BLOODBOUND HEARTS

ls when Alara stepped through the door of her famil

Bellmere was qui

and thin trails of smoke curled from chimneys into the cool evening ai

shawl tighter ar

" her mother cal

wo

back toward

tiredness in her face that Alara had become accustomed to seeing over the years.

r mother said. "I need enough to pr

ra n

l get

other

e fo

grows near the

getting

kn

lar

smi

before you have

r did not

he simply stared

nge in her expression. So

t disap

said quietly. "And don't

wo

sun sets befo

me straig

ther he

omis

smile s

prom

d toward t

gently from her

ed her. It was simply another part of her life, like the herb garden behind the

night felt

it was th

beneath the trees, the

the village dis

the

he wind seem

ra s

ed over he

thi

ooked

en the trees, washed in the pale

t," she whispe

ntinued

n minutes before sh

, its small pale leaves almost

began gathering t

O

T

hr

saw how much had grow

er would

ed for ano

she he

sou

ra f

d been

st no

lis

it wa

uneven

eat

as breathi

lowly

tightened aro

ell

an

ould ha

warning echo

on the

t go

heard the br

unded

ne was

t her bas

lowed th

om the stream. Branches caught against her dres

she sa

ng beneath an en

lara thought

complete

ood. One hand rested against his side, pressed

a sto

seen anyone dre

ood, there was something unm

d like a

s even

was somet

she could

d entirely out of p

ne cautious s

head

s eyes

rgot how

were

ft blue of

cold, almost silver

e fixed

econds, neithe

ger's voice bro

eav

was

ee

stakably

a swa

are in

aid l

uld have

ble person

atching her mother help people who wer

n't simply

tepped

n help

hanged in hi

grati

rel

ea

immediately, replace

annot h

a fro

re ble

am a

me to look

her as though she had ju

ld be afra

rt began bea

he should

ething frighte

his size o

way he loo

ould see straig

rced herself t

u are," she said soft

yes na

re remarkab

erh

hing almost like amusement

e she could be cer

ly crouched

ranger

on'

to see th

eed to

u need a

t need a

the blood stain

clearly

len

e allowed his hand to

leaned

nd was t

han she'd fi

, deep cuts, burns, and infec

ever seen anyt

of the woun

ost

was something

sn't flowing

body was fighting desp

ouch attached to her belt and p

top the b

remained f

uld not t

Wh

dn't a

he cloth gently

ouched his skin, the stra

yes wi

felt

h passed through

eeding

bli

looked down

back a

e she had found him, he

you?" he

stared

your p

dn't a

ad dropped

finger where one of the herb

ead of bloo

ger's pupi

ression

nly, Alara

ause of

use of th

e man beneath the tree had stoppe

r like something he h

had never ex

within the forest, a