Braph spent much of that night controlling his temper as each hole dried up within minutes, releasing, perhaps, a teaspoon of sweet, watery liquid. He drilled again, the hole quickly framed by beads of viscous sap. He would fit his tap to direct the flow into his pot, wait, watch, hope, despair and start again. Orin and Orinia both slept. Braph did not. And by the time the first glow of morning brightened the sky, he had collected a couple of tablespoons. He had touched the liquid to his lips earlier in the night, savored the bittersweet blend on the tip of his tongue, but such a tiny amount did nothing as far as delivering power. He was uncertain if ingesting it would achieve anything at all. Aenuk blood only worked when injected; he suspected the same might be true of the sap. Still, he would drink some that day to be sure.

  He drilled another hole, pushed in the spile, lined up his pot, and pressed his hand to the tree, attempting to push magic into it and extrude the sap faster. It flowed slightly faster than its steady drip for several seconds, slowed … ceased.

  Braph gritted his teeth and kept his outburst to a sigh.

  Llew clenched her fist against the burn of the Syakaran knife wound in the pad of her thumb and whisked her other hand from Jonas’s shoulder. No. Her father’s. She’d made that mistake once before. On the run with her pa. Him Aenuk, and yet her Syaenuk draw would drain him dry if she let it. Mustn’t touch. Must wake ready to run in the morning, ready to escape Braph. But that wasn’t quite right, because she hadn’t met Merrid and Ard yet, and Merrid and Ard were dead. Oh, why were they dead? It wasn’t fair! Her heart hurt. Yes. Her heart. Not her hand. Her hand was whole. Her heart was broken.

  Her pa also lay dead and forgotten. Part of Llew’s trail of destruction.

  And this time she was with Jonas, and she could kill him. Or he would simply fade and die in the night if she didn’t check on him. She had to wake. Wake up. The body beside her felt cold. Don’t touch. Wake up!

  Her wrists were bound to a chair, a hand forced to touch, to drain the life of a fellow street urchin. No, this time it was Jonas. Braph laughed. He’d won. He was finally superior to Jonas in every way because he lived, and Jonas was dying. And Llew the conduit, channeling his life into Braph’s crystals. Draining him. Wake—

  Llew’s eyes flew open. She took a moment to gain her bearings. Cocooned in a blanket in Merrid and Ard’s bed. Jonas lay beside her, wrapped in a separate blanket so they wouldn’t accidentally touch in their sleep. Good. That part of her dream couldn’t be true, at least. His back to her, she could neither hear him breathing nor sense his chest moving.

  She sat and reached over him to hold a finger beneath his nostrils. His breath blew warm over her skin in slow, rhythmic waves and she relaxed a little. She pressed her hand to his back to confirm. The blankets also rose and fell in a steady rhythm, no faltering. No signs of weakness there. She lay back. The night was still deep in darkness. Llew tried to force herself to relax over the background anxiety that refused to leave despite her proof that Jonas was alright. What if he deteriorated before she woke again? Could she afford to sleep? Her sleep versus his life. It was hardly a competition.

  Karlani’s chuckle floated through the thick curtain followed by Alvaro’s offended “What?”

  “Nothing. Keep going,” Karlani murmured.

  Llew wished she could’ve slept just a little longer as the quiet sounds of their coupling filled her ears no matter how much she tried to shut it out. Then again, it was better than being trapped in her dreams. At least Karlani and Alvaro were trying to keep quiet. Llew wondered if it was out of courtesy to the others or if Karlani hoped to reserve the right to deny it. It should bring an end to Alvaro’s interest in Llew, at least. She wished them well and silently apologized for her intrusion on their intimacy. But she wouldn’t return to sleep. She thought of Cassidy and her heart ached again that his life had been the price of her lesson. Although, what had she learned? She couldn’t remain awake forever. She sighed too loudly and Karlani shushed Alvaro’s moans of pleasure, her laughter lending a staccato to the admonishment and not diminishing Alvaro’s progress at all.

  Llew rolled over, pressed one ear against Jonas’s back and tried to trap her own blanket between her other ear and shoulder. Let them have their fun. She and Jonas just needed to survive.

  She woke with a start sometime later still snuggled against Jonas with layers of blanket separating them. She smiled at their closeness, then remembered she wasn’t supposed to have slept. Rowan should’ve woken her for her turn on watch, at least. She cursed and pushed up on her elbow. Leaning over, she caught the glint of Jonas’s eye and the hint of a smile.

  “Mornin’.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Normal.” The smile and glint vanished and instead of glancing up at her, his gaze became flat.

  Yes. Llew wished he still had Syakaran strength and speed, too, but he lived, and that really was enough for her. So long as he lived, there was hope.

  “Good.” She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a cuddle, pressing her cheek to his, and trying to encircle him in her arms despite being thwarted by the mattress beneath him. “Mm. Snuggly.”

  Jonas grunted, and there was humor in it, then he rocked his shoulder, and she sat back as he rolled to his back. He spread his arms and pulled her into a proper cuddle, her ear on his chest, she was deeply satisfied to hear the strong heart. If they failed at everything else, this would be enough. Llew had learned to be alone, to trust only herself, but she would fight to keep this.

