As Lincoln road back with Vik, Caliban, and Tomac toward the Sacred Hunting Grounds, his angel's first words to him continued to haunt his thoughts. Please don't hurt me, her voice repeated over and over again. Lincoln shook his head, trying to clear it but instead Anya's voice echoed, "They are not some injured animal you can nurse back to health this time." Anya had struck a nerve, coming much too close to the truth about the injured Sky Person currently recuperating in his cave.

Caliban raised his arm, signaling the group to stop. "We'll leave the horses here and use the trees instead."

They dismounted and Lincoln reached his arm out to Caliban in goodbye. "I part ways with you here. Anya has ordered me to continue observing for the time being." The morning autumn air was still cool enough for him to see his breath.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us hunting the invaders?" Caliban asked as Vik and Tomac scaled up into the trees ahead of him. "It will be like old times when we were still at war with Azgeda," he said, his teeth glinting menacingly as he smiled at the memory.

Lincoln shook his head, remembering the old times fighting against the Ice Nation in a very different light than Caliban. "I haven't slept in a couple of days. Maybe next time."

Caliban shrugged and turned away. "More Sky People for me then," he said as he jumped up to catch hold of a branch before pulling himself up into the forest above.

Lincoln watched Caliban climb higher, waiting until he disappeared from sight before turning around and heading back toward his cave. He skirted the outside of the Hunting Grounds, not wanting to encounter any of the Sky People who had made the mistake of crossing over into their most sacred of lands. He felt guilty, like maybe it was his fault they had bombed a village, his fault the Sky People were now in their sacred lands. Because of her. No, he had to believe Anya was right; the missile was the start of their war and this was a raiding party, not a rescue party.

A flash of movement caught his attention and left him frowning. It was his terrible fate to encounter one of them anyway. It was a female, stumbling her way through the forest straight toward him. It was her, dammit! He didn't waste time thinking about how she could have possibly escaped, much less be running on her injured leg because Caliban and the others would be there soon and see her. A scream sounded nearby. She froze in her tracks, looking around. Lincoln took the opportunity to grab her. His hand covered her mouth and stifled her scream while his other arm wrapped tight about her waist. The screams grew closer as he dragged her down behind a tree.

Another female ran past where they had been moments earlier. Lincoln held fast as the woman in his arms struggled against him, trying to free herself so she could call out for help. But suddenly, the running female was thrown back, pinned to a tree by a spear through her chest. He felt the resistance melt from his angel at the realization that it might have been her instead. He loosened his hand from over her mouth and when she didn't scream, he removed it. He wrapped his arms about her waist and pulled her away from the hunting grounds.

He didn't set her down until they reached the border of the sacred grounds. He thought about pointing her in the direction of her camp but she might just wander back into the grounds and get herself speared anyway. He didn't know what to do so he just turned around and started walking back toward his cave. Moments later, he heard her hobbling along behind him and the corner of his mouth tweaked up as he fought from smiling. She was much stronger than he had realized. He intentionally slowed his pace for her, wanting to see how long she could keep up.

They were almost back to his cave when he heard her exclaim behind him, "ugh! My leg." Lincoln fought back another smile as he stopped and turned around, assessing her. She leaned against a tree, panting from the pain her leg must be causing her. "I need to rest."

Lincoln didn't wait for her to finish her sentence before striding over to her and effortlessly lifting her into his arms. Her eyes were intently studying his face and it took all his will-power and stoicism to not return the gaze.

"Thank you. You saved my life." He tried to remain unmoved at her words. After everything she had been through, after everything he had done to her, she was thanking him for it. Lincoln's heart ached as he felt the guilt rising up again.

"That girl back there, I knew her. So, if she's here, then so is my brother. Please! You have to help him, too. They'll kill him."

Please, the first word she had ever spoken to him. He had ignored her before but he wasn't so certain he could this time, not if it was because of him that her brother was now out there being hunted by Lincoln's people.

When he still didn't respond, she tossed her head back in frustration. "You don't understand me, do you? Great."

He finally glanced at her, debating whether he should calm her fears, talk to her. The Woods Clan had their own language, Trigedasleng, a shibboleth used to identify the enemy, and only the warriors spoke Gonasleng, English, so the innocent were spared being tortured for information. She was the enemy and if he revealed he knew English, when she returned to the others, she would tell them.

They reached the entrance to his cave and he set her down on her feet while he pushed back the grate covering the opening. He lifted her up again and carried her inside, setting her down gently on the floor of the main room. He didn't know how she had gotten out of his cave before but if he were to save her brother like she had asked, he needed to make sure she didn't get out again. It was too dangerous for her out there alone right now. His eyes roamed around his cave as he quickly improvised a solution to keep her safe.

"Why are you taking care of me?" she asked. Because the thought of her dying sent tremors through his soul. Because he had thought her dead too many times already and he wasn't willing to let it happen if he could stop it. Lincoln remained quiet as he pulled out some metal rope and grabbed the lock off his book cabinet.

"You found me at the bottom of that ravine. Fixed my knee." Lincoln grasped both of her wrists and began wrapping the chain around them. "What the hell are you doing?" He ignored her as he continued his task, treating it like when he had to cauterize her wound. "Please don't do this." She begged as he finished securing her wrists and began dragging her over toward the wall of his cave. "Ah! Stop it! No, stop it! Stop! Please! Please don't do this." He looped the chain through a metal ring embedded into the wall he normally used for drying herbs and secured it with the lock. She was crying now, each sob sending an arrow of pain through his chest, so he hurried out of the cave to save her damn brother.