Page 79 of Raven

“You alright?” I asked, stepping closer.

“Yeah, just—” She paused, frowning. “Huh. That’s weird.”

She rolled up her sleeve.

Two puncture marks. Swollen. Already red.

“Sister Jude…” I grabbed her wrist, gently but firmly. “That’s not a twig.”

Her eyes met mine, and I saw the flicker of fear she tried to hide. “Spider?”

“Venomous,” I said grimly. “And we’re still two hours from the pick-up spot.”

“I’m fine,” she said, brushing me off. “Just a little sting—”

And then her knees buckled.

I caught her before she hit the ground.

“Nope.Not doing this today,” I growled. “You are not dying on me in the middle of the damn jungle.”

She blinked up at me, dazed. “Aw. That almost sounded sweet.”

“Shut up,” I said, heart pounding as I checked her pulse. “Faron! We need to move. Now.”

He didn’t ask questions—just jumped into action. He’d seen enough to know. We were in trouble.

I hoisted her onto my back. She didn’t even fight me this time. That alone told me how bad it was.

As we ran, her voice was low in my ear.

“Don’t let them see. The others. Don’t let them worry.”

“You really think I care about what they see right now?”

“I think…” she trailed off. “You’re kinda bossy when you panic.”

“I’m not panicking.”

“You’re definitely panicking.”

I tightened my grip. “You’re going to be fine.”

She sighed, resting her cheek against my shoulder. “You always this charming when you’re scared?”

I didn’t answer.

Because yeah—I was scared.

And I hadn’t been scared like this since my last deployment, when I thought we lost Faron in a cave-in and I couldn’t breathe until I saw him alive.

That’s what this felt like.

Like I couldn’t breathe unless the nun was okay.

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An HourLater

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