The healing chamber smelled of blood and burned stone. Two dead Sky Dungeon scouts still lay in the corner where guards had dragged them.
Their bodies were black and twisted, with too many joints and wings that looked like torn leather. One had a mouth full of needle teeth. The other had a hole in its chest where Catherine's spear had gone through.
Catherine sat on the edge of a stone bench while a servant wrapped her shoulder. The wound burned, but she ignored it. Flora stood three feet away, arms crossed, staring at the blood on her mother's shirt.
"You took that hit for me," Flora said. Her voice was flat. "I had my sword up. I could have blocked it."
Catherine looked up. "You froze. The fracture on your arm lit up like a beacon. The thing went straight for you."
Flora stepped closer. "And you jumped in front of it. Because I'm your daughter, or because I'm one of Aiden's women now and you still think you can control what happens to me?"
