a series of stone steps sprang up from the pit, creating a floating pathway. “Proceed.”
Tobias hesitated, then hopped from stone to stone before staggering onto the floor. Beau sat along the pit’s edge while Caesar and Neil wrestled beside him, and Tobias nearly tumbled into them as he ambled into the sanctuary. Same tents, same fire pit, same clusters of rank, sweaty men, except they were covered in oozing scratches, and a long, wooden shard jutted from Bjorne’s shoulder.
“Look who’s returned!” Kaleo said. “It’s the blessed one.”
Tobias’s comrades sat in their usual circle, and a head perked up from within the group; he expected it to be Flynn, but instead Orion stood and headed his way.
“Tobias.” He squeezed his shoulder, guiding him toward the others. “Back from your reward, eh? How was it?”
“Fine.” Tobias paused, rethinking his words. “Good. Lovely. What’s with the…hole…?”
Raphael let out a huff. “Don’t ask.”
Tobias pointed at Zander’s bloodied shoulders. “And the scratches?”
“Don’t ask,” Zander mumbled.
“And is there a wooden stake sticking out of Bjorne’s back?”
“Don’t—”
“Ask?”
Orion nodded. “Exactly.”
“I take it the labyrinth was especially unforgiving today.” Tobias’s gaze swept the room. “Did anyone…”
“Die?” Orion shook his head. “Not today. A surprise really, given the idiots in our company.”
A wisp of black darted between the tents. Leila. “Excuse me,” Tobias said.
Weaving past Orion, he dashed between the tents, his heart thumping, excitement building—everything he should’ve felt with Cosima. Leila stood in the distance, digging through her satchel, and he hurried her way.
“Leila.”
She flinched. “Tobias, you’re back.”
“I wanted to speak with you.” He took her arm, guiding her behind a tent, away from prying eyes. “Cosima… She knows you gave me Her blessing.”
“Yes, I imagine She does.”
“But She insisted She wouldn’t tell the Sovereign. Said you were Her sister—that She would never wish to harm you.”
“That sounds like Cosima.”
Tobias leaned in closer. “You need to know, I didn’t tell Her it was you. She just…knew. I don’t know how, but She did.” He lowered his voice. “Believe me when I tell you, I said nothing.”
“I believe you.”
“Good.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “I was worried.”
“Well, your concern is much appreciated.” She opened her satchel, sorting through its contents. “Is that all?”
Tobias faltered. “Pardon?”
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you hurt?” she said. “Did you injure yourself on the way back from your reward? Do you need my assistance in any way?”
“Well, no, I’m fine, I just thought—”
“You thought what?”
He wavered. “You and I, we usually…talk.”
Leila pursed her lips. “Tobias, I’m the Healer. I’m here to heal. Not to give you my undivided attention.”
Tobias went quiet. Leila’s demeanor had changed, hard and barricaded, as if she were facing an enemy.
I’m the enemy.
“Leila, I’m confused. Do you want me to leave you alone?”
She crossed her arms. “If you haven’t anything further to discuss, then yes, I would like that very much, actually.”
A pang shot through his chest. He sheepishly stepped aside. “All right.”
Without a word, she abandoned him and his mangled pride amid the tents, leaving him in stunned silence.
What just happened?
Tobias trudged back to his circle of comrades and sat down between Orion and Enzo, returning with only a fraction of his manhood intact.
“God, look at this one.” Orion laughed, nudging Tobias in the ribs. “He only just arrives from his reward, and already his face is sour.”
Zander chuckled. “Such a romantic. You miss Her?”
Tobias’s eyes flitted across the sanctuary to Leila, who was now yanking the wooden stake from Bjorne’s back. “Something like that.”
Enzo slapped Tobias hard in the gut. “Play game. Let it be distraction.”
“She’ll leave your thoughts in no time,” Zander said.
Doubtful. He turned his attention to the game, or at least tried to, his eyes perpetually flitting between the cards and Leila. It was only days ago he’d catch her gaze all the time, but now she was stoic, dabbing at wounds, sewing gashes, and otherwise ignoring him entirely. He looked away, determined to disregard her just as she had done to him.
“Healer girl!”
Tobias’s gaze darted in her direction. Dammit, he had lost his resolve. Leila stood alongside the pit, tending to Caesar’s scratched back, while Neil and Beau pinched at her like insects.
Zander sighed. “Look at them. Will they ever leave the poor girl alone?”
Neil nuzzled his face into her only for her to elbow him in the gut, and while his allies laughed, Tobias’s blood boiled. “No one’s going to do anything? Again?”
“I think we all know that our little Healer can take care of herself,”