Silver Winds

Chapter 12

“How long?” Astra asked, pushing Rune away from her chest. He had been examining her broken ribs, and she thanked Vossoi, the goddess of deception, that the broken ribs were lower than her breast.

Rune grimaced. “It’ll be at least a week. All I can give you is some midnight crownbeard to keep your sense of pain dulled.” He moved back to the cabinet, rustling through it, and Astra looked around the room.

It was clean, unlike many Illiquan homes. It was clear that the table Astra was sitting on was washed every other day, if not every day. It smelled solely of soap and rain. It smelled . . . sterile.

Rune’s brothers were just waking up, and their morning sounds filtered into Astra’s ears. There was a little shouting, and a lot of rustling. Astra glanced at Rune, who was still rummaging through the various packages of what looked like leaves. Every once in a while he would unwrap one, then mutter about needing to label all of the packages. He finally unwrapped a small one with the same cream colored paper, and smiled. “Ah, here it is,” he said. “Midnight crownbeard. Just the leaves, of course. The stems and flowers are poisonous.”

Astra looked at the black, dried leaves with suspicion in her gaze. She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. “What do they do?”

“They dull your sense of pain, if you take them the right way,” Rune replied, then gasped. He almost dropped the midnight crownbeard, but managed to set it down next to Astra. “Don’t touch these yet, I need to get some water.”

Astra swung her legs back and forth as silence fell around her. Her pain had dulled in the last nineteen hours, but it was still there when she moved. A blonde head and pair of overlarge ears appeared in the doorway. Berg stared at her before stepping into the door’s frame and leaning against the wood. His arms copied hers, and his right leg fell slightly in front of his right. He looked no different than he had the day she met him, about three weeks previous. Well, his face was a bit pinker than she remembered.

“Hello, shortie. I don’t remember you getting here. Why’re you sitting on Mum’s table? Didja catch a little cold?” His tone was mocking, and while Astra’s ears grew warmer until they felt they were boiling, she forced herself to remain in control. She stuffed her anger into her stomach, where it broiled and charred her nerves.

“I broke a few ribs. It’s not a big deal,” Astra insisted, shrugging her shoulders even though it hurt. She breathed less air to compensate. Berg spotted the leaves next to her, and pushed off the wall. He strode over to her and shoved her over to get a better look at the midnight crownbeard.

“Oh, the ol’ crownbeard, eh? You too weak to take a little pain?” He peered at her. She glanced away, staring out into the adjoining room, which happened to house four interesting boys.

“Certainly not,” she replied, “but seeing as training starts tomorrow, it would be ridiculous to expect me to go through it without some sort of painkiller.”

When Volos had first suggested that she go to see Rune, she had vehemently disagreed and continued with her work, though she flinched and gasped with every move. She didn’t like going to see healers, but maybe Rune would be an exception to the rule. By this time she recognized that if she didn’t heal faster, she would have trouble in training.

“Maybe,” Berg commented. “Who knows?” He pushed her in the chest, causing her to gasp in sudden pain. The overlarge ears faded from sight as Berg left the room. She hissed as if trying to alleviate the jabbing, intense pain in her chest. Her arm slithered around her ribcage, caressing it. Anger and pain mingled into a strange sense, but one that did not feel good. Astra glared at a spot on the wall opposite her.