Crow took a steeling breath as he prepared himself to tell Hazel about Penelope’s suggestion, looking at the trees around them to avoid her critical gaze. The forest was thick and the ground beneath their feet was even. There was no sign of the valley they had come from. The two had walked far enough away from the thieves’ camp that he felt confident the others wouldn’t be able to hear them, even if the herbalist raised her voice like she had the last time. He had made sure to travel far with her because of her unpredictable temper. So, as long as none of his companions happened to pass through the area, they would be safe to speak openly without fear of being eavesdropped on.

After a hesitation, he forced himself to meet her eyes, uneasy green to piercing blue. After seeing her reaction to Penelope spending the night with them—and then later her reaction to discovering his taboo relationship with the knight—he was worried about how she would respond to the idea Penelope had come up with. He had his own reservations about working with a noble he didn’t know, but he was at least willing to lay down his pride to try and make it work. However, he was only doing so because of his love for the knight. Hazel had no such motivation to work with a physician. It was going to be difficult to convince her to give it a shot.

But he knew he had to try.

Finally ready to approach her, Crow squared his shoulders and began, “When you said you were going to help me look for a cure to this illness, you said you were just using me to help the people of Myrefall, right?”

Hazel frowned and crossed her arms, wavering for a moment before responding with a snort, “Obviously. I would never do this much work for someone like you.” She shifted slightly. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

“So, you’re saying you’re willing to help me, a man you’ve made it clear you dislike, for the good of a people who are suffering?” he pressed.

“That’s what I said, yes,” she growled, eyeing him suspiciously. “Where are you going with this, snake?”

“Just how far are you willing to go?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she answered guardedly. “What’s up with all these leading questions anyway?”

“I may have found someone who can help us find a cure for this disease,” Crow said, starting to get closer to his point. “It’s a person with a strong grasp of medicines and years of experience treating illnesses.”

“You think this person is better than me?” Hazel curled her lip.

“I didn’t say that,” he held up his hands innocently. “But I know you’ve worked with other herbalists before. You have to admit that two heads are better than one when it comes to finding a new cure.”

“I suppose,” she shrugged. “So, who is this person? Why am I only hearing about them now?”

Now it was Crow’s turn to shift uncomfortably, “It’s a noble physician.”

“[i]What?[/i]” she shook her head vigorously. “No way! I refuse to work with one of those heartless wretches. They’re the lowest of the low. Count me out.”

“Just listen to me,” he requested, catching hold of her wrist before she could turn to leave. “I don’t love this idea either, but Penelope said she knows someone who might be willing to help us.”

“Oh, so this was your armor-wearing lover’s idea, was it?” Hazel spat. “Hmm, let me think about that… [i]No.[/i]” She tugged her arm out of his grasp.

“So that’s it then?” Crow called after her as she began to storm away from him. “You have the opportunity to use a physician’s knowledge to find a cure for this, and you’re going to turn it down because you’re too proud to even breathe the same air as one of them?”

“I don’t need them,” she snarled over her shoulder. “I can do this on my own.”

“Maybe,” he took a step after her. “But won’t you have a better chance of finding it if you have their medicinal knowledge too?”

“Don’t care. You might have gone soft, but I’m a woman of integrity. I will not work with a noble rat, and that’s final.”

Crow stared after her in dismay as she marched back towards the camp. He had hoped she would be willing to go along with Penelope’s idea if he played on her care for the villagers, but even that hadn’t worked. His mind raced as he tried to come up with another approach, but he drew nothing but blanks. Without an alternative strategy, he hurried to run after the herbalist, hoping she might change her mind if he begged her enough.

“Wait!” he called again as he caught up with her. “Hazel, I—” Suddenly he inhaled sharply as a burst of lightheadedness struck him, and he dropped to his hands and knees.

Hearing him fall, the herbalist turned around. Her blue eyes widened as they landed on him. “Crow, are you okay?” she asked, all animosity momentarily forgotten as she quickly came to his side. “What happened?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, embarrassed that she had seen him lose control like that. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear away the dizziness, he braced his legs to stand up. In the next moment, the world turned sideways, and he dropped back to the ground.

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Hazel chided, holding up her hand as he moved to try again. “Just stay still until it passes.”

“Cursed disease,” he grumbled, bringing a hand to his head in frustration.

She observed him for a moment with a concerned expression and then proceeded to crouch down at his side and touch her hands to different parts of his body.

“What are you doing?” he asked warily, recoiling as she reached towards his throat.

“Shut up and sit still,” she said sternly, grabbing him by the shoulder to hold him steady as she pressed two fingers just below his jaw. She closed her eyes and didn’t move for a short period of time before releasing him again. She knitted her brow and muttered something under her breath that he didn’t catch.

“What?” he asked, staring to feel nervous by her reaction.

“It’s just… I can hardly feel your pulse,” she shook her head.

Crow felt his blood run cold, “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. It’s just weird. Normally when someone runs, their heartbeat gets stronger, but it’s almost as if yours is doing the opposite.” She met his gaze with a frown. “How long did that old man tell you the second phase lasts?”

“He said it varies,” Crow said absently. “He’s seen it last anywhere from a month to a year.”

“And what comes after that?”

“I think the cough gets worse. He said if the illness gets to that point, all you can do is wait for death.”

“And by that point, you would be fully bedridden, right?”

“Probably… At least, that’s what happened to my mother,” he held her gaze anxiously. “Why?”

“Crow, if there’s another battle, you need to stay out of it,” Hazel said suddenly.

“What?” he blinked in surprise. “Why?”

“I think you’re making the disease progress faster when you keep pushing yourself like this,” she explained seriously. “You barely jogged from that tree over there to where we are now. You’re getting to a point where any sort of physical strain drops you to your knees. At this rate, it won’t be much longer before you can’t even walk. You need to stop exerting yourself before you reach that third phase.”

The thief lowered his gaze, “But what about—”

“No,” Hazel interrupted. “No ‘but’s. You told me the fatigue started less than two weeks ago, and you’re already at a point where you can barely function without nearly passing out. You’re going to kill yourself if you keep up like this.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how much damage you’ve already done, but you can still hold back now and hope it’s enough to stave off that third phase long enough for me to find a cure.”

“Do you really think you can figure it out in time?” he murmured, feeling his heart sink at her works.

“I…” she trailed off and pursed her lips, averting her gaze as she went on softly. “It’s not looking good.”

Crow closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath as he pushed down a pang of grief. “I should tell them,” he said quietly. “Raven, Alistair, and Simon… They need to know.”

Hazel nodded, “I think it’s for the best. You can’t keep pretending everything is fine anymore.” She reached out to take his hand in a comforting gesture, “But don’t give up yet. If you get plenty of rest and don’t put too much strain on yourself, you might be able to prolong it for a while longer. In the meantime, I’ll keep working on your medicine. I already have a new one for you to try tonight.”

“Thanks,” he said numbly.

“We’ll figure this out,” she said a bit more confidently. “Don’t let yourself lose hope just yet. You haven’t even reached the third phase, so we’ve still got time.” Standing up again, she dusted herself off and offered him a hand to stand up. “Anyway, we should go to the camp and see if your friends are back yet.”

“Yeah,” Crow took her hand and rose unsteadily to his feet. “Seems like I’ve got some news to tell them.”