Hushed Willows The voices in my head keep telling me I'm cursed.

The stranger was adamant. What did they care? Glaukos was a stranger, and beyond that he was another man which made him a rival; he was a threat when he was healthy, and now that he wasn't, it made more sense to take advantage than to help. If Glaukos had the energy or the focus, he would have flashed his teeth and warned the stranger away - but he was in need, and he was weak.

I seek Mereo, he finally conceded.

A place in the mountains. There is a healer there. He did not yet know that Mereo had fallen, that it lay abandoned; but neither would the stranger. I can find my own way. It is my home. His voice weakened as he said this, sounding as if it caught in his throat in a net of emotion.

He coughed, breathing raggedly. So you see, I don't need help. He stalked another step, and another, intent on departing from the boy's company. Speaking hurt; it took too much energy to think and to respond, and he'd wasted that on the stranger.