A slow smile overcame the old man. “The boy got it right.” His frown returned in a rush. “Why do you suppose the machine told him that— saved his life?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Nicci asked.
“Obvious?”
As they walked along on each side of the wagon, Nicci gave the wizard a sidelong glance. “The machine needs him.”
“Needs him,” Zedd repeated unhappily.
“To fulfill its purpose,” Nicci said.
“I remember,” he grumbled again. “What ever its purpose is,” he added under his breath.
Nicci laid a hand on Richard’s chest as she walked along beside the wagon, releasing a comforting trickle of sustaining Additive Magic into him, letting him know that he was not alone with the whisper of death inside him. On the other side of the wagon, Zedd did the same for Kahlan.
Nicci felt Richard take a deeper breath. He knew she was there. Even if he couldn’t answer, somewhere deep down inside, he knew.
Nicci dared to allow herself to let go of her panic. They were both finally safe. It had been a frightening journey. Knowing where Richard had been headed, Nicci hadn’t expected to ever see him alive again. At least for now, they were in good hands, and they would recover once they were back at the palace and she and Zedd and Nathan could heal them properly.
Nicci was so relieved that she had no words to fully express it. She was also angry at Richard for going after a Hedge Maid. She had warned him. She had told him how dangerous they were. She had told him to stay away from Hedge Maids. But he had gone anyway.
Nicci supposed that he had no choice. He had to go after Kahlan. Who else but Richard would walk into a Hedge Maid’s lair to save the woman he loved.
Who else but Richard.
“They look cute lying there together,” Cara said as she gazed down at them over the edge of the wagon.
The Mord-Sith’s face suddenly went red. “You won’t tell them I said that.” Again, it was not a question.
Nicci smiled; for the first time in many days, she really smiled.
“Not a word of it,” she said.
“Good,” Cara muttered. She looked up toward the head of the line of soldiers. “General, would you get this column moving a bit faster. We have to get them back to the palace!”
Benjamin looked back over his shoulder with a smile and gave his wife a salute of a fist to his heart; then he urged his horse to pick up the pace.
END