I began giving instructions before I could sit up properly.
"If Liora draws the arm left, I can reach the-"
"No," Liora said.
She didn't turn from the route sketch. Nyx sat beside her with the smaller knife across her knees. Valeria held the lamp close to the paper so neither had to use the chamber's reflected light.
I stopped trying to rise. The dressing under my ribs had pulled sharply enough to make the decision less generous than it might have looked.
"You haven't heard the plan."
Liora looked at me then.
"I helped carry you out of the last one. Start with what your body can do."
The recess became quiet without anyone formally asking for it.
Several hours had passed since the feedback struck. The immediate danger inside my chest had settled. I had eaten a little, slept badly and discovered that swallowing water was tiring when every breath needed thought.
