Page 122 of Warrior of the Wild
It’s only by Irrenia insisting she needs to tend to me back at the house, where her supplies are, that Father finally makes the crowds go away.
He’s only too happy to turn their attention onto himself.
Now I sit on Irrenia’s mattress, with an army of ointments staring at me from the shelves in the room. Soren, Iric, and Aros sit on the pillows and furs on the floor of the room, watching. Despite witnessing me kill the god, they insisted they would see me home.
So here we are.
“Are you almost done, Irrenia?” I ask. “I’m ready to sleep in my own bed.”
“Not even close,” she says. “I still have to treat the cuts on your face.”
“They’re barely scratches!”
“You’re my patient, and you will sit through any treatments I deem necessary.”
As I’ve long learned, arguing is pointless. It’s partly an act, anyway. The familiarity of my sister tending to my injuries is a balm tomy homesick heart. I was not lying about my bed, though. I crave it desperately.
“And I thought Rasmira was bossy,” Iric whispers to Soren.
“I heard that,” Irrenia says.
Iric grins before scooting closer to Aros.
“If she decides to smack you, I won’t stop her,” Aros says.
“To think I suffered through monsters only to be done in by Raz’s little sister.”
“I’molder,” Irrenia says.
“But littler.”
Irrenia closes her eyes and draws in a deep breath. “You willingly lived with this person?” she asks.
“I didn’t have much of a choice,” I assure her.
She throws a look over her shoulder toward Soren, who watches her administrations carefully. “I suppose I would have suffered through it, too, if it meant spending more time with the handsome one.”
Soren’s cheeks redden, but Iric speaks before he can say anything. “I’mthe handsome one!”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, he is,” Aros says.
I can’t help it. The bickering is contagious. “No, he’s not.”
Soren rewards me with a perfectly handsome smile.
“Two against two,” Irrenia says. “That means Soren has the tie-breaking vote.”
“He doesn’t get the tie-breaking vote regarding his own looks!” Iric says.
“In that case, your vote doesn’t count, either. So Soren wins.”
Aros eventually calms down Iric’s outrage. Iric doesn’t knowIrrenia enough to know she’s only teasing him, and I’m far too amused by the exchange to make her put a stop to it.
The door opens suddenly, and all talking comes to a halt as my father steps inside.
Inwardly, I groan.
