The Painted Maidens Trilogy by Terra Harmony

Author:Terra Harmony [Harmony, Terra]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Patchwork Press
Published: 2015-03-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Liam stalks home, leaving the shocked onlookers to handle Rand's remains. Burned and returned to sea as soon as possible is how the tradition goes. For all of Alaric's preaching about shunning those who abandoned them, they always end up in the place from which they came.

Passing one of the double-wide trailers, the almost foreign sound of a female voice rings through the camp.

Darcy.

If she had been there, treating the seizure as soon as it happened, Alaric wouldn't dare push her out of the way just to shoot Rand. Liam growls, then turns toward the trailer, slamming open the door. "Where the hell—"

The scene in front of Liam stops him short. A battered and bloodied man lays across the kitchen table. Darcy bends over him, stitching a large gash in his shoulder, occasionally dabbing at blood with clean guaze.

"Zeke?" asks Liam, piecing together the swollen face.

"Mmph," Zeke mumbles.

"You look as bad as I feel," Liam walks in, shutting the door closed behind him with extra care as guilt settles in from his explosive entrance.

Zeke grunts. "Can't believe I missed the fight. Had a hundred bucks on you. Tell me you won, man." He strains his neck to the side to look at Liam. "You didn't win, did you?"

"Well." Liam rubs the back of his neck. "I look a hell of a lot better than the other guy."

"Am I gonna have another patient tonight?" Darcy asks, snipping the thick, blue string protruding from Zeke's shoulder. She ties it off, waiting for Liam to answer. The kids are looking over her shoulder. As the pack's only medical provider, they are used to bloody men strewn about their kitchen.

"No," Liam finally says. "Not unless someone burns themselves building the fire."

Everyone pauses, even the three kids glancing up at Liam with understanding in their eyes.

"Boys, go get ready for bed. It's way past your bedtime." Darcy points to the back of the trailer with a pair of bloodied clamps.

"But mom," the oldest pipes up. "You said we could stay up and watch."

"I'm done stitching, so go," she barks.

All three kids jump then slowly make their way to their rooms.

Once they are out of earshot, Darcy turns to Liam. "You killed him?"

The look in her eyes is not anger, it is pure disbelief.

"No, Alaric did."

"What?" Zeke sits up, grabbing his side and wincing in pain.

"Careful—those ribs aren't broken, but you have a lot of bruising there." Darcy dotes on her patient, but turns her gaze on Liam for an explanation soon enough.

Colin, Darcy's husband, comes in from the living room. "He interfered? That's like…breaking his most sacred rule in the matches."

"He's getting worse," says Liam. He nods to Zeke. "What happened to you?"

Zeke shrugs, then winces again. "Got jumped walking home from town."

"Wolves?" asks Liam.

"Nah, smelled like humans," Zeke says.

"I wonder if it was Alaric's doing, just to keep Darcy occupied and away from the fights," Liam says.

Just then, Robbie, the youngest of the three boys runs out to get a toy he left behind on the couch.

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