Chapter 46
Forty-Six
Meri
Lessa had taken over Drozel and Omden's room while they were gone.
I probably should have been shocked by that, but I actually thought it was sweet.
Over the last week, she and I had talked a lot.
The real kind of talk, like I'd never been able to do with anyone but Callah and Ayla before. Mostly, we talked about feelings.
I liked it here. She'd been a little surprised by that, since it had basically been forced upon me, but I still did.
Ayla had fought to come here, but me? I hadn't been able to imagine such a place, so there'd been nothing to fight for.
That helped Lessa understand, but she said it was a good thing.
She also admitted that sleeping in Omden and Drozel's bed made her feel connected to them.
She could smell them on the pillows, she said.
I'd never even considered people could have a unique smell.
I knew men smelled foul when they sweated, and that places could smell bad, but after she'd mentioned it, I'd realized it was true.
Mostly, that was because of the night we'd fallen asleep side by side on the couch. It had been an accident, but the nice sort. I simply hadn't worked up the courage to invite her to do it again. Instead, I asked her what she felt about those men. It seemed safer somehow.
"I don't know," she admitted, piercing a needle through the fabric she was embroidering. "See, Meri, the truth is I've always shied away from that part. When I was younger, I used to think that if I got attached to someone, they'd die."
"What?" I gasped. "How?"
"Moles killed my parents," she explained.
"My siblings too. One by one, every person in my family was killed, one way or another, when they raided.
Then my friends started to die. A girl in my class I'd just gotten to know, then a boy I liked.
The timing was a coincidence, but I got it in my head that if I didn't get close then it wouldn't hurt. "
"I'm sorry," I said. "I also think you should like Drozel. He's so nice to you, and he's a very handsome man. He's strong, capable, and considerate."
"Yes, but are those the things you actually like," she asked, "or is that what you've been told you're allowed to like?"
I made a face and focused on changing my thread. "Some of both. I do like muscles on men," I told her.
She looked up with a little smile. "What about women?"
I giggled, keeping my eyes on my own sewing. "I like you."
"Mm, and I do like you, Mer-"
Outside, something was a little too loud. I couldn't say it was thumping or clanking, but there was a distinct sound that was nothing like I'd heard before. Lessa left her words unsaid, leaning to see through the window, but the noise made my guts clench.
"What's that?" I asked, fearing the worst.
"Sounds like hooves..." she said, setting her sewing aside so she could head to the door. Then, "Meri! It's Drozel and Omden!" And she quickly pulled the door open, adding, "And Irrik."
"The men are back?" I gasped, scrambling to follow her.
Because she was already through the door and on the porch. Likely, she hadn't stopped there, and I still didn't know what the sound was or why it made me anxious. Barefoot and not caring about that, I rushed out onto the porch - then stopped hard when I saw the beast.
A horse and a cart. I was pretty sure it was the exact same horse and cart that had brought me here. That was why the sound had felt wrong. I'd been terrified the first time I'd traveled, but the sight of Omden and Drozel sitting in the back of it? It was enough to make me smile.
"You're home!" I called, heading down the stairs to greet them
"Meri, stay there!" Lessa snapped.
My feet stalled and my heart hung. "Who's dead?"
And I heard a man say, "I still don't understand." The words were in English.
I swayed on my feet. They had a Mole? The accent wasn't like the people here. The words weren't only in English, but also said the way I'd always known - and from a man. But Drozel and Omden had him. That meant he'd been captured, right?
Pulling in a deep breath, I lifted my chin and stormed forward, knowing I was finally safe. These people would make sure of it, so I didn't need to cower and whimper. I had no reason to run away. I wanted to know, and I would go look.
Drozel was leaning over the side, whispering something to Lessa about a room. Omden was gathering things from the cart like he was preparing to get out. Irrik had made the contraption stay in place the way he did, and was climbing down the far side, heading to the back.
I saw it all as I made my way closer. It felt like a bad dream, the sort where the hall was never-ending. Each step made me move, but time was so slow, no one looked at me, and I had to see what was in the cart with them.
"Who are you?" I asked in English just as I reached the edge and looked over.
Blue eyes looked back. Pale hair, sunburnt skin, I saw those too, but then the guy's mouth curled into a smile. "Merienne?"
"Why is he here?" I demanded, forgetting to switch back to Vestrian. "He's a man!"
Drozel hopped over the edge and caught my arm, then pulled me against his side like he was shielding me. "He's helping Ayla, Meri. He's Tobias's friend, and he asked us to save him."
"What?" I asked, stretching to look in the cart again. "Why are you here, Mole? What do you want from these people?"
And the man huffed out a weak laugh. "You look good, Meri."
I knew him. I recognized his face. I was sure I'd been told about him, but seeing him was different. This was Sylis Underhill, and he was only a few years older than me. He'd been in sermon with us, but I couldn't remember much else about him.
