Page 153 of Phoenix's Fire

"You're one of the least injured," my escort said as we entered the infirmary. "Take a seat over in the back."

"Yeah, I'm good," I assured him.

And I was. My right arm hurt like Hell was burning inside it, but compared toall the rest, I wasn't about to complain. Staying out of everyone else's way, I found a bed in the corner, then sat down. For two days, we'd walked as much as we could, pushing well into the daylight and starting again before it was truly dark.

Thankfully, the Dragons hadn't chased us.

But we hadn't stopped to make camps. We'd merely slept where we'd paused, then started again. Now, my feet were killing me. My entire body hurt from pulling the cart. Worse, this bite on my arm had turned a very concerning shade of red.

And then we waited. After that, we waited some more. Eventually, the first of the women came in: the wives. Mrs. Worthington headed for the man whose leg had been sliced open from the knee down. Another woman was checking Gideon.

I decided to lean back and close my eyes for a moment. This was a bed, after all. And finally, after days of being on the surface, the air was cool again. Clasping my elbow with the opposite hand, I settled in for a very long wait - and maybe even a nap.

The sound of my name startled me awake. "Tobias?" Cool fingers clutched at my hand, making me jerk my eyes open to see Callah looking at me with fear in her eyes.

"Hey," I breathed, trying to sit back up.

She pressed a hand against my chest. "You're hurt."

I nodded. "Just the arm. It's not too bad."

She began working my shirt sleeve higher, so again I tried to sit up, and this time I made it before she stopped me.

"You need to let me treat that!" she snapped.

"I am not stopping you," I assured her, catching her wrist to make her actually stop and look at me. "But you should use the alcohol on it. Clean the punctures well, rinse with ethanol a few times, and then wrap it with gauze to absorb the drainage."

"What?" she whispered.

"If it seeps puss, you will need to rinse daily with the alcohol. I should wash with soap daily, and change the bandage each time."

Her eyes narrowed. "Someone told you how to treat it."

And my lips curled into a smile. "Yeah."

Those pretty green eyes of hers jumped between each of mine, but she didn't dare say the name we were both thinking. Luckily, the people around us were worried about the truly injured, so no one was listening.

"We need to talk," I said softly.

She nodded. "I need to heal you. Then I'll help with the others. That will likely take all night."

"I'd like to walk with you again," I told her.

This time, she was the one smiling. "Mr. Warren, I do have responsibilities." But she caught my eye and nodded.

"I tried to get you something," I grumbled. "I'd planned to find a flower, but we were overrun. Everyone else is dead. The Dragons..."

She glanced around the room. "Everyone else?"

"Yeah. My own partner was killed by the Wyvern."

And those eyes jumped back, but this time her skin paled. "How did you survive?"

"A beast grabbed me and dragged me away. He went for someone else. I had to fight the animal off, but I managed."

"That's what did this?" she asked. "This will hurt."

She poured a clear, cold fluid across my forearm before I had the chance to respond. A split-second after it hit, I forgot about everything but the burning eating through my flesh. A roar came from my mouth, and I tried to jerk away, but Callah pulled my arm back, glaring at me like I was an idiot.