Horde (Razorland #3)(115)

Stone carried Fade into Robin’s room; it was small, little more than a nook, but large enough for a narrow bed with a feather mattress. He laid him down and said, “Robin will be fine with us for a few nights. Do you need anything?”

“Some soap and water. Clean bandages.”

As he left, I stripped Fade out of his torn and ragged clothes. He had a number of less serious slashes on his shoulders and chest, none as serious as the wound on his side. My stomach clenched when I thought of Tegan pinching his muscle together and sewing tight, before stitching another layer in his skin. Stone returned with the supplies I’d requested and I washed Fade from head to toe. Mercifully, he was still unconscious.

It never occurred to me that he could die, even when his fever spiked later that night. He sweated and thrashed while I bathed him and plied him with the treatments Tegan had provided. There were special teas and poultices to draw out infection before it deepened. While I tended Fade, others buried the dead, burned the Freak corpses, and cleared the battlefield. I didn’t sleep much; a blanket on the floor beside his bed didn’t offer much comfort, but I had to be close enough to hold his hand. I was convinced as long as I didn’t let go of him, his fever would break and his body would heal. I might’ve been delusional by that point from lack of sleep and food, but there was no budging me. Thimble tried, but I snarled at her, and she backed out of the room.

On the third day, Thimble came to the doorway again. “How is he?”

“Better, I think. Have you heard anything about Morrow?”

“Tegan’s with him at the governor’s place. He nearly died in the night, but she opened one of his wounds and brought him back.”

“Multiple infections?” That explained why she hadn’t checked on us.

She nodded soberly. “Why didn’t you tell us about the battle, Deuce?”


“Because I knew you’d fight. So would Stone. You both feel like you need to make amends with me, and you have Robin to think about, which is more important than guilt.”

“Topside’s been good for you,” she said, smiling. “You’re smarter than you used to be.”

“I understand more how people think now. It doesn’t always make me happy.” I thought of Stalker when I said it, and melancholy twisted my heart.

Fade moaned then and I spooned some water down his throat. Thimble tiptoed out. Fade’s lips were dry and pale, his cheeks flagged with color. Knowing it would hurt him, I changed the dressing on his wound. It was seeping a little as Tegan had warned, but the poultices kept it from swelling up and turning red. I made more of the black goop and smeared it down the stitches; it didn’t look clean or healthy, but she’d promised that was what Doc Tuttle said had saved her life. And after it dried, it smelled horrible, like it was really drawing out the impurities. I washed it off and started all over again with the bandages.

My monthly started the next day, which Momma Oaks had told me meant I wasn’t breeding. That was a relief; and I made a mental note to ask her how to prevent brats when I saw her next. It wasn’t that I was against the idea, but I wanted us to be ready when we had our own. With him so hurt, it sure wasn’t the time.

Five days passed in more or less the same fashion, but that night, his fever broke. And when his eyes opened, they were clear as the night sky; and he knew me. I wasn’t even surprised, just overcome with love and satisfaction, as if my stubbornness had any impact on his health. His beautiful mouth curved into a smile.

“You look awful,” he whispered.

“Then we’re a matched set.”

“My side feels like somebody’s branded me with hot irons.”

“I’m not surprised. A Freak talon opened you up.”

He pushed out a breath, then reached for me. The movement prompted a cry of pain, so I scrambled onto the edge of the bed. “Stop, I’m here. I haven’t left you for a single minute.”

“I remember the battle … and seeing the Gulgur dodging around, slinging stones. They’re not fierce, but they’re annoying. I killed a lot of Freaks who were dumb enough to chase them.”

I nodded, smiling. “They pulled their weight. I wonder if Jengu’s still out there.”

“I hope so.” He winced, probing the stitches with his fingertips, and I stilled them by covering his hand with mine. “After our reinforcements arrived, I got careless. I tried to reach you, but I must’ve blacked out.”

“Gavin found you. I had been looking all day.”

“I owe him, then.” Fade shifted to favor his injured flank and drew me close. I must have smelled awful, but compared with the stuff slathered on his wound, maybe he didn’t notice.

“So do I.”

For the first time in days, I curled up and went to sleep. He improved steadily after that, enough to stay awake for hours at a time, eat on his own, and drink endless cups of herbal tea that Thimble claimed would hasten his recovery and Fade said tasted like weeds. I relaxed enough to take a bath and brush my hair.

“How’s Morrow?” I asked, the first time Tegan came by.

“Healing, slower than Fade.”

The deep shadows under her eyes said she was nursing him with the same care I’d granted Fade, but she probably didn’t realize what that meant yet. I wondered how long it would take for her to figure out that she loved him. She had help from his family, however, whereas I was like a mother bear with a single cub; I’d snarled and threatened to take the hand off anyone who came near my man.