Everything was pain when Kindra woke. Fuzziness swam through her head like a fish, and her body ached more than it had after the Warrior’s Ceremony. She didn’t remember coming home or falling asleep.

Gar and Petoskey spoke in hushed voices on the other side of the tent, but Kindra couldn’t hear them over the pounding in her head. She tried to push herself up, but groaned and collapsed back onto her cot. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the chest.

“Don’t move,” Gar said and propped her up with Petoskey’s help. He poured hot water into a cup and a whiff of Kaye filled the tent. Kindra reached for the cup, and pain shot through her right arm.

“I said don’t move.” Gar sat next to her and helped her sip the hot tea. The pain began to subside, and the events of the previous day came back to her. Leaving to find Kaye. The fight with Pike. Gar tending her wounds.

The embers in the fire cracked and spit. “Did he complete my mark?”

“No. Your back is the only thing unscathed.”

Then why did it hurt so much? It felt like someone had ripped holes in her flesh. She looked at her wrists, but they, too, appeared undamaged despite the pain. She sighed and closed her eyes. “Are you here to yell at me?” Her throat was raw and her voice cracked.

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“We’re here to take care of you,” Petoskey said. “I’ll yell at you once you’ve recovered.”

She tried to smile, but the broken skin on her chin pulled apart. A warm trickle of blood ran down her neck into her hair. When a damp cloth touched her chin, she opened her good eye to find Gar bent over her to wipe the blood away. His eyes were full of anger and betrayal.

“Why did you lie to me?”

“So you are here to yell at me.”

“No.” He sat back and studied her with a frown. “What you did was dangerous. You could have been killed. Or started a war.”

“Or lived in Fie Obsid with Kaye,” Kindra said.

“They wouldn’t have let you stay.”

She tried to shrug and winced as her shoulder and chest protested. The tea was making her sleepy.

Petoskey put a hand on Gar’s shoulder. “We aren’t here to yell at her. Let her rest.”

“I’m not yelling.” Gar stood and Kindra groaned as the movement shifted the cot and sent another stabbing pain through her chest.

Petoskey took the rag from him. “Why don’t you go home and rest too. I’ll watch her for a bit.”

“But…”

“Go home,” Petoskey ordered.

Gar left and Kindra relaxed. “Thank you. Now are you going to tell me about the plans I’ve spoiled?”

“Now I’m going to let you sleep, because you need that more than any information I can give.” He frowned and it reminded her of her father and how his disapproving frown had always made her feel.

“I’m sorry,” Kindra said. Talking around her cut jaw was awkward, but she had to say something. “I was trying to follow Kaye.”

Petoskey’s frown softened into pity. “I know. Sleep now. If I’m not here when you wake one of the boys will be.”

“Not Gar.”

He nodded. “I’ll send Monk if I can find him.”

She closed her eyes and drifted off to the sound of the coals popping in the hearth.