Chapter 23
The next morning, I woke to the soft sunrise shining through the curtains.
Trey slept beside me, one arm draped over my hips.
I propped up on one elbow and gazed at him for a while, admiring his long lashes and the way his wavy hair framed his sleeping face.
I remembered waking up with him in the clinic all those months ago and fleeing, as if I could somehow outrun my feelings for him.
It was selfish, but I was glad it didn’t work.
I didn’t want to run from him ever again.
“You keep starin’ at me like that, and I’m gonna have to kiss you,” he murmured, eyes cracking open, one corner of his mouth curling up.
I smiled. “Is that a promise?”
A lazy grin spread across his face. “It is a promise.”
When he grabbed me and pulled me on top of him, I let out a little shriek of delight, but then his lips were on mine, and I melted. I would never get enough of this, of him.
He groaned against my mouth as I wiggled my hips. We were both still naked and I could feel the hardness of him against my body. I grinned and did it again, and his eyes darkened with want.
“We should probably get up and get goin’,” he murmured.
“We probably should,” I agreed, dipping my head to gently bite his collarbone.
His fingers tightened on my hips, another groan escaping him. “Gods, Bones.”
“Or we could see where this goes,” I countered mischievously.
“I like that option better,” he said, pulling my head down to kiss me again.
—
A few hours passed before we managed to get dressed and leave that peaceful little room. I wished we could stay and take our time. Maybe someday we could afford that luxury.
Zeke smiled when we came down the stairs. “Mornin’. You folks sleep alright?”
“Yes, thanks.” Trey smiled back. “You’ve got a real nice place here.”
“Been in the family a long time,” Zeke said, pleased. “The hot water work for ya?”
“It did,” I answered. “Thank you. It was lovely to take a hot bath.”
Zeke’s smile softened again as he glanced at me. “I lost my wife a couple years back to a fever. We had nearly twenty-seven years together, but it still feels too short.” He looked at Trey. “Don’t take a single moment for granted.”
Trey’s hand found mine. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” he said to Zeke, and I nodded in agreement. “That’s good advice,” Trey continued, smiling down at me. “I know I haven’t stopped thankin’ my lucky stars I met her, and I’m not sure I ever will.”
My eyes prickled and Zeke beamed, his eyes bright.
“Nice to see a young couple in love,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion.
“How do you manage out here all by yourself?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.
Zeke cleared his throat. “I got a whole crew of people from Reka who come work for me in the spring through the fall, so I’m not really doin’ it by myself. Winter’s the slow season for us.”
“You said this place has been in your family?” Trey said.
“My great-great-grandfather had everything all planned out for the end of the world long before the blackout.” He chuckled.
“He established himself as a trader and had the gun power to back it up. Folks learned quick it was better to be on his good side, and we’ve continued that legacy ever since.
Every so often, somebody new tries somethin’, but nobody gets through our defenses unless we want ’em to. ”
I thought back to last night, my skin prickling. Thank the gods he’d decided we were safe to let in.
“Do you have any dried flowers or herbs in stock?” I asked. “And some oil? Sunflower would work.”
“Got some sunflower oil over there on the shelf,” Zeke said, gesturing. “We got several dried herbs. You’ll find those in the jars to your left.”
I found calendula and wild plantain and a small amount of horsetail, plus the sunflower oil and a small bottle to put it in. When I brought my supplies up to the front, Zeke had left.
“Got us a horse.” Trey grinned.
Excitement fluttered in my chest, but I paused. “How are you payin’ for all this?”
“With the silencer,” Trey answered. “It coulda got us two horses, but Zeke’s only got one extra right now. So he gave me the rest back in gold.”
I blinked in quiet astonishment. It made sense that silencers were so valuable since I’d never seen one before. The Reapers had what I assumed must be every single weapon and then some, but none of them had silencers.
“He’s saddlin’ the horse up now.” Trey glanced at the herbs. “You find somethin’ that’ll work? Zeke said if you wanted to make your infusion you were welcome to use the kitchen. I’m gonna see if Zeke needs any help.”
He left, and I entered the worn, tidy kitchen.
As I began to rub the dried herbs between my hands to release more of the oils before dropping them in the jar, a slight noise made me glance down.
I jumped, narrowly avoiding swearing, at the sight of a young child peeking out at me from between the tabletop and the bench pushed underneath.
