Fifty-six

I storm into our new encampment and look around. Finx points immediately to a tent. When I go for it, he jumps in front of me. "Calm down!"

"Why?"

"She's petrified."

This makes me slump. Closing my eyes, I breathe deeply for a long time, getting control of my emotions. When I open them again, Finx nods and moves away.

I step up to the tent. "Cat?"

There's a shuffle inside before I hear my friend say, "Slow, Roan."

I do as she says and slowly enter. My eyes adjust to the dim interior and I finally see my sister. She was staring at me with wide eyes, a blanket wrapped around her, curled up in a small corner of the tent. I don't dare move closer to her.

Instead, I sit where I'm at and give Zahra a small smile. "Hi, Zahra."

She blinks then looks to Cat who sits a few inches away from her. Cat nods. Zahra turns back to me. Her mouth moves silently for a long time, as if trying to find words.

I stop her with my own. "You know, Damon wanted to come and help?" She stills. My smile grows. "Do you remember how he wouldn't trust you and kept trying to hurt you?" She nods, finally responding to me. "Well, now he wants to learn how to shoot a bow so he can protect you. Do you know why?"

Zahra blinks and shakes her head.

"Because he knows you aren't the one responsible for hurting him. Because you saved his life. Do you remember how?"

She is quiet for a long time. So long, I didn't think she'd answer. "The bear?"

I nod. "Do you remember what you did?"

Her brows furrowed. "M-my fire, right?"

"And then what?"

"I told him to run?"

I nod. "You both ran to me. Later that day, he told me that he wanted fire just like you, so he could protect himself and others, just like you."

This made her smile. It was small and hesitant, but it was there. She curled tighter into a ball and shyly looked at me. "Roan, I want to go home."

I nod. "I know. But we need to look at you first. I know you're hurt, and I know you're scared. But we need to make sure nothing is infected."

Tears formed. "I don't want you to go away!"

I tilted my head. "Would you like to come here and hold me down, then?"

Surprise flickered on her face before another smile appeared. "Can you hold me instead?"

"Of course," I whisper and slowly crawl over to her. When I'm beside her, she uncurls and lets me pull her into my lap like a child. Her head snuggles against my chest as her arms wrap around me. "I won't leave," I promise, kissing her head.

Cat pokes her head out and asks for Willow. The elder walks in and sits down across from me. Zahra tightens her arms. "Zahra, can you show us your arms?" Cat asks softly.

"I'm scared," Zahra whimpers.

I lean down and say, "We can go slow. I won't move or let go of you. You won't be taken from me."

"I don't want to be hurt again," she says, beginning to cry.

Willow tilts her head. "Why don't you show your brother, then?"

"But he's not a healer," Zahra protests, however curls into a ball.

"No, but he can do the basic things for you. I will leave some medicine and give you privacy. Roan doesn't need me to know if something is broken or infected."

Zahra says nothing, but watches the elder put a bunch of items down, then leaves. Immediately , my sister relaxes. Now I knew exactly how hard it was going to be to get her to be herself.

Cat smiled and leaves too, telling Zahra that she would be close if she was wanted. When we're alone, Zahra sits up and looks at me. "Are you hurt?"

I blink. "Zahra, you're sitting here possibly with broken bones and shaking in fear, and you're asking me if I'm hurt?"

She nods.

"I'm fine, Zahra. I'm worried about you."

Tears come again, but she holds out one arm. I see cuts: long ones, short ones, shallow, deep, infected, old and new. I grab a jar and bring out some cream. Zahra immediately backs away.

I pause. "This is going onto your cuts."

She stares at the stuff on my fingers. "I'm not eating it?"

I give her a disgusted look. "Trust me, it doesn't taste good."

She gives me a smile and comes back, letting me run the cream into her skin. She seems to relax after a few minutes and gives me her other arm. I do the same.

She puts her arms back under the blanket and brings out one leg. Here, I see where manacles were digging into her skin, marking her, making her bleed. "Finx, can you get some water and a clean cloth, please?" I say into the silence.

"Why?" Zahra asks.

"I want to clean your ankles. They're still bleeding."

She looks down as if she hadn't noticed. "Cat took the chains off."

I don't respond to this, but wait a few minutes for Finx. I grab the bowl of water from right outside then settle down again. "This may sting."

She nods and allows me to wash away the blood. All the while, she's watching me as if I was going to start beating her. I felt bile rise, but kept my face from expressing how I felt.

I spread cream on the cuts and do her other ankle. When they're both clean and rubbed with medicine, I move up her legs to her calves and thighs. Again, more cuts. I frown. "Did they just chain you up and cut you?"

Apparently, that was not what I should have said. Zahra hid her legs from me and curled up.

I sighed. "Zahra, I don't want to hurt you."

"She cut me if I didn't do what she said," she croaked. "She cut me until she realized I stopped feeling it. Then, she did something else."

"What did she want from you?" I ask and gently pulled a leg back out.

Zahra shuddered. "I don't want to say. I think I may throw up."

I nod. "That's okay." I finish one leg and do the other. "Did Marin appear at all while you were with this person?"

She shook her head. "I didn't see him."

"He just left you with her?"

I finish the leg and she hides both under the blanket. "He said I was to tame her, to make her listen. But he didn't say what she was. He didn't say how impossible it was."

I raise a brow. "Tame?" Zahra nods. "How?"

She shrugged. "He said to use my powers. But I was too scared."

I frown. "That doesn't make sense, Zahra." She whimpers. "I'm sorry. I believe you. Let me explain, please?"

She nods slowly.

"What doesn't make sense is why he would put you into a house with someone who could kill you without warning you about the dangers." She nods. "I don't think he wanted you to tame her at all."

She sits up a little. "Then why?"

I shake my head. "Zahra, he wanted her to tame you."