Chapter 8
Eight
L ike a habit, my gaze drifted to where I’d left Finn. Not because I believed he’d run, but because I knew he was still nervous and wanted to check on him. When I noticed the spot next to Zoya was empty, my shoulders tensed, and I immediately scanned the surrounding area. Where had he gone?
“Brother!” Verus said brightly, clapping my shoulder as he sidled up next to me. “You look well. How are things with Finn?”
“He’s not where I left him,” I murmured.
Verus tracked my gaze and frowned, but shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe he had to relieve himself. He was drinking with you, yes? I saw so myself.”
I grunted in agreement, shuffling forward with the line to greet the new babe. It was true, I had been giving Finn small drinks of my ale. If the need arose, it would take me a while to get back to him, so going by himself made sense. Still, a growing sense of unease thrummed through me. The longer he was gone, the more I worried.
I was at the front of the line, next to greet the babe, when I heard Finn’s scream. I moved on instinct, racing through the crowds toward where I’d heard the sound. I nearly ran into a group of tributes who were wandering toward the food tables, ducking around them in my haste to get to Finn. The light was muted past the circle of tents and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I couldn’t see him and I hurried forward, worried he’d run off into the trees, but a whimper halted my footsteps.
“Brother? What’s wrong?” Verus asked as he joined me. A few others came as well, all frowning at me.
“Finn,” was all I said. I shushed him when he opened his mouth to ask more questions, listening. They all fell silent. I cast around for a clue of where Finn had gone. Another choked sob drifted on the wind, but it was confusing. He sounded close, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Brother…” Verus said again, this time gripping my shoulder. When I glanced at him, his gaze was not on me, but lower, his finger pointed toward the trench.
Horror slammed into me when I saw him. The trench was used by the entire clan, and while it was drained regularly, it was not a place anyone wanted to slip and fall. Most would have probably thrown down a rope and asked for Finn to climb out himself, but the poor thing had fallen hard enough to get stuck. He choked on sobs, trying to free himself, and I knew he wouldn’t be able to manage it on his own. Without questioning it, I climbed into the trench, ignoring the smell as I reached for Finn.
“N-No!” he protested, big tears streaming down his face. I recognized the embarrassment, he made that expression before, and normally I would give him space to figure things out on his own, but I couldn’t do that now. My heart couldn’t take leaving him there.
Plucking him out of the mess, I cradled him to my chest. He shook with great sobs, refusing to touch me. Not like it would make a difference. We were both covered by now. A rope dropped, and I took it, holding Finn against me with one arm as I climbed out. Once I was on solid ground, I turned and headed away from the festivities. I’d been avoiding taking Finn to the river, he didn’t handle the cold well, but it was necessary. He needed to be clean.
I didn't bother to undress, heading straight into the water. Finn gasped at the cold, but like the first night, I ignored his tears to care for him properly. When we were deep enough that the water went to his chest, I stripped him out of the soiled clothes before starting on my own. Finn was shaking, his arms wrapped around his middle, and he wouldn’t look at me.
“Rath,” Godr called from the hill overlooking the river. He tossed me a bar of soap without a word and stood guard with his back to us. This far from the main parts of the village, the creatures of the forest were more brave and could attack if not on guard. Usually, we bathed in large groups for safety. That wouldn’t happen now. No one was getting near Finn without my say so.
I was cleaning off his face when he flinched. I frowned, tipping his head up with a knuckle under his chin to study his face. I hadn’t noticed it before because he kept his head down, but there were scratches on his face. Not from a fall. They were too close together. They looked like they came from a person.
Outrage filled my chest and my voice was foreboding when I asked, “Who hurt you?”
He shook his head, doing his best to free himself from my grasp. I couldn’t allow that. I was his protector. Someone hurt him on my watch. I needed to handle it.
“Finn. Tell me. Who hurt you? Is that why you fell?” If he was attacked and stumbled, it would explain how he ended up in the trench. Unless… “Did they push you?”
Whether he didn't understand or he just didn't want to answer, he kept shaking his head. I wanted to keep pushing, but his teeth were chattering. He was too cold to stay out here much longer. I needed to get him clean.
With quick efficiency, I cleaned off every inch of his skin. He wouldn’t take the bar to clean his privates himself, so I apologized before doing that as well. I didn’t linger, just made sure he was thoroughly cleaned before moving on. By the time I was done, his pale skin was pink in the moonlight, and his lips were turning blue. I wasn’t nearly as dirty as he was, so I quickly scrubbed and tucked him against me, using my body heat to keep him warm as we came out of the water.
I had no clothes with us, and I wasn’t touching the soiled ones, but Godr proved he was a good brother by having a blanket waiting to cover Finn. I cared little for my own nudity, used to undressing around my brothers to bathe or change. Finn was shy, not even comfortable to have his chest exposed, and I didn’t want to parade him in front of the clan and embarrass him further.
The blanket wasn’t enough to warm him, but it kept him covered as I marched us back to my tent. When I set him on his feet so I could dress him, his legs went out from under him and I had to lower him to the bed so he wouldn’t hurt himself. I tugged one of my tunics over his head, lacing the front tightly so it wouldn’t fall off him.
I spared a moment to pull on some legwear before wrapping the blanket around Finn and scooping him up again. When I ducked out of my tent, my brothers were waiting for me, each with a worried expression on their faces.
“Have Zoya meet me at the fighter’s fire.”
Verus was quick to respond, nodding his head and running off to fetch the healer. With the cuts and the unhygienic fall, I didn’t want to chance Finn getting sick. I marched him away from the village center and to a fire nearer to the edge of the forest. There were smaller fires, since eating all together could get tedious. The fighters lived all together for easier training and their fire was second biggest after the village center. I wasn’t bringing Finn near the clan again until I figured out who attacked him.
He trembled in my arms, his face hidden against my chest. His hands were icy cold, but I didn’t flinch from the touch. He could take what he needed from me.
A few fighters sat around the fire, probably the first to greet the new arrival so they could escape to have a more relaxed gathering. They shot me curious looks when I joined them, but none asked questions. Janis, a fighter who I’d fought alongside a time or two, offered me some ale, but I shook my head, sitting as close to the fire as I would dare and curling myself tighter around Finn. He accepted the hold without a sound. It worried me. Normally, in his upset, he made plenty of noise. Little whimpers and sniffles to let me know how he felt. Now he was silent and unmoving, his breathing shallow like he was trying not to move an inch.
“Korvash,” I whispered, ducking so he could better hear me. “Tell me who hurt you. It’s my job to keep you safe.”
No reply. I wanted to rage, to tear through the celebrations to find who’d attacked my Finn. I couldn’t without releasing him, and nothing, not even vengeance, could pull me away from him now.