Chapter 202 — When a Bond Is Used to Hurt

Nia was folding the last of the dry household cloths when someone knocked against the entrance frame. Kael was still eating, and Shen stood beside the hearth with one hand on the lid of the morning pot, checking the steam before he lowered it again.

The runner outside did not wait for an invitation. “Chief, Sera sent me.”

Kael set down the piece of flatbread in his hand. “What happened?”

“Vessa’s husband collapsed near the inner turn. One of his household males brought him to the care station.” The runner took a breath. “Vessa is there now. Sera says she wants to take him home.”

Nia’s hands stopped on the folded cloth as Kael stood.

“Is he awake?”

“Sometimes.”

Shen covered the pot fully and moved it away from the hotter part of the hearth. Nia put the cloth down.

“I’m coming.”

Kael looked at her once, then reached for his outer layer. “Stay with us.”

Shen was already fastening his own wrap.

The runner moved ahead of them through the upper passage. Hearthfang was busy enough that people had to flatten themselves briefly against the wall when two grain carriers came uphill with a wide basket between them. One complained that the load kept pulling harder toward his side. The other told him to stop at the next turn so they could shift the heavier sack before it dragged them into the wall again.

They were still discussing where to move it when Nia, Kael, and Shen passed them.

The care station was quieter. Nia knew something was wrong before she reached the entrance because no one near the front bench was talking.

Vessa stood near the far wall with two of her husbands. Nia recognized the man who had come to the station the previous day and offered to finish the sleeping covers.

The injured husband lay on one of Sera’s narrow care beds. His left hand was freshly wrapped, his face looked gray beneath the warm tone of his skin, and sweat had dampened the hair near his temples even though the room was not hot. Sera had two fingers against the side of his neck.

She looked up when Kael entered. “He went down in the corridor.”

The other husband stepped forward. “I found him at the inner turn. He was holding the wall, then his knees gave out.”

“Was he carrying anything?” Kael asked.

“No.”

Vessa answered before the husband could add more. “He has been resting.”

Sera removed her fingers from the man’s neck and moved to his wrist instead. “He has not rested enough.”

“I put him in the sleeping room after the cloths were finished yesterday.”

Sera looked at Vessa. “And this morning?”

“He ate. He washed himself. He walked to the outer household room.”

“Then he walked farther than he could safely manage.”

Vessa’s mouth tightened.

The injured husband stirred. His right hand moved first, dragging weakly over the bedding while his wrapped left hand stayed close to his side.

Sera leaned over him. “Open your eyes.”

He did. For several breaths, he stared at the ceiling before his gaze moved toward Sera.

“What happened?”

“You fell.”

His eyes shifted immediately toward Vessa. “I’m sorry.”

Vessa’s expression changed very little. “What are you apologizing for?”

He swallowed. “Making everyone come again.”

The husband beside Vessa looked at him, then down at the floor.

Sera reached for a cup. “You can apologize after you drink.”

She raised his shoulders enough to help him take a little water. He swallowed twice before turning his face away.

“That is enough for now,” Sera said.

Vessa stepped closer to the bed. “If he can drink, I can take him home.”

“No,” Sera said.

Vessa looked at her.

Sera set the cup aside. “His pulse is too fast, and it is not keeping an even rhythm. He stays here until I am satisfied he can stand without falling again.”

“He can lie down at home.”

“He already lay down at home, and he still collapsed,” Sera said.

Kael remained near the foot of the bed. “He stays until Sera says he can walk safely.”

Vessa turned toward him. “I am taking him home.”

“Sera is treating him. You can move him when she says he can leave.”

For a moment, no one spoke. Shen’s fingers touched lightly at the back of Nia’s wrist, and she realized she had been pressing her nails into her palm. She loosened her hand.

Vessa looked back at her husband. “You heard them.”

He nodded.

Sera adjusted the folded support beneath his shoulders. “You are not standing yet.”

“I can try.”

“No.”

His gaze moved toward Vessa again, and she watched him without speaking.

The other husband shifted beside her. “Let him stay. He fell hard enough that I could not get him up by myself at first.”

“I did not say you should have left him there.”

“That is not what I meant.”

“I know what you meant.”

The husband’s jaw tightened, but he did not answer.

On the bed, Vessa’s injured husband moved his right hand against the blanket. “Vessa.”

She looked at him.

His voice came out quieter than before. “Can I stay here tonight? Just tonight. If Sera says I can go home tomorrow, I will.”

Vessa stared at him long enough that the silence became uncomfortable. “You want to stay here instead of coming home.”

“I need to stay until I can stand.”

The other husband turned fully toward Vessa. “He is asking for one night.”

