Page 313 - Fourth Wing

when my body cooperates.

“You are slightly stuck with him for…” He makes a face. “Well, forever.”
“Or until one of us dies,” I joke, but it falls flat as we round the corner

and take the path past the Healer Quadrant. “How can you do this anyway?

Guard someone whose own mother oversaw the wing that captured yours?”
I’ve wanted to ask the question all week.

“Wondering if you can trust me?” He flashes another easy grin.

“Yes.” The answer is simple.
He laughs, the sound echoing off the tunnel walls and glass windows of

the clinic. “Good answer. All I can say is that your survival is essential to

Riorson’s, and I owe him everything. Everything.” He looks me straight in
the eye for that last word, even as the cart hits a raised stone in the paved

corridor.
The scroll on top tumbles to the floor, and I wince at the dull ache in my

ribs as I hurry to retrieve it and it unrolls along the slight slope of the

passage.
“Got it.” The thick parchment isn’t eager to roll back into place, and I

catch a sentence that makes me pause.
The conditions at Sumerton are of particular concern. A village was

ransacked and a supply convoy looted last night—

“What does it say?” Liam asks.
“Sumerton was attacked.” I flip the scroll to see if it’s marked as

classified, but it isn’t.

“On the southern border?” He looks as confused as I feel.
“Yeah.” I nod. “It’s another high-altitude attack, too, if I remember my

geography correctly. It says a supply convoy was looted.” I read a little

further. “And the community storage in nearby caves was ransacked. But
that doesn’t make sense. We have a trade agreement with Poromiel.”

“A raiding party, then.”
I shrug. “No clue. Guess we’ll hear about it in Battle Brief today.”