to always be so pushy?
“It’s too damp in here.” He was walking, and I felt the air hit my face, my crew sounding like they were following behind us.
“I want to stay in my room. This is my place. I don’t care if it’s—”
“Bring her to my room. She can have my bed,” Ruck yelled over me.
“She should be with us,” Sinsy said.
There was the sound of shuffling, and I was pretty sure Sinsy was trying to push past Ruck. They all argued as we walked somewhere or other. I couldn’t see anything the way Ryker had me tilted, but all I cared about was going back to sleep.
Then we stopped. “She okay?” Burn asked.
I tried to lift my head out of the cocoon and tell Burn I was fine, but I couldn’t get enough clearance. Then a cough conspired to end my attempt. Instead of giving me a little room to breathe, Ryker smothered me closer to his chest.
“Find the healer. Tell her she needs to come now,” Ryker said.
“I’m not that sick,” I said, but I wasn’t sure Burn heard me through the pelt.
We were off and moving again, but the only thing I noticed was the massive heat Ryker threw off. I hoped wherever we were going would take a while. It was the first time my bones had felt warm since yesterday.
I didn’t groan as I hit a bed, even though I wanted to. The pelt dropped away from my face. Wait one damn second. This wasn’t Ruck’s room.
“Why did you bring me here?” I demanded as I tried to uncurl myself from the pelts. Ryker was standing by the bed as everyone piled in around him.
“Don’t get off that bed.” Ryker pointed as if I needed help understanding the order.
Really? Did he have to say it like that? Now I felt compelled to get off the bed and I didn’t even want to. What I wanted was to fall asleep until I felt human again, but then he said that? Didn’t he know me at all by now?
He must’ve seen the fire building in my eyes, and not the one caused by the fever, because he walked over and leaned a knee on the bed. “Can you for once not be so stubborn? I’m not your enemy.”
Okay, he might’ve figured me out a little. I was still lying there, pelt half over me, as he looked at me, his face a foot from mine. I felt another cough building in my chest as I thought it through. What was wrong with me? I was sick. There was no denying it. Did I really want to crawl out of here half dead?
I curled the pelt around me again as I snuggled deeper into the bed. Maybe he was right occasionally.
He straightened and added, “But don’t think you’re staying there all night. Half dead or not, you get kicked out at seven. I’ve got those manly bonuses I’ve got to cash in on.”
I knew he was making fun of me, mocking my mockery of him. It felt as if a boulder was on my chest, and I still felt the laughter bubbling up. It quickly turned into coughing that racked my body.
By the time I was done, Ryker had lost all his humor and my crew looked like they were going to go dig my grave.
“I’m fine,” I told them.
“I’ll be right back,” Ryker said. “Ruck, Sinsy, if she tries to get off that bed, tackle her.”
They nodded as if they were his soldiers, which they definitely weren’t. They both squeezed onto the bed with me, sandwiching me between them.
I woke up to the healer holding a large cone to my chest and listening through the small end of it. It was only Ryker, the healer, and me in the room.
She took the cone from my chest. “She’s got bad spirits in her lungs. You realize that she’s not a hundred percent, and tossing a girl who can’t swim into deep water isn’t a bright idea, right? I gave you an extension, but that doesn’t mean she can’t die. Because—”
“I know what she’s got. I need you to do a speed and split,” Ryker said, cutting to the point.
“It’s better if she heals naturally.” She put the cone in her bag and turned toward the door.
“I’m not asking for your opinion. I’d do it myself, but you know I can’t.” Ryker blocked the doorway, appearing as if he’d tackle her before he let her out the door.
“You shouldn’t keep drawing from the well when you don’t need to. It brings bad mojo.” The healer was standing with her hands on her hips.
“You’re not going to get bad mojo. Now do what I need.”
I’d never had someone held hostage for my benefit. I wasn’t sure if I was flattered or not. Technically, I wasn’t willing to be here either. Considering Ryker looked at retaining people against their will as a grey area, it really didn’t hold much weight.
“You don’t leave until you do it,” Ryker said, only shifting out of the doorway to let Burn walk in.
I knew I could fight my way through being sick. It was the other deadline looming. If I was sick, I didn’t have a chance of getting any better with the wards. If I couldn’t do the wards, I’d be dead before the six months ran out.
“I need to at least ask her,” the healer said in a huff before turning to me. “You can be better tomorrow, but the next twelve hours will be horrible.”
“But then I’ll be good?”
“Yes. But it’ll be—”
“Do whatever you have to do.” I had five and a half months left. I wasn’t wasting a day more than I had to in a bed.
Ryker handed the healer her bag, as if to say, Get busy.
She started shuffling through her things, mumbling, “I don’t know why I come when you call.”
“Because you don’t want to piss me off, and I pay better than anyone else.” Ryker was staring a hole through the healer’s back, and appearing as if he might take over if she got any slower.
The healer shrugged and dug out a black wax stick.
Ryker turned to Burn. “Explain to her people that they have to stay out while the magic works or they can get sick.”
“Got it. I’ll keep them out.” Burn turned to leave.
The healer grabbed his arm, holding out her black stick. “If you don’t mind?”
Burn lit a finger, and she waved the stick over it a few times. “Now you I like,” she said before she threw Ryker a nasty look. Burn left and she turned to me. “Raise your shirt.”
Ryker turned around without me having to ask.
The healer took the warmed stick and drew with it on my flesh, making marks from my collarbone down to my lower ribs. “Just remember, you asked for this,” she said as she finished.
I dropped my shirt, settling down farther into the bed.
She walked over to Ryker. He yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it on the bed. The healer took her stick and drew on him.