Page 23 of Broken Bonds

She nods. “Yep. Can’t put any weight on it. That’s why I couldn’t stand up in the ravine.”

“I see,” I say. “Unfortunately, I’m not certain how to repair this. A broken leg I can handle, but…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Samantha tells me with a sigh. “I have another one that I brought just in case something like this happened.”

“Very prepared, aren’t you?” I tease.

That earns me a full grin at last. “Just like a Boy Scout. My leg is in my room…would you mind…?”

“Of course,” I quickly say. I sidle up next to her and offer her my shoulder. She slings her arm around me and I help her get off the table. When I offer to carry her, she declines and instead puts her weight into me and I help her hobble out of the infirmary and toward the dorms. When we reach her room, I assist her to her bed and set her down. She directs me to the small closet in the corner and I find a long black case inside that I pull out. I take it to her and set it next to her on the mattress.

I stand back and watch as she opens the case and pulls out another prosthetic. It’s not as elaborate looking as her other one. It’s almost like a spare tire – smaller and only meant for temporary use. She removes her broken prosthetic and carefully sets it next to the case. Then, she takes her spare leg and begins to attach it to the hardware implanted into her thigh.

Her eyes suddenly narrow and her jaw tightens. “Okay, you’ve had your turn, now it’s mine. You need to tell me more about this whole phoenix thing. You haven’t answered hardly any of my questions and I believe I’ve been more than patient.”

I release a slow breath. Dang. I’d hoped that I’d be able to avoid this conversation for just a little while longer. Just until I could sort through exactly what I can and cannot tell her. I know I can’t tell her about the mating bond, of the fact that we are bonded ourselves. She wouldn’t trust anything I had to say if she found out that we were linked like that by some invisible force that neither of us can control.

I need to give her something, though. I know what it is I can’t say to her, but now I have to figure out what exactly I can say.

“Alright,” I sigh. “What do you want to know?”

She appears contemplative for a moment, as if sorting through all the questions she has.

At length, she asks, “How is it that you’ve been alive for so long?”

I’m a little surprised that that’s her first question, but I suppose it’s one I can answer without fear of any real consequence.

“Phoenixes have regenerative abilities, just like the myths say,” I explain. “They keep my body from aging or decaying with old age. We’re not exactly immortal but close.”

Her brows shoot up. “Wow. That’s…amazing.”

I manage not to scowl. “It’s not as amazing as you think it is. A bit overrated, truthfully.”

She studies me for several long moments before asking her next question.

“Are you lonely?”

I stiffen, my cheeks heating with embarrassment at how quickly she’s able to pinpoint my greatest vulnerability, but I’m not about to let her know that.

I shrug, feigning nonchalance. “You get used to it.”

From the way she’s studying me, I know she doesn’t believe me.

“What else?” I quickly ask, deciding it’s best to push her away from this topic.

She blinks. “Oh, well, I guess I have a few more questions…”

We spend the next hour going back and forth with her bouncing questions at me and me doing my best to answer them without giving away too many of my kinds’ secrets. It’s not that I don’t trust Samantha, necessarily, but I’m so used to guarding this part of myself from humans that it feels unnatural to be revealing anything to her.

At length, the toll of the day seems to finally set in on her. Her eyelids begin to droop and flutter as she fights to stay awake, and her questions star to trail off into large yawns.

“Samantha, I think you should rest,” I tell her. “We can continue this conversation later.”

For a moment, I think she might protest, but to my relief, she slowly nods.

“You might be right…I am feeling really tired all of the sudden. It might be best for me to get some sleep.”

I try not to let my relief seem too obvious, but I have to admit, I’m pretty drained from all her questions, as well as the craziness of the day.

---