46. Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter forty-six
"We can't do anything until she wakes up."
"Should we go back and ask about a Remedy?"
"She is a Remedy, remember?"
"She's not healing herself in that state."
"Obviously."
"She doesn't need healing. She needs to replenish."
Indistinct familiar voices weave in and out of each other, the snatches of conversation hard to follow. Forcing gritty eyes open and immediately closed again when blades of light stab through the cloudy haze, eventually managing to squint at what appears to be a barn.
"Where are we?"
Zenn's head whips around at the jagged croak that used to be my voice.
He's at my side in an instant, fumbling with the water canteen until he's holding it up to my lips.
I move to reach for it, and the glare on his face is so severe, I bite back my protest and sip more of the cool liquid than I want.
"How are you feeling?" he demands, brow furrowed so tight, I want to reach up and smooth the deep lines from his skin.
"Confused. What happened?"
"The Median happened, you blacked out."
Jeska walks past, looking almost friendly. Am I hallucinating, or did she really just smile at me? What is going on? "Oh, shit, sorry." I try to push myself up from the plush bedroll.
Zenn shakes his head. "Don't, not yet."
"I can't sit up?" I joke.
"You were unconscious for more than two days, so, no." The strain is evident in his tone, mixed with another raw emotion I can't place.
"Two days?" The spluttered words turn into a scratchy cough.
"I'll get you tea." He jumps to his feet, looking pointedly at Hendrix, who flops down into the straw on my other side, like I can't possibly be alone for a minute.
"On it," he quips, turning to give me a weak grin. "Hey, Aly, nice nap?"
I ignore the question, watching Zenn stalk through an open door and crouch next to a fire, where Jeska appears to be cooking.
"Is he angry?" While I am getting used his multitudes, my head spins adjusting to this version of him, so different from the man I shared a tent with last night. Or not last night, I guess.
I turn to look at a sighing Hendrix. "He's… Just go with it, ok? Injuries and unexplained illnesses fuck with his head. Make him feel out of control. And you may have noticed, that's not exactly his comfort zone."
A coarse whisper of a laugh is all I manage before Zenn's back, carrying two mugs, a bowl of something steaming, and…an apple? We haven't had fresh fruit in weeks. How did they get apples? He eyes me warily as he sets everything down, like he's expecting an argument. "You need to eat."
"I do. I will. Can I please sit up first?
" There's no way I'm letting him feed me.
All this fussing is already bad enough when I'd rather just pretend nothing happened.
"Promise I'll finish all of that." I eye the ridiculously full mug of what looks like soup of some kind.
"Even if it tastes awful." I finally coax a reluctant smile from him, and he helps me lean against the wall, handing me a cup of honeyed tea, mint and sage, if the smell is anything to go by.
"This must be why they say Remedies make the worst patients," Hendrix jokes. "You should ask him what he had to do to get those apples. Actually, maybe it's better–" Zenn reaches over to thump his friend’s shoulder. Hendrix yelps and darts out of the room with a stream of profanities.
Taking another swallow of tea before I swap to the broth, I say, "Do you want to fill me in?" When Zenn watches silently until I've drained half the cup, I go with it and don't object, no matter how much I hate being the only one eating.
"Not much to tell. You lost consciousness as we got to the Median. We rode through it as quickly as possible, got here early this morning, and the owners said we could stay for a night. Mostly because Hendrix turned on the charm and distracted them so they didn't ask where we were from."
"Where exactly are we?" I ask, sounding more like myself with every mouthful.
"In a small Triv village just inside the Orz border. We didn't know where the Mycelium access point was. Couldn't risk staying in the dead zone though. I didn't think you'd wake until we got out."
Not knowing what to say, I reach out and squeeze his hand. "And what did Hendrix mean about the food? How is it you have fruit, or soup ingredients, for that matter?"
"It's really not a big deal." He shrugs, picking up the rosy apple and slicing it into precise chunks, giving my abandoned bowl of a stew a pointed look.
Goddess, the man is going to force feed me to death at this rate.
I roll my eyes, placating him with another spoonful. Three more, and I'll beg for mercy.
“This village gets occasional produce drops from the capital, a bit like what you do with Giving Day.
We happen to be here a few days after their last one.
