Dragon Tamer

Chapter 16

I peered over to Dad, who was standing by the fire, his back to me, unsure if I should say something to ease his mind, then, deciding against it, hurried out the door to catch up with my brothers. The short jog jarred my ribs, and I winced once I'd caught up to them. That manticore paw had gotten my side pretty good, and now I was starting to feel my stabbing companion with every step.

"You all right?" Camden's voice startled me, and I nearly elbowed his face, only just stopping myself at the last second. Casper and Tallinn peered over their shoulders to him, equally surprised that he'd joined us, then turned their gazes forward again, deciding there was no harm.

"I'm fine," I muttered, surreptitiously slipping my arm under my jacket to support my ribs while I walked. Every breath seemed to hurt more than the last. "You didn't have to come. The house is warmer."

He shrugged. "I just want to make sure you're properly taken care of, that's all."

I withheld a snort. "Far more people need to be taken care of than me."

Looking around, it would take over a month to fix the broken fences, ruined lawns, collapsed roofs, or to rebuild the few houses that had been burned down. That was just the state of the town. The people would be in far worse condition. I was low on the list of priorities. Burn victims needed to be tended to, anyone who was unfortunate to meet the jaws or claws of a manticore would have to be stitched up immediately. A few cracked ribs weren't going to kill me.

As I suspected, as we neared the healing hut, there was a lineup of people outside, waiting to be looked at. Giles was at Amelia's side while she wandered up and down the line, looking for anyone who needed the most immediate attention. He barked at anyone who complained to her that she wasn't doing a good enough job.

"We only have so many healers," he snapped at one old lady who held her grandchild in her lap while her son's face was damp with blood. Amelia had told the man he had to wait. "The dying get priority." He slipped his arm around her waist and herded down the line for the next patient.

It was strange seeing him so protective, glaring at anyone who even thought about speaking against Amelia. It was a glare everyone in this town avoided: the Dricino Glare. It was a look that could tame the most furious of dragons, and definitely any sizzling human. Giles usually reserved it for people who talked smack about our family. He saw us and nodded to Casper then went back to glaring at the unruly line.

Casper ordered us to sit on the low wall fence everyone else was leaning on while they waited their turn to be seen by a healer. I winced doing so, hoping it wasn't too noticeable to my brothers. The uneven surface of the stone wall wasn't helping my rib situation much, but I spotted people down the line who needed to be looked at before me and I didn't want my brothers to throw any fits for my well being.

Camden's eyes narrowed on me; they were a dark green, despite all the torches lit around the healing hut to aid the healers. The inside glowed the brilliant white light of enchanted stones to give the healers the best lighting no matter the time of day.

"What?" I demanded. He kept looking at me like he was expecting me to keel over at any minute and only he was fast enough to catch me. Well, whatever fantasy he had about a woman swooning in his arms, I was not about to be a part of it. I could hold my own just fine.

"You don't look good," was all he responded with, his tone flat.

At that, Casper stepped around Tallinn's outstretched legs and bent over me to look at my eyes properly. I would have swatted his stupid face away if the movement wouldn't make me wince and alert them of my pain. "He's right." He seemed surprised, and then he was concerned. "You're pale, Kali. Did you get hit by the stinger?"