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Voices faded in and out while I remained on the floor locked between blackness and agony. The burn on my back kept my chest tense, and I barely drew enough air to remain conscious.
“There has to be something you can do!”
Henry’s sharp tone cut through the haze keeping me under, and I opened my eyes to a dark, tight space. We were no longer in the clearing by the river. And this definitely wasn’t the cottage. I had no idea where I was or why the air surrounding me was so stale.
A cold chill gripped me, even with my back’s fiery inferno.
I tried to move, but a hand pushed me back down.
“Stay still,” a voice whispered.
It took me a moment to recognize the voice. Ruse was holding my shoulder. The sting in my back roared back to life, like an entire wasp nest had fallen on me. I pressed my lips together against the tortured wail that wanted to escape.
It was only then that I noticed the swaying. I focused on the rough surface under my fingertips and cheek. A familiar squeak caught my attention, and I closed my eyes. I was in the back of the wagon Henry used to get supplies when we needed them.
A yank at my skin pulled the air from my lungs and I groaned.
“Shhh,” Ruse whispered. “You need to be quiet and still in case we cross the queen’s guards.”
If they crossed the army of the dead, we were totally screwed, but I wasn’t going to argue. I wasn’t in any condition to fight. I closed my eyes, letting the darkness drag me back under.
Time melted into shocks of pain from whatever the dwarves were doing. Jolts of agony yanked me from a semi-conscious state, only to fall into the bliss of blackness moments later.
When the cart finally stopped and the tarp that hid us was stripped from the back, a cold breeze caressed my skin, waking me from the stupor I had been in. I inhaled, the cleanness of the air filled my lungs, and wiped the stale taste of death from my mouth.
My head cleared, and I pushed myself onto my hands and knees. Discomfort raked my back like a witch’s claw and I winced. Tensing increased the pain. Clamping my eyes shut, I counted to ten, forcing myself to relax.
Henry was at my side when my eyes opened.
“No matter how I do this, it is going to hurt,” he said and ducked his head under one of my arms.
When he stood and pulled me up with him, my chest locked, and every muscle seized. Before my lungs allowed a breath, Henry scooped me into both of his arms. Just the brush of his skin against my back brought forth the black spots in front of my eyes.
“Breathe,” he said and hopped off the end of the cart.
A strangled cry escaped from my lips. The breath that had been locked in my chest squeezed out in short bursts with every single one of Henry’s steps. The narrow path he carried me down wound through the woods for longer than I could stand. Tears burned my eyes, leaking out of the corners.
He slowed to a stop in a small, covered glen, and the dwarves rushed past him, laying out blankets on the ground.
Henry met my gaze. The creases around his eyes and lips echoed the same worry I saw in his irises. He gently put me down on my side, and he winced more than I did.
He lay down next to me and stared at the thick canopy over our heads. His hand raked down his face, and he turned his head, meeting my gaze.
Domino crept behind me with a tin in his hand. A moment later, coolness drizzled down the length of my back, and the sweet scent of honey drifted around us.
I closed my eyes. The cut on my back must have been bad for Domino to part with his prized honey. He went to great lengths to find excuses not to share his healing salve with anyone unless the situation was dire.
“We will keep watch,” he said and handed Henry the tin. “Keep this, just in case.”
I stared at the tin in Henry’s hand and then turned to watch Domino disappear down the winding path.
“Where are we?” My voice was hoarse and filled with the discomfort racking my body.
“One of my hiding places south of the enchanted forest.”
“South?”
“I can’t exactly take you north.” He raised an eyebrow.
“I could hide in plain sight.” I winked at him and attempted a smile.
The worry lines around his eyes smoothed out and he smiled, but it was fleeting, fading away the second his hand cupped my cheek. “I thought I had lost you.” He fell onto his back and pressed his palms to his eyes.
That was when I noticed the bandage around his hand. Three fingers and his thumb poked out. I couldn’t tell if his pinkie was wrapped under the bloody gauze or not. He followed my gaze and sighed.
“I lost my little finger to whatever poison their blades carried. Domino cut it off before the toxins spread.”
“Poison?” I choked on the word. Fear as feral as the dead soldiers gripped me. My entire back had been sliced by one of their swords.
His solemn eyes met mine. “You need to rest. You have lost a great deal of blood.”
I stared at his bandaged hand and swallowed with a spitless mouth. It felt as if I’d swallowed a mouse whole. “I was struck with one of their swords.”
Henry nodded and rubbed his face. Those worry creases around his lips were back.
“Am I going to die?”
“I don’t think so. They used up every last one of their leeches on your back.” He shivered visibly and met my gaze. “They think they got all the poison.”
The dwarves had a swamp full of leeches for just this type of purpose. They’d had run-ins with the evil queen a time or two, and those leeches had saved their lives.
I had seen the fleshy creatures greedily drink their blood. I had seen them absorb the poison and turn grey. I had seen them writhe on the ground until they shriveled up and died.
The image of the sheer number of blood suckers drinking from that open wound made my stomach roll. I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose, trying to quell the turmoil in my belly.
Henry’s warm palm on my cheek brought my gaze to his. “You were out cold for it all.” He didn’t add the ‘thank the heavens’ that reflected in his eyes. “It wasn’t until Domino started to stitch you up that you stirred.”
I didn’t want to ruin his perception that I was oblivious to the pain. I had been in and out the entire time they worked on me. It explained the sensations of tearing flesh and the excruciating agony when they ripped those poison-filled vessels off.
I trembled, and my teeth chattered. The cold ate away at my skin and filled my bones.
Henry sat up and grabbed one of the blankets, then covered me with the soft fabric. He moved close enough for me to feel his own heat. His lips covered mine in the softest of kisses.
“Rest. We have another long ride tomorrow.”