Chapter Five
AspenThe sea outside the harbor lay dark and still, without a breath of wind stirring. Gunnar kept them at the oars for a long while before he put the boat into a narrow inlet far to the north of Minbeorg. “We should be safe enough here for the rest of the night,” he said. “Now, lad, we should have a peek at that leg of yours.”
Rab shook his head and his voice sounded curiously reluctant. “’Tis nothing, Sir. Just a scratch.”
Poppy sat beside him on the deck, taking deep breaths to slow her labored breathing. She looked over to Rab. “I will bandage it for you. It is the least I can do after you risked yourself for me. Pass the lantern, Jakob.”
Jakob rose, frowning, and unhooked the lantern from the mast. “I still think we should put him ashore.”
“Put yourself ashore, oaf,
