“I won’t tell, I swear it. I just... I saw the way you looked when the boat was gone. Like you thought maybe something had happened to it. Like maybe you wanted something to happen to it.”

She shook her head and pulled Sage into her arms again so she wouldn’t see the fear in Leelo’s eyes. “Of course not. I love Endla. It’s our home.”

Sage sniffed and nodded. “Exactly, Lo. It’s our home. Ours. And nothing is going to change that.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

When Jaren woke the next morning, he was relieved to discover he could feel his left leg again, even if what he felt was excruciating pain. Leelo’s remedies must have helped. He sat up and reached for the waterskin, rinsing out the sour taste in his mouth, and ate a little of the food she’d brought him. The sweater had kept him warm and the Forest hadn’t tried to eat him while he slept. If he did end up having to stay here for a few days, at least he knew he could survive it.

At midday, Leelo arrived at the cottage. He’d dreamed last night that she had come to kill him, slicing his throat from ear to ear while he slept. He’d woken up in a cold sweat, sure Leelo was in the hut with him, but then the door had opened and it was really her, coming to his aid. The dream had felt so real, but he told himself it was just his fever breaking.

Now, though he wanted to trust her, he peered out the small window for a moment after she arrived, to be sure she was alone. It didn’t make sense for her to heal his leg only to kill him, but maybe this was some part of an Endlan honor code: make sure your prey stands a fighting chance before hunting him down, or something.

“Hello,” he said, opening the door for her.

She propped her bow and arrows against the front of the cottage and nodded. It was a warm day, and her hairline was damp with sweat. “You’re alive. Good.”

He barked a laugh, some of the tension leaving his body. “I’m glad you think so. Is everything all right?”

“I came straight from duty. I can’t stay long. Sage thinks I went to visit a friend, but I don’t like lying to her.”

“I understand.”

“How is your leg feeling?” she asked as she scooted inside the cottage next to him. “Better?”