A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Chapter Twenty-Six

When I woke up, I was in a bright tent. The canvas turned the sunlight slightly blue, which tricked my mind into thinking it was a little cooler.

No, the damp blankets draped over my entire body were making me feel cooler, not the colour of the light.

I pushed myself upright, leaning heavily on my left arm, and looked around. Tannix's tent was relatively bare. A few carpets lined the ground to give the tent a floor. In the middle of the space, two boxes were pressed together to create a table. More boxes were neatly stacked in a few places along the sides of the tent. Between the stacks there were five mattresses and blankets. I counted them twice before realizing that the knights would never all be asleep at once, so they didn't need to each have a bed.

When the tent door shook, I turned to it eagerly, expecting Tannix. Instead, a young Zian man I almost recognized stepped into the tent. He looked surprised to see me sitting up and immediately came over to kneel beside me.

"How are you feeling?"

He was wearing circular, wooden frames in front of his eyes, connected by a piece that balanced on his nose. Each frame held a glass disk. I tilted my head.

"Are you wearing spyglasses?"

"Spyglasses?" He opened the wooden box that was sitting beside my bed and pulled out a drawer. "I've heard that you're smart. Do you still have a headache? That could explain it." He plucked a small bottle from the drawer and pulled the cork. He touched my forehead briefly, tutted to himself, then held up the bottle. "Open your mouth."

I shied away from him. "Is that morkartice?" Of course it wasn't, I knew that, but my thoughts still felt fuzzy.

"Bloomshade? Lord West Draulin would drag me into the middle of camp and behead me himself if I gave you bloomshade," he said. "No, it's just a mixture of herbs that will settle your stomach, so you can have some water and food."

I held out my hand. After a pause and a sigh, he let me take the bottle. "Ignore the taste and swallow all of it."

I lifted the vial to my lips. It was a good thing I had never been a picky eater, because as soon as the medicine touched my tongue, I wanted to spit it out. It was bitter and salty and somehow sweet all at once. I forced myself to swallow every drop and gave the bottle back to him.

He put it back in the box, closed up the drawers, and handed me a flask of water. To my complete shock and delight, the flask was cool to the touch.

"Drink it slowly." The physician got to his feet. "I believe Lord West Draulin sent someone to get food. I'll tell your guards that you're awake."

The chilled water felt amazing in my dry mouth. After two gulps I replaced the flask's lid, forcing myself to slow down and take a break. The physician was already reaching for the door flap when I had a sudden jolt of clarity.

"Wait," I called after him. "Do you know if they found Castin and Kovin? The, um, the—" It felt like I was fighting with my own mind.

"Yes," he said. "The Navirian patrol dropped them off not long after you arrived. They're both dehydrated and malnourished. Castin's injuries will heal and his sunstroke wasn't nearly as bad as yours. Kovin is unconscious. We've done what we can for his injuries. If it's just exhaustion and sunstroke he should wake up on his own, if not... well, we've done what we can for his injuries. As I said."

"Can I see them?"

He seemed to consider, then shook his head. "Not now. You're still quite hot. You need to let your body rest and cool down. I'm sure Lord West Draulin will allow you to visit the medic's tent once you have recovered more. Is that all? I have other patients I need to check on."