And how can I get to Uruku without hurting more people, even if I did have the right tincture? It will be impossible to sneak around as we’ve been doing, and I’ve already done so much harm!

My spirits fell even further as my tent opened and Dagan appeared at the opening, Rish in his arms. The boy was writhing in agony, his arm oozing, swollen to twice its normal size. The tinctures I’d given him weren’t working. Cleaning the wound wasn’t working. His arm was primed to kill him if I didn’t do something about it.

Do no harm.

But in Rish’s case, the harm was the healing.

“I’m going to go. I’ll be back later, all right?” Nanaea’s eyes filled and she fled the tent, and honestly, it was all I could do not to follow her. Because what I was about to do would probably be the most difficult thing I’d ever done.

Tears ran down my cheeks as I eyeballed the bone saw glittering in the basket near the doorway as if it were a sea monster with rows of sharp teeth. Though it would be horrible, and would require more courage than I probably even had, I’d have to take the arm so I could spare his life.

I met Dagan’s tortured eyes as he kissed Rish’s head softly.

“I’m not ready for this, Kammani,” Dagan said, his voice breaking.

I just nodded because there was nothing else to say.

Dagan paced in front of Rish, who wailed and thrashed on the pallet like an animal caught in a trap. Clenching and unclenching his hands, Dagan stopped and looked at me warily.

It had been half an hour, and the arnica and hemp weren’t even dulling the pain anymore.

“Dagan, I have to do it now. It’s inhumane to wait any longer.”

“I know this is the only way to heal him.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to believe it, but I know it’s true.”

My throat closed around my pain. “I need to fix him, and I need to do it before the infection travels farther than it has. He’s suffering, my love!”

I bent over my healing table and mixed a poppy mixture heavy enough to send him into his dreams through the agony of the surgery and into the night.

At last, Dagan nodded, tears in his eyes. “All right. You can give it to him. I don’t want to let you do this, but…we must. And I can help you.”

My hands shaking, I handed him the vial. “My many thanks,” I whispered. “He needs to drink this.”

His eyes in torment, he walked to his little brother and got on his knees beside the pallet, crooning softly into his ear while Rish wailed. He sat him up and poured the tonic into his mouth, encouraging each swallow until Rish’s eyes grew heavy and eventually his lashes rested on his cheeks. Dagan was the picture of love and support to him, a man worthy of being called an abum one day.