Page 84 of Ravenrose

Knowing he’s so close, I try to get up again—feeling vulnerable on the ground. This time, I almost black out from the pain inside my head. I bring both hands up, putting pressure on my throbbing temples to try to ease the growing pressure in my brain.

Ayer rises from where he sits, then shakes his head as he crouches down beside me. “You never learn, do you?”

I freeze when the back of his hand gently rests against the skin of my forehead, and I stare up at him in shock.

“It’s gone down.”

Gone down? What’s gone down?

He leaves his hand there for several seconds before removing it and rising to his feet, going back over to his log to search for something.

I’m no longer on the road; instead, I’m stretched out on the ground by the fire. Something soft beneath me, a bedroll, along with several thick furs draped over me.

I don’t remember walking out of the road… I watch Ayer with a wary gaze. Did he carry me? Did he drug me again?

“You passed out,” he answers, as if reading my mind. “You were burning up with fever, so I carried you over to the fire.”

“You carried me?” I give a start, and my head pays the price, forcing a wince.

“You were face down in the mud.” He shrugs. “Thought you’d prefer this.”

Like he cares what I prefer... I attempt a scoff, but it comes out as a weak cough instead.

I give up on any more attempts to sit up, laying my head back down on the soft furs underneath me. Gods, I feel awful—like I’m burning alive from the inside.

“You could have left me there.” To die, I don’t say.

“Aye.” Ayer levels me an unreadable look. “I could have.”

I turn my head to face him, meeting his gaze and holding it despite my weakened state.

“Why?”

He releases a breath, finally breaking eye contact—looking away, to the trees.

“You know why.”

“No, I don’t,” I counter, deciding to press the issue.

“I need you alive,” is all he says, still refusing to look at me.

“Why?”

I catch the flash of irritation on his face and a newfound tension in his shoulders. Oh, are questions pertaining to my life and death annoying you, Captain?

“For what?” I press again, catching the way his hands tighten into fists and his jaw ticks.

“It’s not your concern.”

Forgetting all about my head, I try pushing myself up again, anger fueling a burst of adrenaline. “Not my⁠—”

“I didn’t know fae could catch red fever,” he cuts me off, leaning forward on his knees as he gives me his full attention.

My mouth snaps shut.

“Interesting. Don’t you think?” His head tilts predatorily to the side, as though he’s hunting for proof of whatever theories he’s cooked up in his head.

I sniff, allowing my eyes to roll and setting off a new wave of dizziness.