The Prince's Mark

Chapter Thirty Eight

Seeing the wagon eased some of the tension in Tracou's body, but it opened up space in his head for the pain in his ankle to make itself known. It hurt like blazes. When he had fallen, his ankle had bent at a strange angle leading him to crumple. Now his ankle throbbed. Riding didn't help matters—it forced him to hold his leg away from the horse which he could only manage for so long.

Behind him, Tracou felt Mirthal slump forward every so often, only for him to jerk back when their bodies made contact. Now that they had come to a stop, Mirthal sat fully awake. The sun had yet to rise.

"Do you hear anyone coming after us, Pendaer?" Ina asked.

Pendaer frowned. "No."

"They won't send anyone," Sakshi said, getting off of her horse. "Not for a while yet. They have to decide on a way to deal with any other giant animals your dezmek friend creates."

Hearing that made Tracou sit up a little straighter. His creation may have been hollow, but it had served its purpose.

Ina had gotten off of her horse as well. She approached Tracou's. "We're safe for now, but Tracou's hurt. Mirthal, I'll help you off the horse and then you'll help Tracou."

"Oh! All right."

"Ina! You have to address him as Prince Mirthal," Pendaer said through gritted teeth.

"No, she doesn't."

Sakshi froze. "Prince Mirthal?"

Pendaer grumbled harshly in Elvish, but Mirthal didn't bat an eyelash at either reaction.

It took some effort on Mirthal's part to get off of the horse safely, even with Ina's help. Tracou watched him, tense. He looked exhausted at best.

Mirthal brushed himself off once on the ground and let out a short sigh. Then he stood up straight, determined.

"Tracou, can you sit sideways on the horse? You can slide down a little and I'll grab you and carry you to the wagon."

"You don't need to carry me," Tracou protested, swinging his left leg over the horse so he could do as Mirthal suggested.

Holding out his arms to Tracou, Mirthal smiled. "It's the least I can do."

Carefully, Tracou moved towards Mirthal enough for the elf to grab him. Mirthal really must have been tired because Tracou and Mirthal's arms lurched downward before he caught himself and heaved Tracou up. The near drop made Tracou shriek in terror and cling to Mirthal.

"Don't drop me, please don't drop me!"

"I won't, I promise."

Had the wagon been any farther away, though, Mirthal would have broken his promise.

Mirthal set Tracou down in the back of the wagon. Ina moved to stand beside him.

"Did you break something?" she asked.

"I don't know... It hurts a lot."

Ina turned to Sakshi. "Hey, um... ma'am."

"My name is Sakshi," she said, glaring at Ina.

"Okay, Sakshi. Do you know anything about, you know... healing people?"

"No."

Ina sighed. "Tracou, can you use magic to fix it?"

"Not on myself... it's difficult to handle the feeling of magic inside your body like that and direct it properly at the same time. I might make it worse."

This could be bad. If his ankle was broken and left unset by another dezmek, Tracou might end up with a limp for the rest of his life. It wouldn't interfere with his life back in Ergakan, not in a significant way, but he didn't want to walk with a limp. Tracou grimaced down at his leg.