I returned to the group when my work was finished. “Miles. Lyn,” I said, nodding to each of them. “We’re going to head back to Lienna now, okay? We’ll find someone there who can help you.”
Miles shook his head. “What if that...that thing comes back?” His eyes tracked wildly over the horizon as he scanned for the beast’s return.
“It’s dead, Miles. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“What was it?” Lyn asked, sheltering herself closely behind Lia’s shoulder.
I shook my head. “We don’t know. Whatever it was, it’s dead now.”
“We can’t go back now. It’s too dark, and there are still bandits out there!” Miles continued to protest, his voice growing louder as he spoke.
“There aren’t any bandits between here and Lienna,” Lia reassured him. “We took care of them, too. We’ll be okay, I promise.”
“You can’t just tell us that everything is going to be okay!” he yelled suddenly, stomping his foot in the dirt. “Everything is NOT okay! WE are NOT okay!” Tears streamed down his cheeks from beneath his overhanging bangs.
I took another step closer to him, cautiously reaching out a hand. “I know, Miles. What happened to all of you was terrible, and I’m so sorry. Nobody should have to experience something like that, but especially not kind, caring people like you.” I motioned towards Lia and Lyn. “We can’t just stay here in the middle of the road forever, though. Lia and I will get you all back to Lienna before dawn, and you can choose what you do from there: stay in town, go home, even come back and stay with us.”
He swatted my hand away as he shifted towards me, his nostrils flaring. “How can you just stand there and act like everything is normal?! You can’t get us back to Lienna before dawn, and even if you could, it wouldn’t...that wouldn’t…” his fists balled at his sides as he sputtered, fighting to keep his speech coherent. “You don’t even care that they’re dead, do you?! You’re just standing there, acting like this is a normal day while half our family was just killed! You don’t even care!”
“Miles, stop it!” Lyn shouted. “They’re trying to help us!”
“No!” he seethed. “Gran was right about you. She said you were nothing but trouble, and that we should have left you at the roadside and gone on alone. But Layne vouched for you. He said you were his friend, and that you were a good person.” His face morphed into a hard sneer as he stared me down, and he took a braver stance as he jabbed at my chest. “He was wrong. You clearly weren’t his friend at all. You don’t give a shit about any of us, and you never did.”
My jaw clenched as I silently took the verbal battering. While he was clearly overcome with grief, I still knew that some part of him believed what he was saying, and a part of me believed it as well. From the moment our Detection had come back to us and the devastation within their cart had been revealed, I had felt nothing but cold detachment towards Layne’s death. A creeping sense of regret spread up through my chest as I realized I hadn’t spent a single moment in mourning for the man that had quickly become one of my closest friends.
The silence seemed to only anger Miles further. “SAY SOMETHING!” he screamed as he pulled his arm back and threw a clumsy punch in my direction. Although I had every opportunity to avoid the attack, I simply activated my Pain Reduction and Strength enhancements and let the blow land. His fist impacted against my jaw and found it entirely unyielding, creating three fractures across his hand as the punch bounced away, leaving me entirely unharmed. He roared in pain as he clutched his wounded hand, and he stared up at me with a new expression: fear. Lyn cried out and moved to run to his aid, but Lia gently held out her arm and blocked her path.
I leaned down to his ear with deliberate slowness and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Lyn is going to need someone to help her through this,” I whispered. “That can be you, or it can be Lia and myself. We’re taking her back to Lienna tonight, and you’re welcome to join us.” My hand tightened around his shoulder. “Or, if you’d like, I can leave you and your grandmother here on the roadside. It’s your choice.”
He sucked in a rasping breath as his body tensed beneath my grip. His good hand balled into a fist, then relaxed in quick succession as the fight seemed to drain from his body all at once. “Fine,” he murmured, his shoulders slumping, “do what you want. I’ll come.”
“Good,” I nodded, giving him a reassuring pat on the arm. “Lia, can you look at his hand for me?” I was planning to carry him and the sledge, but given...all of that, I think I’ll carry Lyn instead.
Okay. Lia’s answer echoed in my head as we passed one another on the road. “Miles, can I see your hand, please?” He offered it out weakly as she approached, and she held it between hers, channeling a small burst of healing magic into his fractured bones. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand and furrowed his brow as he carefully flexed his mended fingers.
“Lux, I’m sorry,” Lyn apologized, bowing her head. “He didn’t mean that, I know he didn’t.”
“Please, Lyn, it’s fine,” I assured her. “You’ve both been through far too much today.” I slid out of my cloak and gently draped it over her shoulders. “We’ll be heading back to Lienna now.”
“I...don’t think I can walk that far,” she admitted. “Even on a good day.”
“That’s why
