Page 42 of The Study of Magic
“Three!”
The weight lifted and Janco yanked him forward. The man was right. Pain blazed and raced through his body, consuming him. Passing out brought sweet relief.
The next time he woke, he was on his back with a blanket over him. Voices buzzed in his ears. Ari and Janco must have gone back to the camp to recruit helpers to lift the branch. With effort, he managed to separate the voices.
“We’ll make camp here. I want this area secured,” the Commander ordered.
Valek groaned. The entire camp had come. At least the Commander was safe.For now.That thought pounded in his head along with the pain. He’d been an idiot and had completely underestimated his opponent. Valek had made more mistakes in these last couple seasons than in the last dozen years. Was it due to falling in love with Yelena? He’d let his emotions free and now they ran wild, compromising his ability to deal with dangerous situations.
He needed to stay focused. But first he needed to sit up. The muscles along his back, shoulders and upper arms ignited with fire. Now he needed to throw up.
After he ejected all the bile in his stomach, a cool hand touched his forehead. Pain battled with nausea for a moment before his guts settled.
“You should lie down. You have a severe concussion,” the person attached to the hand said.
He squinted at her. Cylvia, the squad’s medic, stared calmly back.
“But—”
“Unlike you, everyone’s fine. There wasn’t an attack on the camp.”
“But—”
“We’re keeping vigilant.” She handed him a cup. “Drink this so I can stitch up that gash on your head and examine you.”
Valek raised an eyebrow. Even that small gesture caused his head to ache.
“It’s to help dull the pain. Unless you’d rather?—”
Downing the liquid, he wiped his lips. “I’m not that brave.”
“I’d laugh, but I’m too worried about how many broken bones I’m going to find.”
A sobering thought. Valek sank back onto the bed roll someone—probably Janco—had laid him on. The massive branch remained in place at the base of the tree. Cylvia threaded a needle with sutures. A few feet beyond her, Ari and Janco tried to appear as if they weren’t hovering.
“Shouldn’t you be scouting the route?” he asked them.
“The Commander ordered us to stay here,” Ari said. “Said it was safer for everyone to stay together.”
Good point. “Janco, go walk around camp, see if anything makes you twitchy.”
“Oh. That’s an excellent idea,” Janco said.
Valek glanced at Cylvia. “Maybe my concussion isn’t so severe?”
“Uh huh.”
“Come on, Ari,” Janco said.
“Why do I have to go?”
“Partners stick together no matter what.”
They both looked at Valek.
“You need a partner,” Ari said to Valek. “Rushing off without backup was really stupid. You’re lucky you’re not dead.” They left.
Valek couldn’t argue with him about rushing off. But he had a partner. Too bad she was in Sitia.
