Chapter 10 #2
Stiffly, I lowered the light again and shuffled around to locate the rest of Ekkire’s supplies.
Was his backpack still here? Where was my bow?
Dove fluttered through the cave at my feet, sometimes at shoulder level.
She cooed worriedly at me each time I groaned in pain as I moved.
The only option was to hop around using his trident as a crutch, and that thing was heavy.
The tunnel we were in stretched to either side of us, but rocks lay scattered around the shaft overhead—a pile of rubble and dirt that Ekkire was awkwardly lying atop.
The walls were smooth and tall above us, so it would be nearly impossible to climb out.
Not without a rope, and not while my stupid leg was a hot mess.
I still couldn’t quite remember how it had gotten broken in the first place, but I vaguely remembered the sweeping tail and claws of a Thunder Rock hunter bearing down on me.
It was agonizingly slow to check the tunnel for dangers, and even slower to pry Ekkire’s backpack out from under him.
Dove tried to help, biting the strap and pulling with all her might, and her presence made me feel a little more hopeful.
This was bad, but we were alive; we were going to make it.
Once I had the backpack, I searched it, even though Ekkire had warned me not to touch it before.
This was life or death; he’d get over it.
No matter how thoroughly I searched, there was no healing device in it.
Something many of Haven’s hunters did carry on them, scavenged on their travels, sometimes a gift from a Shaman.
He had food, a satchel full of herbs and spices, colorful trinkets, and thick, warm furs to sleep in.
We had two waterskins filled to the brim, and at least a dozen knives.
There was also a firestarter, but I doubted I’d be able to find enough wood down here for a fire.
The snares, those I’d hobbled around to set out, because you never knew what scuttled around in the safety of the dark. Perhaps we’d get lucky.
After that, I had to settle for putting a fur carefully under his head, the rest wrapped around me, and my foot elevated to ease the throbbing pain.
With his trident next to me and a knife in hand, I waited.
Guarding him, monitoring his breathing and his heart rate, and jumping at every noise.
What if I didn’t see Thunder Rock hunters above us because they’d gone the long way around?
What if they were on their way right now?
“You hungry?” I whispered to Dove. She was circling Ekkire with her nose to the ground, sniffing at his coils and at the rubble we were on, occasionally pawing at something with an excited little chirp.
I could only imagine what she was digging up and eating, but I tried very hard not to think about it.
At the sound of my voice, she fluttered into the air and soared straight into my lap.
Circling, tail fluttering, the peachy fuzz of her soft pelt rubbed against my fingers.
She settled down in a tiny ball against my belly, wings curled like a shield around her, from which a pair of large, silvery eyes peered out.
“Guess not. That’s good.” I was in too much pain to feel any hunger myself, and I worried about Ekkire.
He glowed a soft gold because I’d curled against his side, and I took that as a good sign.
His sigils would probably not light if he was really wounded, would they?
I’d just begun rooting around in his bag of herbs to see if there was anything that smelled like coffee.
Staying awake felt nearly impossible. That’s when he finally woke, his green eyes blinking open suddenly and focusing hazily on my face.
I didn’t even think he’d seen anything else, and it was eerie to see how aware of my presence he was even when he was half out of it.
“Jasmine,” he groaned, his hand coming up to touch my back. “What happened?”
Oh God, I hoped that didn’t mean he had memory loss; that would be really bad.
He also didn’t hesitate to touch me, and sounded so far from his usual gruff self that it made my stomach twist. “What’s the last thing you remember?
” I said through dry lips. I leaned into his touch, my eyes scanning his upper body for the millionth time to reassure myself he wasn’t bleeding and didn’t have any broken bones.
“Being chased by Msera and the others into the caves of the ancestors…” he winced, and his other hand went up to touch the back of his head.
“The floor just suddenly disappeared beneath my tail. I should have paid better attention.” Then he abruptly jerked upright, his eyes growing wide, their odd vertical pupils contracting.
“Your leg, Jasmine. Is it hurt more?” He began scanning me, hands reaching to lift the fur I’d wrapped around me and run them over my body. His sigils glowed brighter.
“I’m okay,” I told him, confused by his reaction and torn between wanting it and wanting to snap at him for getting under my defenses so fast. He wasn’t supposed to care; he’d made it clear he didn’t want a mate, didn’t want me. So why was he acting like my well-being was all he could think about?
“Look, stop it!” I pushed his hand away just as he brushed it under my coat and along my ribs.
Somehow, Dove was letting it all happen with twinkling mercury eyes, like it was a game to her to get rocked about, half-trapped between me and the naga male.
“I’m fine, no more bruised than before, thanks to you. The cast held, too.”
His eyes went to my leg, and he twisted his torso in a flexible way that no human could manage.
“Ah, stars, Jasmine,” he groaned. “I have failed you again. Now we are lost down this tunnel, and you must remain in unnecessary pain until we can circle back to Corin.” He seemed to struggle to move his tail, but he slowly shifted it into more comfortable coils against my back.
“It’s okay, Ekkire. This wasn’t your fault.
It was a very clean break, all things considered, and I’m pretty sure you set it correctly.
I’ll be okay.” It was sore, so sore. Barring any further jarring of the break, I thought it was okay, for now.
If I really needed it, I had faith that a skilled Shaman like Artek could fix it, even if it had already healed crooked.
Bonus points: he had good painkillers that were safe for humans.
To distract him, I offered him one of his rations, and he allowed me to urge him back down to rest after eating it.
From the look in his eye, he had more to say, so I beat him to it.
“Look, the only thing I feel bad about right now is that my friends from Haven still don’t know I’m alive. Other than that, no regrets. Got that?”
His mouth curved, the frown turning from surly to something that bordered on seductive.
The change took my breath away. “Oh, they know. I sent them a message. They know you’re with me.
” The way he said “with me” made it feel layered, not just a simple we’re in each other’s company kind of thing.
No, it sounded like so much more, but that was a mistake, wasn’t it?