Only four days? It felt like he and Bel had been here in the Grove a lifetime ago.
"I'm okay." He felt like he needed to repeat it. "I'm really okay. Bel…"
"I know." His dad rested his forehead against Heln's. He was running his hands up and down Heln's arms, like he was sure he was going to find an injury there. "I know. It's okay, the healers… they're…"
His dad made a soft, broken noise and pulled him into a tight hug. Heln hugged him back, just as tightly.
Chapter Twenty
Heln stared out the window of the carriage.
It had been three days since they woke up at the Festival grounds. It felt like Bel had convinced him to take that shortcut a lifetime ago.
"Thank you for joining us, Rhyss. I'm sure Bel will be happy to see you." His dad smiled across the carriage at her.
"I hope so." Rhyss was sitting next to him. She looked like a different person with her hair pulled into a loose ponytail. She was even wearing civilian clothing. Heln had never seen her wear anything but their school uniform and her armor.
Bel had ended up in the healer's hall. She was expected to make a full recovery and was already sitting up and flirting with all of the healers. Even Rhyss's sister, Brina, who was essentially a softer version of Rhyss in every aspect.
Heln supposed, after almost being killed by a dragon flesh construct or not, nothing really scared Bel anymore.
"She's been asking for you." His dad still had a gentle expression, but there was something haunted in his eyes still. He barely let Heln out of his sight, even though he'd been given a nearly clean bill of health. He still had to wear a medical strip on the cut above his eye, but it didn't even hurt anymore.
Which was why they were taking a carriage to the healer's hall instead of walking.
"I'd like to visit Vin, too," Heln continued. "I owe him a great deal. And you."
"We were just doing our jobs." Rhyss sounded steady, but she flushed.
"Still, thank you."
"You're welcome, DoVan-an."
"Please, call me Tavlyn."
Rhyss went an even darker shade of red at and was reduced to nodding.
They pulled up in front of the healer's hall and a nurse smiled at them and let them know Bel was up and very lively.
"You kids go on up, I'll be right there. I'd like to talk to the healers."
Heln nodded at his dad and showed Rhyss to Bel's room. His dad had managed to get her a private room, but Heln honestly thought Bel would have appreciated some company.
The healer's hall was where patients went to recover after initial healing. Bel could probably come home, but the healers wanted to keep an eye on her. She'd broken four ribs badly enough the healers called it flail chest, had a punctured lung, internal bleeding, a ruptured eardrum, her right arm had a compound fracture, and on top of everything she had a concussion. Heln couldn't really blame them for wanting to keep an eye on her. Bel was not the best patient, she'd had a cold soon after Heln moved in and it had been ridiculous what lengths their dad had to go to keep her in bed. Mostly it had been outright bribery.
Bel was sitting up when they entered her room. It was a nice one, all warm tones, the window overlooking the garden in the middle of the complex. She was wearing a pea-green hall tunic and playing with a carved wooden puzzle, failing horribly when she tried to make the pieces work with her left hand. Her right arm was still in a sling.
"Bet you wish you were left handed now." Rhyss sat down next to her.
"Rhyss! My favorite left-handed Guard Trainee in the entire city." Bel grinned at her. She dropped the puzzle and flailed her hand at Rhyss, who caught it. "It took you forever to visit. You look great, love the hair."
Rhyss's smile was a little tight, but Bel didn't seem to notice. She was still holding her hand. "They wouldn't let non-family visitors in until today, otherwise I would have been here."
"Aww that's so sweet. Hi Heln, you look good, too. Very fancy glasses. Did I tell you that before?" She looked around. "Where's Dad?"
"He wandered off." Heln shrugged, sitting next to Rhyss. "How are you feeling?"
"Oof. Well. Now it is a medical vest." She let go of Rhyss's hand to tug up the edge of the black vest from underneath the tunic. "And I hate it. I am so ready to go home. How's my dog? Dad said they wouldn't let her come with you, which I think is ridiculous. She would definitely hasten the healing process. Pets are proven to help with stuff like that, I read it once, so it's probably true."
"She would jump on you and your lung would be full of holes again." Heln couldn't help but smile. "She's good, but I think you've lost her to Dad forever."
"What." Bel pouted. "I've only been gone for a week and my dog turns traitor on me? You told me yesterday she missed me."
"Oh, she does, and she's filling the hole with Dad. She was so excited to see me and then she ignored me for him."
"Rude."
"Right?"
Rhyss clearly decided that was enough small talk, for she interrupted then. "Guys. What have you told everyone? I've been saying it's mostly a blur."
"Same." Heln had been pulled aside by Rhyss before he was taken in for healing and she had told him on pain of death that they couldn't tell anyone what happened.
"I had head trauma so I think they discounted anything I may or may not have said as incoherent babbling. Which is good because I don't remember what I said, and now I'm saying I don't remember anything." Bel shrugged with her good shoulder. "Kind of wish I didn't remember anything. That was the forest god, wasn't
