Page 118 of Tiger's Voyage

“Don’t look at it. I think it will heal fine but, like I said, it will need stitches. I need to get Grandfather for that.” She had the Scarf bandage me again. “Will you be alright for a minute?”

I nodded and leaned back on the wooden bench, closing my eyes. I imagined I could feel the venom of the kraken in my veins. My nerves prickled like I had little fire ants under my skin. I was tired. I nodded off then jerked awake at a noise. Fanindra approached me.

“Are you going to bite me? If so, I’m closing my eyes. Make it fast.”

I didn’t hear anything and cracked open one eye. Fanindra had curled up and rested near my foot.

“I must not be dying then, eh? Thanks for keeping me company. Still, what’s a bite of healing between friends? Don’t want to waste your golden venom, I see. Fine. Wake me if I die.”

Kishan returned a moment later, freshly showered, and sat next to me, taking my hand. Soon Ren, Nilima, and Mr. Kadam joined us. Mr. Kadam unzipped a bag and shook a pill into his palm, offering it to me with a bottle of water.

“What is it?”

“An antibiotic.” Mr. Kadam handed the bottle to Kishan. “Make sure she takes one in the morning and one at night for the next ten days.”

Kishan nodded.

“Now let’s see this wound.” Mr. Kadam told the Divine Scarf to remove the bandage and took a look at the cut. I kept my eyes closed this time. “You’re right, Nilima. She’ll need stitches. I didn’t think to bring sutures with us. All we can do at this point is keep it carefully wrapped, clean, keep her on antibiotics, and hope the kraken isn’t poisonous. Kishan, if you would carry her to her bed? She needs her rest.”

“Wait.” Ren stepped forward. “I have an idea.”

He explained what he wanted to do and Mr. Kadam looked at me. “Are you willing to try it, Miss Kelsey?”

I nodded, closed my eyes, and squeezed Kishan’s hand in a death grip as Ren commanded the Divine Scarf to stitch up my wound.

Everyone watched my leg curiously as the Scarf began to work. I gasped at first, feeling the strange pulling sensation on my skin. Kaleidoscope threads sharpened to a tiny point and slipped through the layers of my skin with barely a pinch, then pulled the edges of my skin together and tightened. In less than a minute, it was done. Tiny stitches ran down the side of my leg, making it look as if I was wearing a gothic pair of back-seam pantyhose slightly askew.

Nilima smeared antibiotic cream over the wound and asked the Scarf to bandage me up again. I gave Ren a smile, which probably looked more like a grimace, before Kishan picked me up, carried me to my room, and tucked me into bed. He brought me some aspirin and a glass of water. Obediently, I took my medicine and fell asleep.

Twelve hours later, I woke achy, bruised, and ravenous. Nobody was around, which was nice for a change. I sat up in bed and asked the Divine Scarf to remove my bandages. A ring of greenish-yellow bruises circled my torso and went down one hip, but the cuts had all nicely scabbed over.Hmm … the bruises should still be purple and the cuts morepainful.It hurt but not like it had yesterday.My leg actually looks prettygood too, all things considered.It looked like I’d done a week’s worth of healing in one night. It wasn’t as fast as the boys healed, but it was still impressive.

I decided the first order of business was a shower. Clean, hair washed and conditioned, bandaged, and dressed, I emerged from the bathroom to find Kishan waiting for me. He carefully pulled me into his arms.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he massaged my neck.

“Better. I think my wounds heal quickly here, just not as fast as yours do.”

Kishan brought me a tray with eggs, strawberries, a cinnamon roll, orange juice, aspirin, and an antibiotic. After handing me a fork he sat down next to me and waited for me to finish. Something was bothering him.

“Areyouokay, Kishan?”

He looked at me and gave me a half smile. “Yes. I’m just—”

“Just what?” I scooped up a forkful of fluffy eggs and chewed, knowing he would take his time to answer.

“I’m just … worried.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll recover. In fact, I’m feeling pretty good now.” I smiled.

“No.Worriedis perhaps the wrong word. Sometimes I think …” Kishan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not important now. You need to heal. You don’t need to hear about my petty jealousies.”

“What petty jealousies?” I set the tray to the side and took his hand. “You can tell me.”

He leaned forward and studied my hands. “I think that maybe,” he said with a sigh, “that maybe you’re having regrets. Aboutus, I mean.”

“Regrets?”

“I see how you and Ren look at each other sometimes, and it makes me feel like I’m an outsider. I feel like no matter what I do, I won’t be able to bridge the chasm between us or fix the rift in your heart and find a way to be with you.”