  The rest of their group began to rouse. Anya took control, directing bedding tidied away and requesting more eggs. Breakfast would be a repeat of the previous night’s dinner, as would every other meal, until they could dedicate time to the garden.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Do you or Elka know bread?” Anya must’ve been addressing Rowan. “I’ve never learned bread. I think there’s a sourdough in the jar in the corner, but I have no idea what to do with it now.”

  “Sure, we’ve made a bread or two over the years.” There was a smile in his voice. “Who’s up for a morning coffee?” He raised his voice for all to hear as he clunked a heavy kettle on the stove.

  Reluctantly, Llew extracted herself from Jonas’s arms. “You’re a good lieutenant.”

  “Aris would disagree.”

  “Aris isn’t here. His opinion counts for nothing.” She clambered from the bed and held out her hands to aid Jonas to its edge. “How does this thing work?” She picked up the prosthetic as Jonas’s toes eased to the floor.

  Jonas took it and lined the cuff up with the rounded end of his thigh, then buckled its straps. “The trousers are still tricky.” Llew slid the right leg of his trousers over the false foot and lower leg, then Jonas took over, slid his left foot in, pulled them up to his thighs. Llew helped him balance as he pulled them up to his waist and buttoned them. Llew helped him with his right boot, too, since the lack of ankle flex made it tricky for Jonas. Again, she left him to do the left. Llew helped him stand until he was balanced with a crutch. Then he hopped forward on this left leg and swung his right leg through, each step taking concentration.

  Llew slipped Jonas’s knife vest on, touching each of the knife handles, ready to face whatever.

  They joined the others at the kitchen table.

  “I’m feeling fine. Thanks for asking.” Karlani glared at Llew.

  “Good,” was all Llew could be bothered saying, and she filled her mouth with egg. While she appreciated she had food to eat, she hoped they could find some new options soon. She liked eggs well enough, but would gladly eat no more for some time. After swallowing that first needed mouthful, Llew met Karlani’s eye again. I am dangerous. “I’d ask you to report if you feel weak or sluggish, but I’ve given you all the blood I plan to give you. If it wasn’t enough …” She shrugged.

  “We need her,” Alvaro said.

  “And I’ve done all I can for her.”

  Braph had been right. Damned it all. Ingesting the syrup from the tree did nothing but leave his tongue and back of his mouth feeling numb. A night’s work, two tablespoons, nothing.

  Well, research wasn’t linear, and he did, after all, have all day. Especially as the Quaven streets grew quiet so Orinia could venture out safely with Orin, ending any complaints about the growing number of holes in the tree, and leaving Braph in blessed peace.

  Elka followed Llew out to the cows, leaving the table in a tense silence.

  Jonas picked at his breakfast, still not wholly pleased at his reduced nutritional needs. He missed his hearty appetite and easy power – a loss even harder to accept with Karlani sat across the table. Karlani, who had played up her victimhood for Llew, now flirted freely with Alvaro. Anya gave the pair frequent side-eyes and moodily shoveled the last of her breakfast into her mouth, then gathered her dishes and Llew’s, placed them on the bench, and headed out to the well carrying the ewer.

  Rowan seemed oblivious to the moods of the others, simply finishing his meal and coffee. As he gathered both his own and Jonas’s dishes, he suggested Jonas bring Hisham’s now cleaned knife vest outside, and helped buckle it while Jonas steadied himself with his crutch out on the porch. The morning sun rose over distant ranges.

  “Ma always reminds her patients of the importance of the mental game when it comes to recovery, or learning how to live with a new disability.” Rowan threaded the final buckle, patted Jonas on the shoulder. “That’s how you’re used to looking, eh? And it’s a connection to your friend. You can do it for him, if the motivation to do it for yourself wanes.”

  Anya arrived back at the house at the same time Karlani and Alvaro headed out.

  “We’ll go play lookout,” Karlani said as she passed.

  “It ain’t a game,” Jonas said.

  “Sure, moody.” She saluted and carried on her way, Alvaro in tow.

  Jonas watched Llew making her way back from the cows and signaled to meet her by a tree. She acknowledged and, along with Elka, adjusted her trajectory.

  “She looks tough.” Rowan offered support for Jonas to step off the porch, which remained a tricky move. He had been right, though. Something about wearing the knife vest helped Jonas find his center and his balance.

  “She is tough.”

  Rowan grabbed the syringes and caught up to Jonas as he reached Llew.

  “You’re fast on those crutches.” Llew greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

  “Get’n the hang of ’em.”

  “Someone’s coming,” Alvaro called from the farm gate.

  Llew drew back from Jonas. “Already? We’re not ready,” she said. “We’re not ready. What do we do?”

  “Whatever happens, you live, Llew. Promise me.” If Turhmos had arrived, Jonas was a dead man. “I’m no good without you.”

  Llew gaped at Jonas, but she had no argument against that simple edict.