Bonds of Light and Fire

74. Plans and Speculations

    Luciana held the bucket close to her chest, bracing it against her knees to keep it steady. The scent of sweat reached her nose, but she tried to ignore it. She was already struggling not to throw up again. Vaughan sat behind her, gently pulling her hair back into a braid.

    He'd said nothing when she shoved past him during a conversation with Rowan. He'd just followed her to the tent and snarled at everyone who stared at them when Luciana doubled over to vomit before they reached it. Luciana half closed her eyes, trying to draw deep breaths.

    "You should drink something," Vaughan murmured, letting her braid fall between her shoulder blades. A waterskin appeared beside her arm.

    Luciana took it wordlessly and let some water fall into her mouth. She swished it around and spit it out on the dirt floor of the tent. Luciana scuffed more dirt over the mud, then took an actual drink. Muffled sniffs came from outside the tent, where Brin was pacing back and forth.

    The dog had been growing more agitated every day. She constantly followed Luciana and was always getting underfoot. Brin kept sniffing around her, as though Luciana smelled odd. She growled at everyone who approached her, sometimes even Vaughan. Luciana didn't know what was wrong with her.

    She didn't know what was wrong with herself either. Several days had passed since they reached Orynth. No one else was struggling with headaches and nausea as an after effect of the explosions. She wasn't sick. She felt fine, other than her new lack of energy, recurring headaches, and the nausea that had her throwing up everything as soon as she ate it.

    Only one other explanation had come to mind, and it wasn't something Luciana could consider right now. Vaughan was still recovering from almost dying. They were making preparations to face her father. The western side of Orynth was under attack. Kyllian was preparing to take some of their troops over to help Aedion. The last thing they needed to worry about was...this.

    Luciana rested her forehead against the lip of the bucket and tucked wisps of stray hair behind her ears. "Ready to go back out?" Vaughan asked. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her neck.

    "Give me another minute," Luciana whispered. She closed her eyes, sucking in slow breaths. She sensed Vaughan's gaze and knew there was something he wanted to say. She waited for the words to come, but they didn't. Finally, she couldn't bear the silence. "What is it?" Luciana set the bucket aside.

    "If this continues," Vaughan said, his tone quiet and hesitant, "I think you should see a healer."

    Her heart stumbled. "I'm not sick."

    "I know."

    She lifted her head and met his gaze. Vaughan's obsidian eyes reflected a variety of emotions. The same emotions she'd felt emanating from the Mating Bond every day since he woke up. Luciana swallowed hard, searching for a response.

    "This isn't something we can talk about right now," she said. "There's too much going on already."

    "This is something we need to talk about," Vaughan countered. "You can't be running into battle if..."

    "I'm an archer. We don't charge into battle until our arrows are spent."

    "And they inevitably are. You inevitably draw your sword." Vaughan hooked a finger beneath her chin, gently swiping his thumb over her lips. "And as much as I wish I could, I'm not going to be able to shadow you across a battlefield. Something will separate us. Something always does."

    Before Luciana could speak, he continued. "Even if we managed to stay together, it could still end badly. I'd be more worried about you than myself. I'd be looking for threats to you, not to me. The odds of someone catching me off guard would be higher. If they took me down, it would be that much easier for them to get to you."