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He looked away. I wasn’t going to win any awards for my bedside manner, but most of my patients didn’t insist on flying moments after regaining the use of their bodies.

Joseph returned with a red first-aid kit, a blanket and two bottles of water. He was breathing heavily and had mud halfway up his trousers.

“Anything else?”

“Not for now. Thank you.”

I took one bottle and held it towards Sten. “Would you like some water?”

He stared at it suspiciously.

“It’s just water.”

“I know what water is.”

“Then this should be easy.”

His gaze met mine before moving to the bottle. “Yes.”

I removed the cap and passed it to him without touching his fingers. He emptied half of it in one go.

While he drank, I opened the first-aid kit. It was well stocked for minor human injuries and completely useless for a giant alien wing.

Pam returned. “Cairn is on his way. He says to keep Sten close to Robyn.”

“I think we worked that out,” I said. “Did he say how close?”

“He doesn’t know. It was different for him and Georgie.”

Sten handed the bottle back to me. His fingers brushed mine. A small shock ran through my hand, warm rather than painful.

I pretended not to notice.

“I need to support your wing,” I said. “The joint might be dislocated or you could have torn something. I can’t tell without a scan.”

“The last time I was awake, your kind was still travelling in wooden ships. Now you have scanners?”

“Nothing as advanced as what you might be used to,” Pam said. “After seeing the technology of other species like the Albyans and Vikingar, I think we’re still stuck in the intergalactic stone age.”

The idea that an X-ray or a CT scan counted as ancient technology was almost insulting.

Unfortunately, we did not even have access to one here.

“For now, I can stop the wing moving and hopefully reduce the pain.”

Sten met my gaze. There was no doubt or fear. “Do it.”

I waited.

His jaw tightened. “You may touch my wing.”

“Thank you.”

Sten pushed himself upright before I could offer to help. His face tightened with the effort, but he managed to sit. His left wing dragged across the wet grass behind him.

I joined several elastic bandages together. They weren’t designed for anything this size, but I could wrap them around his chest and keep the injured wing from moving too much.

“Try to fold it against your back.”