Page 142 of Moonless

I stop close enough that she can take my arm if she wants it. She looks up past the herbs to my face.

“Morning.”

“Good morning.”

She leans forward a little, and I bend the rest of the way to kiss her. Her hand goes to my neck. I stay there until she laughs against my mouth.

“You’ve got leaves in my hair.”

I pull the bunch back. She picks a sprig off her shoulder and holds it up.

“Did you leave any outside?”

“Plenty.”

She looks the bunch up and down.

“What are you doing with all that?”

“You didn’t have enough for our travels.” I hold the bunch a little higher.

“Rauk, I use a handful.”

“There’s more than one meal.”

She opens her mouth, looks at the herbs again, and starts laughing. It hurts her ribs, so she stops with her palm pressed against them.

My ears go back, and I lay the bunch on the stone. It’s a long way to her brother’s. It’ll fit beside the fish if I turn the stems toward the wall.

“You can use as much as you like.”

She lets go of her ribs and catches my hand below the bloody wrap.

“Come here. That still needs changing.”

She draws my arm across her lap when I sit beside her. I could do it myself, and I don’t say so. There’s warm water in the pot, and she pulls the clean linen closer with her foot.

“Travels.” She looks toward the sack. “Shit. Keer. I told him two days, and that’s tomorrow.”

“I remember. We’ll leave after we’ve eaten.”

She looks at my thigh, then at the arm in her lap.

“Can we get there? With all this?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.” I look at the sack. “If we start this morning and stop to rest when we need to.”

“We will. You’re limping.”

“And you can’t turn around.”

She presses her lips together and starts unwinding the cloth.

“Then we’ll make excellent time in a straight line.”

That nearly gets a laugh out of me, and she looks pleased with herself. The last turn sticks near my wrist, so she wets it and waits. I did the same for her shoulder, her first days here. I reach toward the nearest spit with my free hand.

She nods at it. “That one can come off. Put the big one over. It needs longer.”