Vessa’s attention snapped toward him. “You have said enough.”

She looked back at the man on the bed. “You have spent three days letting other people decide what you can do. Now you want them to decide where you sleep too.”

“I just need one night.”

Vessa looked at him without answering.

The man’s breath caught. His right hand flew to his chest, and his entire body jerked hard enough that Sera had to catch his shoulder before he rolled from the narrow bed.

“Hold him.”

Shen moved before Nia understood the order. He reached the bed from the other side and kept the man’s shoulders from twisting while Sera pressed two fingers against the side of his neck. His breathing had become short and uneven.

Vessa remained where she was.

Sera looked up at her. “What did you do?”

Vessa’s answer was quiet. “I broke the bond.”

Kael crossed the space between them. “Vessa.”

Behind him, Sera pressed one hand flat against the man’s upper chest while Shen kept him from rolling off the bed.

“Get me another care worker,” Sera ordered, and the runner at the entrance disappeared immediately.

Nia moved closer. “What do you need?”

Sera pointed toward the clean-cloth table. “One folded cloth. The thick one.”

Nia crossed to the table. Her hands shook once when she reached the stack, so she pressed her fingers flat against the cloth until they steadied enough to lift it cleanly. When she returned, Sera took the cloth and pushed it beneath the man’s right shoulder.

“Keep his head straight.”

Nia moved to the head of the bed and placed both hands where Sera showed her, one near his temple and one along the side of his neck without pressing. His eyes were open, but they did not seem to focus on anything.

“Can you hear me?” Sera asked.

His mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Sera checked his pulse again while Shen watched his breathing closely.

“The rhythm is uneven,” he said.

“I know.”

The man sucked in another shallow breath.

Sera leaned closer. “Do not try to talk. Breathe.”

Kael’s voice came from behind Nia. “You will not touch or move him while Sera is treating him. Step outside.”

One of Vessa’s other husbands shifted. “Chief—”

Kael looked at him, and the man closed his mouth.

Vessa stood still for another moment before turning. “Come.”

Both husbands followed her. The one who had brought the injured man to the station looked back as he reached the entrance, and his steps slowed. Vessa continued toward the passage without calling to him. He looked at the bed once more, then followed her out.

The care worker arrived at a run carrying a medicine pouch and another stack of cloth.

Sera immediately gave him instructions. “Check his breathing. Do not move the left hand. The bond was broken just now.”

The care worker’s expression changed as he set the pouch down. “How long?”

“Moments.”

He moved to the other side of the bed after Shen gave him space. Shen stepped back toward Nia, who was still holding the man’s head between her hands.

Sera touched her wrist gently. “You can let go now.”

Nia released him and stepped backward. Shen caught her hand before it fell to her side, and she gripped him hard. He did not tell her to loosen her fingers.

Kael remained near the entrance until Vessa and her husbands were gone from sight. Then he stopped the next runner who came near the station.

“Tell Darius to keep this passage clear. Tell Elder Bran I need him when Sera is finished here.”

The runner nodded and left.

When Kael returned to the bed, the injured man had begun to shake. A fine tremor moved through his right hand and shoulders each time he drew breath.

Sera covered him with another light layer without trapping the injured hand. “Do you know where you are?”

His eyes moved toward her. “Care station.”

His voice was barely more than air.

“Good. Do not sit up.”

He looked toward the entrance. “Vessa?”

“She left.”

His eyes closed, and the muscles in his face loosened.

Sera checked his pulse again while the care worker beside her waited.

“It is slower,” he said.

“Still uneven.”

“Yes.”

The man on the bed opened his eyes again. “My chest hurts.”

“I know.”

“My hand too.”

“That was already injured.”

He swallowed. “I cannot feel my right foot properly.”

Sera moved down the bed. “Do not move anything until I tell you.”

She pulled the lower blanket back enough to reach his feet.

“Move the left.”

His left foot shifted.

“Now the right.”

Nothing happened.

The man stared at it while Sera placed her fingers against the top of his foot.

“Again.”

His toes moved, but only slightly. He tried to push himself upright, and his right arm trembled under the effort.

Sera pressed him back. “No. You are staying flat.”

“I need to—”

“You need to stay flat while I find out why that foot is not moving properly.”

He stopped fighting her, and the care worker pulled the blanket back over his legs.

Sera sat beside the bed and kept two fingers against the man’s wrist. His breathing slowly became less shallow, but the tremor in his right hand did not stop.

Kael came to Nia’s other side. He did not ask whether she was all right. His hand closed around her free one, and Nia held both husbands.

Across the room, the man on the care bed stared at the ceiling while Sera counted his pulse. His right hand shook against the blanket until Sera covered it with her own and held it still.