Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 132582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
I smile. “Thanks, Alexi.”
When he leaves the room, Caz fixes his hard blue gaze on mine. He narrows his eyes at me a moment before moving them across the room and standing in front of the arched window with his gloved fingers crossed in front of him.
I wait to see if any of his thoughts will trickle in with mine, but they don’t. His mind is like a vault right now. I feel myself knocking, demanding to be let in, and as if he senses my knocking, he cuts his eyes at me before putting his focus out the window again.
Dick.
Manx enters the room, and I rest my back on the pillows, looking the man over in his white robe. He has a pair of wiry, round glasses on the bridge of his nose that he didn’t have on before, and he approaches the bed, still wearing that kind smile.
“The man you’re traveling with is a rude one, isn’t he?” Manx asks. “He didn’t tell me your name, so forgive me for inquiring.”
I huff a laugh. “It’s Willow. And yes, he’s a very rude man.” I glance at Caz. He’s working that jaw again, like he always does when someone’s talking about him.
“Willow. That’s beautiful. Okay, well I’m just going to take a look here, see what I can do. Mind if I…?”
He points to the rip in my pants, and I nod. “Go ahead.”
Manx turns for a pair of scissors on the desk and cuts the fabric of my pants so he can see the injury better. As he examines it, Alexi walks into the room again with a glass of water. A piece of fruit is floating in it that reminds me of the shape of a blackberry, but it’s not black. It’s green.
“A verdeberry,” he says when he notices me staring at it. “It’ll do you wonders right now. Eases pain and has a very sweet taste. Try it.”
I sip the water, and the juices of the berry leak into that tiny sip. I take a big gulp the second time, then lower the cup, nodding. “Wow, yeah. That’s really good.”
You’ll drink his bloody berry water but won’t eat our blackfruit. Tasteless.
I glance at Caz. He isn’t looking at me. He’s still staring out the window, as if on guard.
If you have so much to say, why don’t you say it out loud?
Caz doesn’t move, but he does let out an agitated breath.
“Can I get you anything, mate?” Alexi asks Caz, and it’s clearly a reluctant ask. Alexi is only being polite.
Caz turns his head, his ice blue eyes locking on Alexi. If his eyes could shoot daggers, they’d be stabbing Alexi a dozen times right now.
Alexi sighs, then looks at me. “Some friend you have there.”
“Not my friend,” I say after another gulp of water.
I feel a cramp in my chest, tight and uncomfortable. And cold? How is it cold? It’s painfully cold—like something is trying to freeze my heart. It lasts only a few seconds before disappearing. Caz’s eyes are on mine when I look up, as if he felt it too.
“Ah, there we go.”
My eyes avert to Manx, who is now holding up a bloody piece of metal in his hand that’s about three inches long.
“Wait. Did you just—”
“Pull this out of your thigh while you weren’t looking? I did, yes.”
“But I—I didn’t even feel it.”
“I used an herb to numb it. Now I’ll clean it up, use my healing elixir, and within six to eight hours, your leg will be as good as new. Won’t even have a scar by the time you’re healed.”
Manx lifts a tiny amber vial up as well as two clusters of cotton. He pulls the dropper syringe out of the vial and drips a few honey-colored drops on the wound, then rubs it around with the cotton ball. I don’t feel a thing as he does it, and it’s incredible. What kind of sorcery is this? Sure, there are numbing and healing agents where I’m from, but none this powerful or fast-acting.
“Did you say six to eight hours?” Caz takes a step toward Manx.
“Yes,” Manx looks over his glasses as he tends to my wound. “She won’t be able to walk until then, I’m afraid. The numbing agent I used is very strong. It makes the whole limb numb. She’ll be dragging it like deadweight if she tries moving it too much before then.”
“Manx, are you serious? We don’t have that much time.”
Manx finishes up then tosses the damp cotton balls in the trash. I gulp down the rest of my sweet water as he stands and faces Caz. “Are you willing to carry her to your next destination?”
“Find me a car or something.”
“You know we don’t allow cars here.”
“Then send for someone to pick us up outside of Whisper Grove. It can’t be that difficult.”