Apparently, game has been scarce unless they're willing to head into the forest, so there hasn't been enough meat, and you know that's not sustainable out here where they have little else.
Jeska and I hunted for them, so they spared what they could to show their appreciation, including these. "
Moving the mostly empty crockery away, he shifts closer and hands me crispy slices of the fruit. "If you say you got coffee too, I might have to kiss you," I joke, attempting to ease the worry still creasing his forehead.
His familiar smirk is reassuring. "That, you can have when I know you can stay on your horse."
"The coffee or the kiss?" He shocks the remnants of the question from me when he dips his head and softly presses his lips to mine. Lingering like maybe he needs to check that I'm real.
"Delicious apple." He grins, pulling away before it can turn into anything more. "I know the leverage I have, and I'm more than willing to use it."
It's impossible not to laugh at his smug arrogance. "Withholding coffee from me will not end well for you."
"Eat properly, and I won't have to. Trust me, your magic will appreciate it, even if you don't."
Now that we're close, I'm anxious to get into Orz and look for my sister, so I'm relieved when we manage to convince Zenn to continue instead of spending the night in the barn.
Delaying made no sense when we'll have two days of nothing but sitting around resting once we locate the Mycelium entrance.
The relief is lessened when Aven fills me in on snippets from the journey through the Median.
"How the hell did I even manage to stay on all that way?"
"You didn't."
"Oh gods, please don't tell me I fell? I did, didn't I? How embarrassing."
Aven chuffs, sounding annoyed and amused. "That you think I would let you fall has me questioning your intelligence. Neither would that Commander of yours, apparently. Turned me into a glorified pack mule."
"What does that mean?" I ask, pulling the prism out of my jacket as we approach the area I think is about right, based on the map I tried to memorize a few days ago.
"It means I carried your bags, he carried you."
"For two whole days?" I demand, trying not to scream internally at the thought. "Kill me now."
"How did you think you got here? Besides, you certainly looked happy enough, curled up in his arms."
"Ok, I changed my mind. I don't want to know," I hiss, burying my face in my hands, as if I can press the humiliation back under my skin.
Thankfully, we've reached the edge of the grassy plain, bordered by towering oaks.
I signal to the others, and we slow to a walk.
"This should be it. One of those trees."
I drop to the ground and start searching for the diamond chip mushrooms marking the path, grateful the network seems to rely on an intelligence all its own, since I don't dare go near Varistia’s magic yet.
Once I find the mushrooms, the prism refracts the golden sunlight, and the path is illuminated before us.
Each time, it becomes quicker and easier to find the way and gain access to the entrance via the star in the trunk.
And each time, nobody pays attention to what I'm doing until the panel opens.
Then, they're clustering around, investigating the next leg of our journey.
This entrance is different to the last few, with a steep slope going deep underground and space high enough to accommodate the horses.
When Jeska reaches in and activates the first slab, the grinding sounds of the system coming to life make the horses back away, unimpressed.
The gathering speed as they move along the steel tracks has my heart rate picking up too.
Thankfully, once we're on and settled, it doesn't feel as fast. Even with the vast quantity of earth pressing in on us from all sides, it still feels spacious enough, since these sheets of stone are much bigger than the ones we used to get off the mountain.
The time passes in a blur of catching up on much-needed sleep and planning for when we arrive. The temperature climbs with every hour we get closer to the city of Sirro, in the heart of Orz, until jackets are shed and shoved into packs.
"Getting clothing and supplies will be our first priority," Zenn points out as the platform slows.
"This is not exactly an official visit, so we can't go scouting around the city in Zelindyr leathers.
All it will take is for one wrong person to take notice of us, and the rumors will get back to the castle"
"How are we getting new clothes without being noticed?" Hendrix asks, frowning in confusion.
Zenn looks at me. "There's a big market in one of the city squares. You still have your old clothes, right? You ok to go shopping? With me lurking in the shadows." He flashes a quick smile, and I nod.
There's no panel or tree at this end. The walkway just opens up into an underground chamber with a wooden trapdoor barely wide enough for the Amplifiers to squeeze through.
It seems to be early afternoon, judging by the position of the sun.
We duck behind giant reddish-brown boulders for privacy while we see to our needs and get dressed.