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“We still need one more thing,” I said.
Ryder’s gaze hardened, and he gritted his teeth.
“Just leave him,” he implored. “He’s going to get you killed anyways. I can’t believe you told a fucking human.”
One of the nearby wolves growled in agreement.
It would’ve been the smarter thing to do. I could’ve left him here and righted my wrong with the witches, but the idiot—albeit the brave idiot—had nearly died because of me. I just hoped I could heal him.
“No,” I snapped. “Help me find the sage. It’s the last thing I need.”
“You’re wasting our time,” Ryder argued. “The dark witches could be back with reinforcements at any moment. We need to get into wolf territory—they wouldn’t dare follow us into my father’s jurisdiction. Besides, are you even sure this will work? Your healing magic is shit.”
My nerves coiled like snakes in my stomach. Damn him, but Ryder was right. I’d never had the patience to be any good at healing, but his reminder wasn’t helpful.
“Either help me or get lost,” I barked. “And I’ll have you know I’ve been working on it. I’ve gotten quite good.”
The lie rolled easily off my tongue. My mother had taught me there was nothing more valuable than false confidence in a crisis.
"Darling," she said to me after a particularly grueling and humiliating training session. "No one ever feels like they know what they’re doing, but any half-competent witch doesn’t let anyone see those doubts except for the Goddess herself."
Though it was far from my favorite subject, Mom made sure I had some rudimentary healing skills. She could’ve made sure there was no scar, but I wasn’t concerned about the cowboy’s skin. I just wanted him to live.
He had a sister to go home to.
I grew impatient waiting for the sage. I’d wanted to monitor Walker, but I needed that ingredient now. Determined to find it, I prepared myself to cross the creek. The sage was probably on the dryer side of the valley. Ryder was hot on my heels, until a wolf howled to my left.
“He found it,” Ryder told me.
The wolf ran toward me and dumped the mushy sage in my palm. As I raced back to Walker, I mixed the ingredients on my arm.
“Hang in there, cowboy,” I whispered, then spoke the incantation to activate the ingredients of the salve. My muscles protested. I’d already pushed the boundaries of how much magic I could weave without being overwhelmed by exhaustion. Faced with no other option, I didn’t stop.
Black spots danced in my vision, but the spell hummed with energy. With a silent prayer, I rubbed the salve into the wound.
Thank the Goddess.
The bleeding finally stopped.
Until the tightness in my chest eased, I hadn’t realized how worried I'd been that it wouldn’t stop. Walker groaned and attempted to rise, but I gently pressed him down.
“You can’t break the clot,” I told Walker. “Ryder will help you flip over.”
“Like hell,” Walker mumbled, but he made no further attempts to move.
Ryder rolled his eyes but did as I asked. I was grateful he complied without argument, though his bedside manner left something to be desired. As Ryder roughly flipped the cowboy over, I grimaced at the scrapes and bruises that covered Walker’s face and hands.
“Here,” I scooped some of the salve out my palm and held it to his lips. “Eat this. It’ll make you sleepy, but it will heal you.”
I forced Walker to eat some of the salve. He gagged but forced it down.
“Thanks,” he whispered in a hoarse voice.
“My mom made me eat this when I broke my arm,” I said and smiled. “I thought my tongue would fall off from the taste, but it worked.”
Walker’s eyes fluttered closed. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
“Someone will need to carry him,” I said to Ryder. “The salve will keep him out for at least an hour.”
