Page 44 of Blood of the Fallen
Kall pressed his forehead to mine and said, “Soon, Sheela. Soon.” Interlacing his fingers with mine, he pulled me toward the camp. “Let’s go see how we can help.”
CHAPTER 17
IhelpedIlafetchremedies and clean strips of cloth for bandages. Bethel used her magic to heal the worst of the newcomers’ injuries while Ila applied salves and prescribed herbs for headaches and nerves.
The rest of the day passed tensely, everyone moving around the camp as if on tiptoe. A tent was assigned to the displaced pack members, and after being attended, they disappeared through the flap and weren’t seen again. At some point, Chieftess Yura went in and stayed there for a long time. When she came out, she wore a stern expression that got the mood around the camp even gloomier than it already was.
At the end of the day, I took the wooden bowl with my dinner into the tent Ila and I shared. She was already there, tending to the small fire in the center, while Bethel watched her work with a faraway expression.
Ila finished as I sat, then she took her place across from me. She held a clay mug in her hands, steam rising from it. The tent felt cramped, packed with all our worries.
“I can’t believe it,” Ila said with a sigh.
Bethel wrung her hands together. Energy seemed to sizzle all around her, making her look as if she was about to sprint into the forest.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Their camp was close to my coven’s.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” I felt insensitive for having asked.
“I should’ve heard from them already,” she said.
I had no idea what she meant. Her coven was many miles away. But I didn’t want to sound stupid again, so I didn’t ask how she would be able to hear from them at such a distance. Maybe there was a spell I didn’t know about.
“Mother had a long talk with the survivors,” Ila said. “They didn’t know about any other attacks on anyone else.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.” Bethel pulled at her hair. “I can’t just sit here, waiting. I have to go back.”
“We can’t interrupt the trials,” Ila said. “The triad needs an alpha to be complete, to be as powerful as it can be, especially now.”
“I’ll go by myself.”
“Bethel, you can’t. It wouldn’t be safe.”
“I know how to defend myself.”
Ila looked at a loss. “Your mother wouldn’t want you to do that. Besides, she charged Mother with your safety.”
“What wouldyoudo? I’m sure you would go to your family.”
Ila lowered her head, an admission that Bethel was right. Ila wouldn’t stay put, waiting to see what would happen. She would go in search of her family and her pack to help in any way she could, the way she’d gone after me when Val took me.
She cleared her throat. “All right, we need to talk to my mother, then. I’m sure she can come up with a solution.”
“If she decides that I need to stay here,” Bethel warned, “I don’t think I’ll be able to obey her. She may be this pack’s alpha and leader, but I don’t have to do what she says.”
“I understand,” Ila said. “And I don’t think she will try to stop you, but maybe she can come up with a solution, a way to help you.”
Bethel nodded her acceptance, and I had to admire her strength and control. The day Tello had died, I hadn’t been able to control myself very well. Val had to hold me back because I was ready to fight the bastards that killed our friend.
For the first time, I wondered if the Mesickek pack’s tetrad was the one that attacked us that night. Had they been the ones to kill Tello? I didn’t exactly know how to feel about that. He had been my friend and hadn’t deserved to die. That day, I swore I would make the packs pay for his death, but only because I hadn’t known who the real culprits were. Now, I did, so it seemed I should feel nothing but sadness for their loss.
Ila stretched to her full height. “Let’s go talk to her now.”
Bethel stood next, and I followed, setting my food aside. I’d barely touched it, and now my appetite was gone. We ducked out of the tent and on our way we ran into Kall, Maki, and Novuk.
“Where are you going?” Kall asked.
