The Healer and the General

Part 26

As Eric came into earshot of the tent he heard Demi say, "Nobody owes me anything." Gods, how wrong she was. Every kid in camp owed her their lives, and so did many others that she had healed over the years. Eric almost stormed into her tent to tell her just that but decided against it.

Eva noticed him immediately and made an excuse to leave, "I'll go spread the word." When Demi turned to see why she'd left, her eyes connected with Eric's. His mate immediately stilled, making it look like she wasn't breathing. For minutes they just stared at each other, with a million things they had yet to say to each other.

"I know that you have a lot of questions," Demi started. "but try to understand that I'm not ready to answer all of them." Eric didn't know how to respond, so he just nodded. "Alright, go ahead and ask."

"Why did you not tell us where you were going?" The question had been killing him. She could've explained things to them and gotten the cure all the same.

"The parasite was controlled by a southern fae. I didn't know how much time the kids would have until the fae decided to kill them." She responded calmly and confidently. Demi believed that what she'd done was right. Eric could tell that it was the truth, except for not knowing exactly when the parasite would kill the kids. Her voice had slightly wavered on that part, telling him that it was a lie.

"Who was your father?" Eric saw that the question had caught Demi off guard. She hadn't been expecting the conversation to turn to her family.

Demi looked slightly angry when she answered, "He is an evil man, that doesn't matter anymore." Eric still wasn't satisfied with the answer and Demi could tell, "He's a southerner, that holds a considerable amount of power."

"But, who is he?" He prodded. Eric knew not to poke the bear, but he needed to know.

"I'm not telling you his name."

"Fine." Demi had said that she wasn't ready to answer some of his questions, so he wouldn't push. "Why were you cuffed with a metal that drains magic?" As Eric asked, he watched Demi's face carefully. It was clear that she wasn't expecting this question either.

"I don't know." Lie.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not." Demi's tone became defensive. She didn't want to talk about it, so Eric let it go.

"Why did you pass out?" That was another thing that'd been bugging Eric for a while. Demi hadn't gotten sick, it was more like a comma.

"Exhaustion." She replied quickly. She seemed tense but continued, "I was just overworked and stressed from the kids." Eric knew that it was only half of the truth but kept going.

"How'd you escape from the southern fae?"

Demi avoided eye contact with him as she answered, "They were quite incompetent. Left me unchained and unguarded. The first chance I got, I bolted." Again, half-truths but less convincing. "They underestimated me."

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"Well, that was stupid." Demi finally looked into his eyes and smiled. "Are you going to need help here?" Eric's tone turned less serious like they were just talking about the weather.

"Yeah, but Eva was going to see if some older kids and their parents could assist me." Demi stood remembering what she needed to do. Frowning at her mother's entry, she went to work. "Are you worried?"

Eric understood what she was talking about, "A bit. We're outnumbered by a hundred, so there will be losses. But I'm not worried about losing." As he said it, Demi noticed he wasn't talking confidently, which meant he was more than a bit worried, or maybe he just really didn't like the idea of losing anybody. "Do you have everything you need?"