Finding Elora

Chapter 26

ABBY

Kie immediately gets to work patching up Mace. He rips off his gloves before getting to work, seemingly having no problem touching the other man's bare skin.

I lean against the closest tree, taking a second to rest and catch my breath. It's been a long night, and I'm beyond exhausted. I can't remember the last time I had a good night's rest—it was well before I came here—and my body is paying the price.

If I make it home, I'll never take the comfort of a warm, soft bed for granted again.

Mason's eyes crack open, and he lets out a quiet groan as he looks around. It doesn't seem like he's actually taking in anything, and after a moment, his eyes slip shut once more. Those aren't the actions of a man in good shape.

"Do you need help?" I ask.

I don't actually care to assist, but it'll give me an excellent excuse to get near Kie's backpack. If he has Delysum stashed away, this is my best chance to get my hands on it. Looking back, I wish I'd taken the risk to look through their things when I was in the tree.

I could've sneakily transferred the plant to my bag without them knowing, and it'd be one less thing to do before escaping.

Kie doesn't respond to my offer to help, and I rock back on my heels before stepping closer to the two. Mace's out cold, a pool of blood forming below him. I thought my knees were bad, but this is another level.

If Kie and Mace were concerned with my blood being scented, I can only imagine the threat we're all facing now.

How did Mace manage to go so long without seeking medical help?

He really waited until the last minute to return to Kie, but maybe he wasn't this injured when they initially split ways. Mace was out for hours, and there's a good chance he ran into other shifters during that time.

If so, he obviously came out on top, but I imagine they would've roughed him up pretty badly.

Kie grabs sutures and a needle for Mace, and I casually kneel on his right.

He's not paying me any attention, but my heart is still pounding as I grab his backpack and drag it toward me. I don't know what I'll do if he catches me, but I try not to think about it and psych myself out as I unzip his bag and peer inside.

The pad and tarp-like cover he used yesterday to sleep are shoved inside, the two objects surprisingly small when rolled up. I wipe my sweaty palms on my sweatshirt, resisting the urge to peek over at Kie.

Beside his sleeping objects is a package of the dried-out meat he ate yesterday. It looks like that's the only food he packed, but there's plenty of it. It's probably dense and high in calories, made specifically for the fancy-pants prince and his friend to eat during Praxis.

I swallow past the lump in my throat as I stick my arm in his bag and rifle around.

There's a hunting knife strapped to the side and several of the small soap washcloths they used on me earlier, and at the very bottom of the bag are a few random items I don't recognize. They're probably native to the faerie realm, but all are useless to me right now.

I'm looking for the Delysum, and there's nothing of the sort in here.

I check every pocket in the bag, carefully keeping my movements calm so I don't draw any attention to myself.

Kie continues to work on Mace, expertly stitching shut the giant gaping wound on his right abdomen. He hasn't touched the punctures on Mace's left bicep, but I figure that's next. The side wound is the more pressing of the two.