Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“You need the rest,” she told him.
But he shook his head. “I need a distraction. Please, Sophie. Let me
help you with this.”
It was impossible to say no when his eyes got all puppyish.
Even Elwin caved and pushed Fitz’s cot next to hers.
There was still at least a foot of space between the two narrow beds.
But after two weeks of having Fitz all the way across the room, that
gap felt very tiny.
“Awwww, look at you guys, all snuggly with your little stuffed
animals!” a familiar voice called from the doorway, and they both
turned to find Livvy grinning at them.
The pink jewels woven through her tiny braids glinted as she made
her way closer, as did the matching gems flecked across her dark skin.
But all that shimmer and sparkle couldn’t hide the way her eyes
clouded over when she got a better look at Sophie’s and Fitz’s
bandages.
“I’d been hoping Elwin was exaggerating,” she said, placing her
palm on Sophie’s broken hand. “But don’t worry, we have a brilliant
new plan.”
She rattled the overstuffed satchel slung over her shoulders, and the
sound of hundreds of clinking vials filled the room.
“You found everything?” Elwin asked as he joined them.
Livvy nodded. “Took me three stops to find all the right feces.”
“They better not be for our new medicines,” Fitz warned, and
Sophie definitely echoed that sentiment.
“Don’t worry—they only go in the topical stuff,” Livvy promised,
handing her satchel to Elwin. “Though I did also bring congealed
selkie skin. And hollowthistles—remember those, Fitz?”