Star Eater by Kerstin Hall

Author:Kerstin Hall [Hall, Kerstin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250625328
Google: 24X7DwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B08HKXRQ54
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2021-06-21T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SENSATION WAS SLOW to return. I awoke from dreamlessness, rising up through the dark. The first thing I knew was the coolness of a damp cloth on my forehead, and the smell of spiced tea.

Pain was next. I groaned.

“Are you back with us?”

I cracked open my eyelids and light flooded my brain. That hurt. I immediately shut them again.

“Do I have to be?” I asked.

Rhyanon chuckled.

“Well, not right this second, I suppose.” She carefully wiped my forehead. The cloth smelled of lavender. Felt nice. Somewhere close by, I could hear birdsong and the wind rustling through trees.

“Osan?” I murmured. “He was badly hurt.”

“Saskia took care of him. She’s very deft with that kind of lacework. And with needles, but the lacework helps.”

“Is he—”

“I spoke with him earlier this morning, and he’ll be fine. The problem was mostly blood loss; the bolt didn’t hit anything vital.”

“I see.” I breathed out slowly. “That’s good.”

Her clothing rustled as she moved closer, and I let myself relax, let her smooth my hair and rest the cloth, so wonderfully cool, on my forehead. It stirred old feelings, old vulnerabilities. Rhyanon was acting like my mother. This sort of entanglement could not end well, and yet I clung to the illusion all the same—that she cared, that I was safe, that everything would be okay. That maybe, just for a little while, I might be allowed to lean into her kindness.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

I raised and lowered my shoulders fractionally.

“That bad?”

“No,” I muttered. “No, I’m fine. But I was worried about you.”

“I heard. Apparently, you went barging into the Sanatorium and demanded to see me.”

“I wouldn’t say barging.”

“Still. Rather endearing of you, if a bit stupid.” She took away the cloth. “Nightmares aside, I really am fine now. Look.”

I grimaced. “It’s too bright.”

“Come on.”

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes again.

Green linens covered the bed. I lay in a yellow-walled room overlooking a leafy garden. The view through the window was screened by delicate beech saplings, and a breeze wafted the gauze curtains like the breath of a sleeping animal. On the pine sideboard rested a pot of tea and a plate of buttered bread.

Rhyanon sat on a cushioned chair beside the bed, a bucket of water on the ground next to her. Bandages covered her arm and shoulder, but her cheeks held a healthy colour and her eyes were bright. She smiled at me, pleased. It was a different smile, more straightforward, more honest. As if matters between us had settled into a new configuration.

“Not so bad, huh?” She gestured to her bandaged arm. “Wouldn’t you say I’m in better shape than you?”

“Possibly.” I studied her with a critical eye. “But you had an obvious advantage there.”

“Oh?”

“Given that you’re the expert on Commander Asan’s ministrations, I’m sure you received extra care.”

To my delight, she blushed.

“All that bed rest,” I continued, a grin spreading across my face, “seems to have done you a lot of good.”

“Were you never taught to respect your elders?” Her skin had turned a truly vibrant shade of pink now.

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