Chapter 3: A Dangerous Awakening

The food eased Elena's hunger, but it did little for the fever burning behind her eyes.

She stepped outside to test her legs. Pinehaven Village looked exactly as it had in her memory: clay houses crouched beneath the summer sun, chickens scratching in dusty yards, and only the mayor's and security chief's homes built entirely of brick.

The Ward property sat near the center of the village. Agnes kept pigs behind the house and hens near the front gate. Elena had fed every animal for years, yet she was never given an egg. Caleb and Vanessa received one each morning. Elena was lucky to get broth after the family had picked out the meat.

She had once mistaken endurance for virtue.

Agnes entered the yard with Calvin, his wife Vera, and Caleb. They had returned from the fields for lunch, and the sight of Elena standing idle sharpened Agnes's face.

"So you can walk." The old woman shifted her cane into both hands. "You'll be in the fields this afternoon. If you don't work, you don't eat."

Calvin sighed as if burdened by endless patience. Everyone in Pinehaven knew him as a generous man who had raised his dead brother's child.

"Your grandmother only wants what's best for you," he said. "Harvest waits for no one. If you're well enough to stand, you should help the family."

Elena glanced toward the open gate. Two neighbors were passing slowly enough to listen.

"Uncle Calvin, Agnes struck me until I lost consciousness yesterday." She raised her voice just enough. "I spent the night beside the pigpen with a head wound and fever. I need the clinic, not the fields. Vanessa is healthy. She can take my place."

Agnes's cane hit the ground. "Ungrateful brat! A few taps and you act as if you're dying. Medicine costs money."

"Then perhaps I should die here." Elena touched the swelling beneath her hair. "People might wonder why a family with a soldier's allowance could not spare a few cents for his injured sister."

Calvin's expression flickered.

Elena had spent years fearing his temper. Now she understood that his reputation mattered more to him than truth. That made it a handle she could use.

"Don't speak nonsense," he said quickly, looking toward the gate. "Of course we'll treat you. We're family."

"Good." Elena smiled without warmth. "Then we can explain the injury and the missing support money at the same time."

For the first time since her return, Calvin looked afraid.

The healing force stirred beneath Elena's skin, but she did not call on it. Her bruises were evidence, and evidence was more useful than comfort.

She would not fight this family in the dark again.

She would make the whole village watch.