her eyes off her patient, but Will could hear the displeasure in her tone.
“I’ve had a lot going on,” he said weakly.
“Too much to bring your wife to visit between school semesters?”
Ouch. “You’ve met Selene before—”
“And I liked her,” interrupted his mother. “Is she too important to visit now that she has you?”
He tried to process that statement. Was she implying that Selene felt she was more important because she had married him? That would only make sense from a mother’s point of view—no, it had to be the opposite. She thought Selene felt she no longer had to try. Maybe. He wasn’t confident in his translation. Will countered the multilayered question the only way he knew how, with honesty. “I don’t know what that question means exactly, but I have a lot to tell you. The first thing is that I haven’t actually seen Selene but once since we got married.”
Erisa stopped, then slowly turned her head to look at him. “Say that again?”
“She’s being kept hidden away. Even I don’t know where she is.”
“She was kidnapped?”
“No, it’s voluntary, to protect her from her father.”
His mother frowned, but returned to what she was doing. “But you’re safe in the capital? Wouldn’t the king simply arrest you if he was angry at her?”
Will decided to lie a little. “He’s afraid to do anything to me for fear of upsetting his daughter.”
“Yet she has to hide from him? William, you’re not making any sense.”
“It’s really complicated, Mom, and I don’t have a lot of time.”
She glanced at him sharply. “You just got here, and he doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere for a while.”
“I have to use Granddad’s lab again, then I’ll have to leave, whether he’s fit to travel or not. People are depending on me.”
“Sammy will be home in less than an hour,” said his mother. “If you leave without seeing her, she’ll be furious.”
Translation, Mom will also be angry, thought Will.
His mom froze then. “Wait, the laboratory, you don’t mean you’re going back to where the trolls are? You nearly got yourself eaten last time!”
He swallowed. “If I don’t, Tiny might not survive another week, and another friend of mine might lose an eye and half her face.”
Erisa glared at him. “Her? Never mind, what about Tiny? He just left for the capital a couple of weeks ago. What happened?”
Will was mildly surprised by the amount of distress in his mother’s voice. Apparently, she had grown attached to the big warrior while Will was away. “He took a heavy beating for me, Mom. I mean, he actually covered me with his own body.” His throat constricted as he tried to answer. “The armor kept his skin safe, but they bruised him badly, especially his kidneys.”
His mother blanched at that. She knew quite well what that meant. “It might not be that bad, Will. If he drinks a lot of water and rests…”
“It’s that bad, Mom. The head doctor at Wurthaven felt his chances were pretty bad.”
“Isn’t there some other way? If you wait, Sammy can let Eric know. He could probably bring some of his soldier friends to help. You can’t go alone, not again.”
Will shook his head. “More people would only make it worse. Trolls don’t respect men and steel; they fear nothing aside from fire. If I go alone, I can do this. Trust me.”
“You said something similar last time.”
“I didn’t tell you what I was doing last time. Did I?”
Erisa shook her head. “You aren’t improving your case with me.”
“I’m sorry, Mom, but I’m not making a case. I’m doing this whether you approve or not.”
Tears began rolling down her cheeks. “For most mothers, watching their sons grow up brings quite a few tears, but you—I swear to the gods it will kill me. I can’t bear this.” She wiped her face on her sleeve, then added, “Come back, and when you do you’d best say hello to Sammy before you leave, or else you