“Wait,” he said, suddenly alarmed. “Am I going to get sick from the toxin and die again?”
“No. We thought we gave you to a Death Lily, but it was really a Peace Lily.” I noticed his queasy expression. “Yes, it was my idea to feed you to the plant. I was acting on pure instinct. And, considering I’m actually talking to you right now, I’m not sorry!”
Flea flashed me his lopsided grin. Unable to resist, I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed.
After a minute, he said, “Uh, Avry. I can’t breathe.”
I let him go and continued with the story, including Ryne’s rescue, but not my own resurrection.
“I knew you’d heal Prince Ryne,” Flea said. He brightened. “And Quain owes me two silvers for winning that bet.”
“He’ll be happy to pay,” I said, laughing.
Thea and Saul had kept quiet during the whole explanation, but now Thea gazed at me with a shrewd look. Uh-oh.
“What’s the real reason you wanted the Peace Lily serum?” Thea asked me.
“I told you, to test if it stops—”
“Are you sure that’s why Prince Ryne wants it?” Thea glanced at Flea.
“What else... Oh.” I understood her insinuation. “Ryne doesn’t know about him.” But he was well aware what the Peace Lily had done for me. Unlike Thea, Saul and Flea.
Was Ryne hoping the serum not only countered Tohon’s dead but brought them back to life?
“It doesn’t matter now,” I said. “The Peace Lilys won’t open for me.” We would have to come up with another way to stop Tohon’s dead.
“Do you think the Peace Lily will bring others back to life?” Thea asked.
“I’ve no idea.”
She stared at the fire. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
Offer them another dead body and see what happened. I shuddered at the image.
“Where’s Kerrick?” Flea asked into the silence.
“In the north,” I said, explaining.
Worry creased his young face. Even gaunt, Flea resembled a typical sixteen-year-old. A few hairs peppered his chin and his light brown hair hung in his eyes. But an old soul met my gaze. He’d grown up on the streets, thieving to survive. Kerrick and the others had all but adopted him.
“Kerrick will be fine,” I said, although I wondered who I was trying to console. Me or Flea? “He’s probably bossing everyone around, driving them crazy.” And before he could ask more questions, I updated him on the whereabouts of the others. “I hope Belen is back by the time we return.” Poppa Bear would be ecstatic to see Flea again. He had suffered the most.
Saul offered to take first watch. I tucked Flea into my bedroll despite his protests, pulling the blanket up to his neck.
“You’ll just have to suffer through an inordinate amount of mothering,” I said. “There’s no help for it. Oh! I almost forgot.” I dug into my pack, removed the three juggling stones and dropped them into his hand. “These are yours.”
He examined them. “But I only found one.”
“Belen kept searching for you. And when he found the others, he carved his name and Kerrick’s into one and the monkeys’ into the other. He gave them to me before I left to rescue Ryne. He called them my keepers.” I smiled at the memory. The stones had traveled far since then. I’d given them to Kerrick to return to Belen to support the ruse that I’d died, and Belen gave them back.
Flea pushed up to one elbow. “And you didn’t grind out Kerrick’s name? Or toss it at his head?”
“It was tempting.”
He studied my expression. “You didn’t scowl when you said Kerrick’s name. Don’t tell me you’re friends now!”
“We’re not friends.” I remembered Kerrick’s intense kiss when he showed me he wanted to be more than friends.
“You’re smiling again. Does that mean...? Are you two...?” Flea couldn’t even say the word. “Don’t tell me.”
“I won’t.”
He groaned. “Now I owe Belen two silvers.” He flopped back onto the bedroll.
I fixed his blankets again, but he didn’t stay put for long. He sat up and juggled the stones.
“They’re evenly balanced,” Flea said.
Snatching one out of the air, I ignored his squawk of outrage and pointed. “Sleep now.” I waggled my fingers. “Or I’ll touch—”
He returned to a reclined position. “That’s not fair.”
“Too bad. So sad.”
Flea’s grin turned into a huge yawn. He piled the rocks next to him. “Avry, why is your name with mine?”
I glanced at Thea; she appeared to be asleep, but I wasn’t going to take the chance. “I’ll tell you later.”
“Promise,” he mumbled, half-asleep.
Smoothing his hair away from his eyes, I promised.
As Flea slept, I kept checking on him, ensuring that he still breathed. Unlike Flea’s, my sleep was restless. Tohon haunted my dreams as his magic poisoned my heart. When Saul woke me for my watch shift, I gladly vacated his bedroll.
Guarding a hidden cave entrance didn’t require much skill. With a bright moon illuminating the forest, I made a few sweeps but found nothing. Then I settled on top of a boulder. I listened as the nocturnal animals shuffled through the underbrush, stalking their prey. The familiar and comforting sounds lulled me into a light doze.