Kael
The table was not going to last.
One leg had already split.
I put my boot against the sound brace and kept the broken corner between Malcris and Orven.
"Foot left," I told the healer.
He moved it.
The chair came another finger's width away from the central mark.
Orven looked down at the distance we had gained. I did the same.
It was an embarrassing amount of work for such a small improvement.
Still, his heel was on our side of the line.
I kept my knee against the table's unbroken edge. A splinter had worked through my trousers. Moving away would have let the brace shift, so I left it there.
Malcris could see the arrangement. He had helped repair a frame with less damage than this. I did not expect him to miss where the wood would fail.
Malcris watched the movement.
"You're making this harder on him."
"Then release him."
His answer came through the tether.
Orven's back tightened against the chair. I felt the second hold pull beneath my own ribs.
