The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford

Author:Mara Rutherford [Rutherford, Mara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-14T13:43:20+00:00

Chapter Thirty

Jaren followed Leelo through the woods as quietly as he could, which was still nowhere near as quietly as Leelo. He was overjoyed at the prospect of washing up, even more so at the notion of cleaning his wound. His leg still hurt, but he’d checked the bandage earlier and hadn’t seen any redness creeping around the edges. That had to be a good sign.

The pond was more of a series of small spring-fed pools, the largest of which was only big enough for two or three people. Jaren walked to it as quickly as he could, already tearing off his filthy tunic and boots. It wasn’t until he was starting to pull off his breeches that he remembered Leelo was behind him. He turned to find her cheeks flaming, her eyes fixed firmly to the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” Jaren said. “I didn’t really think this through.”

She managed to drag her eyes up to his, though he noticed they lingered on his bare torso for just a moment. “I didn’t, either.”

“We can take turns,” Jaren said. “I won’t look. You have my word.”

“I need to wash my dress. And you should probably wash your clothing, too.”

“Right.”

She bit her lip, revealing that tiny gap again. “But I’m not sure what we’ll do while we wait for it to dry.”

“We’ll just have to stay in the water,” Jaren said. “I’ll take this pool, and you can take that one.”

Leelo nodded, but the furrow between her brows remained. She went to her pool and Jaren jumped into his, still wearing his trousers. The water was cold but he adjusted to it quickly, grateful to be clean again for the first time in days.

“Thank you for bringing me here. I didn’t realize how badly I needed this.” He stripped out of his trousers and laid them on the rocky edge of the pool next to his tunic, which he’d already scrubbed and wrung out.

“I’ll bring soap for next time,” Leelo said behind him. “I’m sorry I didn’t think of it sooner.”

“You read my mind,” he said, sniffing his clothing with a wince. “Water alone isn’t enough, I’m afraid.” Finally, he unwound the bandage on his leg, wincing as the scabs pulled against the fabric.

“How is the wound?” Leelo asked.

“Better.” Jaren still had one large hole in his shin, along with a few smaller ones, but they were clean and appeared to be healing. “Thank you.”

“I think it’s all right if we turn around,” Leelo said. “As long as we’re both under water.”

“Are you sure?”

There was a short pause. “Yes.”

Slowly, Jaren turned to face Leelo. Her pool was slightly below his, but the rocks between them hid her body from view. All he could see was her sleek head, her fair hair made silver by the water. Her eyelashes were usually so pale they were hard to see, but now they were darker and clumped together into little spikes.

He was staring. He swallowed and shook his head to break the tension, sending water droplets spraying.

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