Although the ride was easy, Lina's thighs burned with every movement. For two days, she'd hoped the soreness would fade, but it throbbed on, raw and relentless. Each time she prepared to mount, she considered lying down and telling the others to leave her.
Fin eyed her as though he might hoist her into the saddle and tie her there if she mentioned it. His haunted look was new. Sofia wore the same dark expression, shadows beneath her eyes. Lina didn't know everything being a sentinel meant, but one had cut her down without remorse. The thought of the necromancer controlling him sent icy fear curling through her gut.
She sighed. Chewy, true to her name, took every opportunity to wander off the path and chomp on the nearest plant.
"Chewy," Fin growled.
The mare flicked her ears forward and continued munching.
Lina patted her neck and clicked her tongue as Galdreth had taught her. One ear turned lazily back.
"Girl, you're going to get both of us in trouble if you keep falling behind."
Chewy stamped, snatched another leaf, and followed the group.
"Can she eat that?" Lina asked.
"I'd trust Chewy foraging more than any of us," Galdreth said with a laugh.
Lina leaned toward the mare's ear. "Keep up with Fin, and I'll make sure you get extra oats wherever we go."
Raithe chuckled.
Chewy quickened her pace with a little hop that made Lina wince. She pretended the promise had worked, though the mare seemed more interested in reaching the next patch of greenery before the other horses.
The group rode on in silence until the sun stood high overhead. Sofia raised a hand and brought them to a halt.
"Narrow paths ahead. Single file. If you're not comfortable riding, get down and lead your horse."
Her gaze settled on Lina.
Lina swung her leg over and dismounted, securing the stirrups out of the way as Fin had shown her. Her legs protested the moment her boots met the ground.
Sofia led them onto the mountain path, with Fin bringing up the rear. Lina guided Chewy over the rough ground, loose stones shifting beneath their feet. She tried not to look into the ravine. She hadn't known she feared heights, but the drop made her want to get down on her hands and knees.
Chewy's hind hoof slipped over the edge.
Lina jerked the reins. The frightened mare threw up her head, pulling Lina off balance. Her foot slid across the loose stones.
"Lina!"
She fell before she could catch herself. The path vanished above her, and she covered her head as the ground rushed up.
Everything went dark.
Sofia's frantic muttering broke through first. Lina couldn't make sense of the words, only the panic in them. Fin knelt beside her, pale and drawn, pressing two shaking fingers against her neck.
She gasped.
He jerked back. Relief crossed his face, his shoulders dropping as Sofia's muttering faltered.
"She's alive," Galdreth choked from somewhere above.
"You hit your head. Don't try to get up," Fin said.
"Where does it hurt?" Sofia called from the path.
Lina looked toward her voice. She'd fallen nearly twenty feet.
"Move your fingers and toes," Fin told her. "Tell me what we need to splint. Won't be an easy climb back."
Her arm lay at an unnatural angle.
She stared at it, then moved her fingers. Her toes. Her legs. Carefully, she tried to shift the twisted arm.
Nothing hurt.
A hollow chill crept up her spine. Her thighs had ached all morning, yet she could look at her broken arm without feeling more than the pressure of her sleeve. She should have been crying. She should have been afraid to move.
Instead, she sat up.
"Easy, Lina," Sofia said. "There's no rush."
Thick branches and a length of rope came down from the path.
"Splint her arm for now," Sofia continued. "We'll get it checked at the… village."
Fin took her arm gently.
"This'll hurt."
Lina clenched her jaw and waited while he fitted the wood around it. She could see the angle was wrong. So could he.
She felt him tighten the bindings. Nothing more.
"Anywhere else?" Sofia asked.
Lina shook her head.
"Slowly, girl. You hit your head," Fin warned.
Her lips parted, then closed. Should she tell them she felt fine? Fin was watching her too closely already.
"Will she be able to ride?" Galdreth asked.
"Let's get her up first."
Lina stood on unsteady legs.
Are you all right?
Raithe's voice cut cleanly through the others.
Yes.
Some of the tension eased. She couldn't tell whether it was hers.
Fin studied her face.
"She can stand," Galdreth said quietly.
Lina caught the rope with both hands.
Sofia gasped.
She looked down, then quickly let go with her injured hand and cursed. Too late. Fin had seen.
"It wasn't that bad a fall," she protested.
The lie tasted bitter.
Fin said nothing. He secured the rope around her waist, then climbed back to the path.
"Hold on with your good hand," he called. "We'll pull you up."
Lina closed her eyes as the rope tightened. She should have been frightened of falling again. Instead, she waited while her feet scraped against the slope.
That frightened her more than the height.
Fin had pressed shaking fingers to her throat. Galdreth had sounded as though he might cry. Their fear should have reached her, but she felt strangely distant from it, watching them struggle with something she could no longer quite share.
"I can ride," she said when they pulled her onto the path.
She scrambled to her feet, avoiding their eyes. Galdreth helped her mount while Fin fashioned a sling from a strip of cloth.
Sofia watched without speaking.
"I'm fine."
Saying it made the wrongness harder to ignore. Her arm was broken. They were frightened for her. Yet she sat in the saddle wondering how to look hurt enough to reassure them.
I'm glad you're all right.
It was the only voice that didn't sound afraid.