of harm’s way without a second glance while I worked with the army to douse the fire. We had struggled into the night to stomp out the last bits of flame and then moved directly to the abandoned villagers waiting to be helped.
I was exhausted. But we had saved lives.
Arrick interrupted my path, stopping me from reaching my next patient.
“You need to rest,” he said tersely.
I looked him over. His clothes were badly singed. His usually tanned skin had been blackened with soot, dirt, and blood.
“As do you,” I returned.
“There is much work to be done.”
“Yes,” I agreed easily as I tried to walk around him. He stepped in my path again, placing two hands on my shoulders.
“Tess.” He reached up to tug at his hair with a filthy hand. I had started to look for this gesture whenever he was frustrated with me. Arrick was used to men blindly and obediently following his orders. “Sit down. Rest. The work will wait for you.”
“And what will you do?” His eyes moved impatiently to a group of soldiers interrogating villagers coherent enough to give an account of how the fire had started. They’d been moving from person to person, hoping to gather as much information as possible.
“I…” His eyes moved back to mine. “I have matters that need my attention.”
I nodded, “See to them then.” I started to move around him again, but he held me in place with his strong hand curled around my shoulder. “Arrick, go, help those that need you. And I will do the same. We can rest later.”
“You’re not steady on your feet,” he argued. “Your eyes are as red as rubies. Sit. For just a few minutes. Have a drink of water. Get off your feet. Then you may return to your work. There will be plenty waiting.”
I nibbled my bottom lip, tasting the sweat and danger from the previous day that coated my skin. My knees buckled from the weight of his one hand on me and my vision was not as clear as it should be. He was right. I was sinking rapidly. “Sit with me, then,” I countered. “We will have a drink of water and give our feet a small reprieve and then we can both get back to work.”
He didn’t hide his surprise quickly enough. Did he think I was searching for a way to spend time with him?
In truth, I was afraid if I sat down, I wouldn’t be strong enough to stand back up again. I wanted his accountability. I knew he wouldn’t rest for long. When he stood up again, so would I.
“If I rest, you’ll rest?”
“And if you work, I will too.”
He released me. I waited for him to be on his way so I could be on mine. Instead, he surprised me by walking over to a jug of water sitting on a salvaged table. He poured two cups and moved to a wagon.
He looked around for a moment, then handed both of the cups to me. Before I could ask what he was doing, he reached for a discarded stack of bedding that had not yet been ripped to pieces and used for bandages. He grabbed the top blanket and shook it out, setting it on the edge of the wagon. With a satisfied grunt, he gestured for me to sit down.
I looked down at my ruined traveling gown. “I’m more likely to ruin the blanket than the wagon is to ruin me.”
“It was covered in blood,” he explained.
I stared down at my hands. “So am I.” I sat down anyway. I had been handing out water for hours, but I hadn’t had a drink myself in much too long. Bringing the cup to my lips I moaned in relief.
The cool water soothed my parched throat and extinguished some of the flames still burning through me. It even revived me a bit.
“See?” Arrick noted. “You needed to rest.”
I looked out at the clusters of injured and rescued villagers. “It does not matter what I need,” I told him. “It might never matter what I need again.”
Arrick watched me for a long moment. I could feel his gaze absorbing every inch of me, but I couldn’t explain the dangers that lay ahead, the quest I was on to save this realm.
This village was just the start. And even though I hadn’t set out to save anyone other than myself, there was no denying the responsibility that came with my crown.
My uncle had gone astray. He