A Savior's Worth (Book #3)

Chapter Twenty

Henry gazed deeply at a small symbol carved into a nearby tree. It appeared to be some sort of crescent moon with flames around it, and he had no idea what it implicated. Yet he felt relief that it wasn't the symbol of Inferum cantivat.

He distantly listened to the crackling of the fire and fought back the urge to curl up and close his eyes. His knees were resting beneath his chin and his arms were wrapped around his legs. An attempt to cover himself from the bitter breeze that kept getting worse every few hours.

His memory was hazy. He recalled being surrounded by trollbies, being bit by one, Eldon using his barrier, and that was about it. As he examined his hand now, he saw no traces of there ever being a bite, and he knew he hadn't imagined that part.

As Henry glanced over at the still body of his unconscious friend, guilt formed within him. He couldn't return the favor. He couldn't do anything for Eldon except ensure he was kept comfortable and warm until he woke up. He felt he was failing at that, too. The fire had begun to weaken, and he didn't have the energy to get up and search for more wood.

Goddesses, he was useless.

When Henry had awoken after being healed, it was to the harsh sounds of sniffling near his ear. He opened his eyes to find a wolf staring down at him. He'd screamed without meaning to, scaring the animal away. Then, after regaining himself, he noticed his fever had completely gone down. His sickness lingered, but it was at least bearable—for the time being. The second thing he'd noticed was Eldon lying beside him, and he'd nearly screamed again when he saw the trails of dried blood down Eldon's cheeks like tears. A closer examination showed him blood had also seeped out of Eldon's ears.

To say it was horrifying was an overwhelming understatement. Henry wanted to cry, assuming he wouldn't feel a pulse when he reached forward and checked for one. And then he still cried when he did locate a faint beating.

Eldon was alive... and he'd almost died healing Henry.

Henry then cleaned off the blood from Eldon and situated him in a more comfortable position before leaving to search for wood. That had been this morning. Now it was evening, and Eldon still showed no signs of waking up anytime soon. Henry had been checking on him every hour, and he noted how much stronger Eldon's pulse had become. Slowly, he would completely recover from using his magic. Henry merely had to wait until then.

And that's what made him miserable. All he could do was wait. He couldn't do anything to make any of this go faster. He was useless—worthless.

"Just as Victor says," he murmured to himself, bringing his hands to his face. But then he heard a soft groan to his right and he gasped, whipping his head in Eldon's direction.

Eldon lifted himself up into a seated position, slowly blinking his eyes open. Henry eagerly crawled over to sit beside him. Eldon looked exhausted—as if he'd gone days without rest. Yet he fixated on Henry with a light smile.

"Yer alive," he stated.

Henry gawked at him. "Yes," he responded. Perhaps a bit harsher than he'd intended, like a parent scolding their child. "You made certain of that! And you nearly lost your life."

Eldon glared in return. "What was I supposed to do, Henry? You woulda died. You don't got any idea how much it woulda hurt to lose you. I couldn't let that happen."

"And how do you think I would've felt waking up to find you de"—Henry stopped, his eyes watering once again. He'd woken up believing Eldon was dead. He pursed his lips and dropped his gaze to his hands.

"She needs you," he added, softly. "You are the one who needs to stay alive. It does not matter what happens to—"

"Shut it, Henry!" Eldon snapped, his unusually sharp tone taking Henry by surprise.