hissed as she audibly took a sudden breath. “That’s bad!”
“It won’t kill me,” said Will, trying not to wince as his ribs screamed at him with each step toward her. “Let me examine your head. That could really be serious.”
Selene stopped him with just her eyes. “I’ve got a lump and a cut, but my skull is fine. You’re obviously in worse shape.”
He lowered his eyes to her torso, indicating where the quarrels had struck her. “What about…?”
Her expression took on a faint look of mirth, as though she was considering a joke, but she restrained herself and answered soberly, “Mild bruises where they hit me. Nothing to worry about.”
Will chuckled, then looked away as if bored. “Actually, I meant your breasts. Who cares about a few bruises?” he announced sarcastically.
Selene laughed and took the last step to close the gap between them. “You’re incorrigible. Even when I take the high road, you have to drag me into the gutter.” There was a smile in her voice. Then she put her arms around him and squeezed.
Blinding agony shot through him, followed by a red haze. When it cleared, Will found himself staring up at her. She had somehow gotten him to the ground. “My ribs are a little tender,” he explained.
“You don’t say?” Selene exclaimed, her tone betraying a hint of fear. “Next time, tell me that first! Where are the regeneration potions?”
“It’s just a few cracked ribs. They’re too valuable to waste. You should use one for your head, though. Sometimes even seemingly innocuous head injuries can turn fatal hours or days later,” he told her.
She covered her face with one hand, then took a deep breath. “Your shoulder is a nightmare. You need one for that alone. I’ll be fine.”
Will debated internally for a moment, though he knew she was right. In fact, he’d planned to take a regeneration potion already, but he worried that Selene might refuse one for herself. So, he employed the oldest and most effective tactic for resolving marital conflicts, extortion. “Only if you take one as well.”
Selene glared at him incredulously. “Is that my best option? What’s the alternative, we die together?”
He winked. “I’ll die first, and you’ll be stuck here, the grieving widow, and nobody wants that. You’re pretty ugly when you cry.” He summoned two regeneration potions from the limnthal.
She grimaced at the sight, remembering the taste. “There could be more assassins out there. One of us should stay alert. The potion might knock us out.”
“I wasn’t hurt that badly,” he returned. “And if your head wound is so simple then you weren’t either.”
She snatched the potion from his hand and downed it before she could lose her nerve, though she still gagged after she swallowed. “Oh. That’s vile.” Will followed suit and did his best to hide his own reaction, though he didn’t succeed entirely.
Worse than the taste was the itching and burning that followed as his wounds began rapidly healing. His ribs came together, producing a series of sharp pains that made him gasp, but after that a warm, syrupy sensation washed over him. The worst was past, and his body was beginning to insist on rest. Since he was already lying down, it was hard to resist.
Selene’s face loomed above his as he struggled to keep his eyelids open. “Told you so. You were so badly hurt you can hardly stay awake now.”
“Nuh uh.”
“Your eyes are crossing. Take a nap, I’ll keep an eye out.” He followed her advice and was asleep almost before she finished her sentence. It was a peaceful rest, at least in the beginning, but after a while he began to notice a variety of odd pains, particularly in his shoulder.
Something caused his head to jog up and down, so he opened his eyes and found himself looking at the side of Selene’s head. Confused, he took a moment to register the information the rest of his body was providing, and eventually everything sorted itself out. He was being carried piggyback, and given it was Selene doing it, he couldn’t help but be impressed.
She had a healthy frame for a woman, but she was barely more than half his weight. Somehow, she had tied his arms together in front of her, leaving her hands free to clasp his thighs and keep him from sliding down her back. Without anyone else’s assistance, it must have been a near-herculean feat to get in him to that position and then stand up.
“This is getting to be a