Although, that was a good thing. Boys were often loud and rambunctious. They showed off to get noticed, like Gideon had. They liked being able to order us girls around. They laughed about becoming hunters and bragged about the jobs they would get once they graduated - but Sylis hadn't.
He'd been a quiet boy. An easily ignorable one. A safer one than most.
"Sylis Underhill?" I asked, making sure it was really him.
He nodded. "I saved Tobias so he could keep helping Callah. She's helping the women, Meri. I think she'd want me to tell you that."
As he talked, I looked him over, seeking out some reason to be afraid of him, but things were different now.
He was no longer big and terrifying to me - if this man had ever been either of those.
Instead, he looked pale, weak, and underfed.
His skin was red and looked painful, but that didn't make me miss the bandage across his belly - or the red staining the cloth it was made from.
"He's hurt!" I gasped, rushing around to the back so I could get in. "Why didn't you say he was hurt?"
"Meri..." Omden tried.
But I was working to get the latch open. I didn't know how it worked, but I'd seen the men mess with it and make the back end flop down. That was how they'd gotten me out, so I was sure I could figure it out.
Hands reached between mine and pulled something. Another caught the wood and eased it down. I paused to see it was Irrik who'd just let me in, but I didn't have time to thank him.
"This needs to be treated," I said, the words for any of the men who'd brought him here. "It's a gut wound!"
"We know," Drozel said even as he caught my waist and lifted me in. "Meri, he's been..." He blew out a breath when I ignored him to get closer to Sylis. Instead, he turned to Lessa. "So, he should stay with you, because I know - "
"No!" I snapped. "He needs to be in a hospital."
"He's not going to a hospital," Omden said as he crawled up into the cart with me.
And when I reached for the bandage, he caught my wrist. "Meri, he was treated by a medic.
He's going to be okay. We need to get antibiotics for him from the hospital, but the Python is already aware of his condition.
" When I turned to look at him, he let me go.
"We also don't want him to see more than he has to. "
"Because I could be a spy," Sylis said, his voice weak because he couldn't exhale well. "I have to prove myself, and I will, but I don't want to die."
"I will not let you die," I assured him. Then I looked at Lessa. "He needs to stay with me so I can care for him. If he can't go to the hospital, then he needs someone who can check to make sure he doesn't get fevered!"
"Meri..." Drozel tried.
"No," Lessa said, lifting a hand to cut him off. "Right now, you have two options, Droz. You let this Mole stay with you, or both of them stay with me."
"And then?" Omden asked.
I looked between the three of them. "What do you mean?"
From the far side of the cart, Irrik chuckled. "Meri, this is a man. They know what Mole men did to you. They are not going to let that happen again, so those three are trying their hardest to both let you make a decision and protect you at the same time."
"Oh." I looked at Sylis again. "Sit up for me?"
He tried. His first instinct was to simply lift his upper body, but his muscles refused. That made him groan, proving there was pain with that injury, and then he pressed his hands down behind him and used his arms to leverage himself up.
So I stopped him and turned to Irrik. "This man can't move without help. I am going to need help, and they're going to bicker, so will you help me?"
"I got it," Omden said. "Sylis, this is not going to be nice. Sorry." And he grabbed the blanket Sylis was on and tugged.
That made the man groan before clutching at his wounded stomach, and I wanted to steady him. Sadly, Omden didn't give me the chance. The moment Sylis was close enough, he scooped the man up and eased him to the ground.
"I got you," he promised. "Don't try to walk straight. Hunch over and it will hurt less."
"And he's going to need help!" I hissed, sliding on my rump so I could get out of the cart too.
"Here," Irrik said, offering me a hand to help me down.
I took it and slipped off the end, not caring that my dress crept up above my knees. That wasn't scandalous around here. No one cared about such things. I only continued to wear dresses because my body was still changing shape and I didn't want to have to resew clothes I'd fallen in love with.
"Okay," I said the moment my feet were on the ground. "Arm over my shoulders, hunter." And I caught him around the ribs, careful to keep my hand well above his wound. "We're going to go slowly, and there are stairs, but I'm stronger than you think."
"Yeah, she is," Lessa said, sounding proud of me. "Meri, put him in the guest room, okay?"
"That's where we're going," I promised. "Someone's going to have to help him wash too!"
Sylis groaned. Drozel laughed, but I didn't care about that. This man knew Callah. He'd seen her recently, so he had to know how she was doing, and I intended to make him tell me. More than all of that, he was hurt, and helping was something I knew how to do.
Because I was kind. I was going to stay kind no matter how hard it was. Plus, I knew if this man treated me wrong - in any way - one of my friends would kill him before I suffered. That made it even easier to be brave, because I did trust my friends.
I trusted them so much I hadn't even asked permission first.