Page 55 of Warrior of the Wild
“You’ll heal faster this way. Don’t you want to be on your way?”
He couldn’t have said anything that would cause me to take the bed faster. I manage to lower myself to my knees and then flop onto my back. The impact sends a gasp of pain through my lips.
“You’re not one to ask for help,” Soren notes.
“You’ve just now realized this?”
A small smile brushes his lips.
“What was all that about back there?” I ask, jerking my thumb toward the window. I pull a blanket over my naked abdomen. It’s not like both boys haven’t gotten a good look at my bare midriff, but I feel more comfortable covered.
“All what?”
“The arguing. Iric’s strange behavior.”
“Iric has opinions.”
“Many people do,” I say.
“Sometimes he gets caught up in his own problems instead of thinking of others.”
“And I’m one of those problems?”
“You’re not a problem. It’s just that, well, you’re a girl.”
“Noticed, did you?” A ball of irritation forms in my gut. “And Iric doesn’t think a girl should be a warrior, is that it?”
“What? No! That’s not it at all.”
“You’re not explaining very well, then.”
“I just don’t think you’ll like the answer.”
“Tell me anyway.”
Soren sits on the other mattress and laces his fingers together in his lap. “All right, let me explain it this way. Iric has already mentioned Aros.”
“His man back home.”
“Yes. He hasn’t seen him in a year, but they still exchange letters. Aros leaves him one every time he goes out with the hunting party. I’ve tried to tell Iric he needs to end it. He’s banished, and he’ll never see Aros again. Dragging it out like this will only cause him more pain.”
“I fail to see how this has anything to do with me.” I do feel sorry for Iric, though.
“It’s only ever been the two of us out here, but now a girl has joined us in the wild. Iric thinks that because you’re the only option for me and I’m the only option for you that we’ll end up… together. We’ll get together, and he’ll still be alone.”
Huh. That, I didn’t expect.
Maybe I would feel some sympathy if I had any faith in real relationships, but I’m certain they don’t exist.
I say, “You’re assuming I like boys.”
This finally brings his eyes back to mine. “Do you?”
I don’t know the answer to that. In one way, it’s simple: I am attracted to men. That is what Soren is asking. But right now, with my broken heart and trust, I don’t see how I could like another boy ever again.
So I say, “I did.”
After a beat of silence, I add, “It’s a ridiculous notion.”