“Oh, you scared me,” I said, trying to calm down my heart.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“I’m B—uh, Sara. Is Zeke your dad?”
“Yeah. Why are you back here? Dad don’t let people in the kitchen.”
“Oh,” I said, surprised, “he said I could come back here to mix up an oil infusion.”
The little boy, who had messy dark curls, scooted out from under the table. “A magic potion?” he asked, eyes wide.
I slipped into my familiar healer role as I studied him. He looked to be around six or seven, but the terrible thinness of his body made him look frail. I could see his blue veins through his pale skin, and dark circles framed his sunken eyes.
“It’s kind of like a magic potion,” I said, crouching to his level. “What’s your name?”
“Roe,” he answered. “Can I help? I’m ten, so I’m good at helpin’.”
I did a double take at his age but forced myself to smile. “Sure.”
Roe pulled the bench out so he could climb up on it.
I showed him how to rub the dried herbs.
Roe began to enthusiastically copy me, asking millions of questions that I answered patiently.
I didn’t need my powers to know he was ill.
I kept seeing a single word from the medical textbooks in my head. Terminal.
I was helping Roe pour the oil over the top of the herbs when the door opened and Zeke and Trey came in.
“We’re makin’ a magic potion!” Roe chirped to his dad, who looked startled to see him.
“Roe, you’re supposed to be in bed,” the large man scolded. “You’re gonna give yourself another bad spell.”
Trey smiled at us, but I could see him noting the boy’s condition too.
“A bad spell?” I repeated.
Sorrow flashed across Zeke’s face as he picked Roe up.
The boy wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck, burying his face in his shoulder.
“He’s been sick since before he could walk.
We’ve seen many different healers, but no one can give us any real answers.
Sometimes he has bad spells where he’s so sick and weak that he can’t even get out of bed. ”
I glanced at Trey. I almost expected to see him shaking his head, warning me not to do anything to blow our cover. Instead, I found him already looking at me, his eyes soft.
“Your choice,” he mouthed, and my heart swelled again.
I knew the risk in healing Roe, and a few months ago I might have kept my head down and continued on my way, but this life Zeke had built here and so fiercely defended was something I’d never thought possible.
Maybe Trey’s faith in people had rubbed off on me, but I wanted to believe that if I healed his son, Zeke would keep my secret.
And even if he didn’t, I couldn’t walk away without trying.
I wanted this place to survive, a testament to freedom.
“I’m a healer,” I told Zeke. “Could I try examinin’ him?”
Zeke gave me a long look, and I held his gaze, waiting for his decision. Finally, he turned to the boy. “Roe, is it okay with you if Sara examines you?”
Roe grimaced. “There gonna be needles?”
“No,” I said, smiling. “No needles.”
“Oh! Okay, then.” The boy smiled back at me.
“Can I see your hands?” I asked, and he put them in mine with a trust that made my throat ache. “Now I’ll need you to be a little bit patient, okay?”
When he nodded, I sent thin tendrils of my healing power flowing down my arms and into him. He jolted a bit, eyes widening.
“What—” I heard Zeke demand, but Trey murmured something and he quieted.
I kept my eyes on Roe’s face, concentrating on what I could feel through my powers.
The illness seemed to be everywhere, in his blood and bones and flesh.
I’d never healed anything like it, but as usual, my powers knew what to do.
They spread through his body as though they needed to immerse him, requiring me to funnel more and more power into him.
When his pale skin began to glow faintly, I watched his face for any signs of distress.
I didn’t think it would hurt him, but I’d never done anything like this before, and I couldn’t help remembering what Sam’s body had looked like after funneling a large amount of my power.
So far, Roe didn’t seem to be experiencing any pain.
His wide eyes stared into mine. Zeke hovered at my side, and I could hear Trey continuing to reassure him.
It felt different from healing the fever. As my power moved through him, it didn’t catch on anything foreign. Nothing felt like an outside force invading.
This was his body. Just…wrong.
The parts that weren’t quite right, they were still made of him. They weren’t alien.
I’d read about cancer. About how it had killed millions in the Before. About how it wasn’t an infection or a poison, but the body turning on itself. I’d never been sure I’d actually encountered it before.
Now I was.
Every corrupted cell resisted me. Healing him wasn’t a simple thing; it was thousands of tiny corrections, each one draining me more than the last.