Chapter 15
Fifteen
Ibite down on the pillow under me and squeeze Leif’s hand.
“Okay, let’s not shatter my fingers, or I’ll end up in a hospital bed next to you,” he grunts, wiggling against my grip.
“Your Grace, we’ve already sent word to Sara, requesting the assistance of healers. Perhaps you should wait for them to arrive,” the medic leaning over my back says.
Raising my head, I breathe through the pain and take in the chaotic scene unfolding around me.
Every one of the hundred and twelve beds in the medical facility are occupied.
Men and women cradling shredded limbs and paling with the loss of blood.
Some have passed from this life as they waited for the overwhelmed medical staff to reach them.
Steel tools clatter, rushing steps pound the floor, and the wounded wail. It’s horrific.
My voice is gravelly as it pushes through my dry throat. “No. It will take hours for them to arrive from Sara. When the healers get here, they are to help those with the most critical wounds first. I can handle this.”
“As you wish, Your Grace,” the woman says, pushing the needle and thread in her hand through my skin.
This isn’t what I wish. I want to return outside and help gather our dead, but Kyron wouldn’t hear it.
As soon as Leif found me and pulled me into a hug, the prince had an unobstructed view of the dirty, angry claw marks down my back.
Kyron ordered Leif to escort me to the medical facility and ignored my protests.
It pissed me off that he wouldn’t listen, but the moment I laid on the bed, my anger morphed into searing pain.
The three slices down my back were showing signs of infection after the battle, and one lesion was so deep it wouldn’t stop bleeding.
The medic—a small, middle-aged woman with salt and pepper hair—sets to work with steady hands.
Every needle prick and pull of the thread brings a rush of nausea, and all I can do is breathe through the pain.
Leif runs a gentle hand over my face, pushing back the hair plastered to my cheeks. “She’s almost done, Elle.”
I nod and rest my head on the pillow damp with my sweat and concentrate on his smooth strokes over my head.
I’m one of the lucky ones. Far too many soldiers lost their lives tonight.
They fought with bravery, but they shouldn’t have needed to fight at all.
We took time for granted, thinking we could fortify Basecamp in the coming days, but the Allaji acted on our weaknesses. I should have never let this happen.
The medical facility’s door flies open, and my stomach turns with fear that more wounded are arriving. Kyron steps inside with Greer and Terro. Blood, sweat, and dirt cover them from head to toe, and exhaustion plagues their faces. This is a battle that none of them are soon to forget.
Leif stiffens and scoots his chair closer to the bed.
He doesn’t shy away from glaring at Kyron.
His disdain for my parah is on full display.
After realizing that I was injured, Leif didn’t think about anything but finding someone to mend me.
There was no time for brisk comments or hate-filled looks, but now, he isn’t holding back.
“Leif,” Kyron says by way of a greeting, inclining his head. “Thank you for staying with her.”
“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for her. It’s what you do when you care about someone—you stick around.”
Greer purses her lips and tilts her head to the side in silent agreement.
No one expected the mistrust and resentment to vanish in one day, but this is not the time to hash it out. I’m barely holding it together as is, and there are more pressing matters at hand.
“Do we have a preliminary casualty count?” I ask, hoping to change the subject.
Kyron crouches, bringing his eyes level with mine. “Don’t worry about that right now. Just let the medic take care of you and the healers will be here soon.”
I look past him to Terro, who says, “We have accounted for eighty-three casualties so far. Fifty-two of those were our losses.”
My heart sinks. Of course Lucent took the brunt of the losses.
We were unprepared for an attack, and the weapons built into the armor only last for so long.
The Cyffreds were forced to get up close and personal with the Allaji.
We might as well have placed them in a lions’ den with nothing more than their hands.
They were not only dealing with creatures faster and stronger than them, but dangerous animals who can strategize.
I shake off my regret, storing it in the back of my mind to simmer in later. “So far? Do you think there will be many more?”
Greer’s face pales and she runs her palm over the wayward strands of hair that broke free of her braid.
“We don’t know. The Allaji took a combined hundred and fifty soldiers from our and the Stigian forces with them.
We’re scanning the area now to make sure they didn’t dump them in the surrounding woods. ”
I don’t miss the double meaning of her words.
She questions if they really took our people or killed them outside of camp.
I don’t know which I want to be the case.
We don’t understand our enemy and the extent of their cruelty.
Death or imprisonment at their hand, both have terrifying possibilities.
“They took Ulric,” Terro says.
I jerk my head up from the pillow and the needle pierces deep, hitting the bone. I cry out and my fingers lock around Leif’s in a vice grip.
“Statera, save me,” he says, pulling away and clenching his hand to his chest.
“I told you to hold that information for later, Ter,” Kyron barks.
“I don’t answer to you, Ky.”
“Then show some fucking consideration for your future queen! This isn’t the place!” Kyron’s voice booms, quieting the commotion around us.
The medic places a gentle hand between my shoulder blades and presses me back down. “Please, if you must have this discussion now, take it outside,” she hisses.
The men cross their arms over their chests and eye each other.
Their outburst is more than high emotions after a battle.
It’s an explosive combination of unresolved hurt and unbridled fear.
I have to find a way to deal with the hostility between my commanding officers and the prince, but not here.
Right now, I need to know what is going on and to begin plans for a rescue.
“Are you sure they took Ulric?” I ask.
Terro clenches his jaw, and anguish dulls the glint always found in his brown eyes. “Yes. I saw a wolf take him. I tried to stop it, but it was too fast.”
I close my eyes and press my knuckles to my lips. I worry in equal measure for every person they took, but my heart aches at the thought of them hurting Ulric. He has carved a special place in my life that will only fit him.
“Your guard is missing as well,” Greer says. “We found feathers and claw marks outside your door.”
Panic boils inside me, and I fight to steady my nerves. I push back all the terrible thoughts sparking to life and focus on the positive. If they took them, we can get them back.
“If I can ask you to sit up, Your Grace, I will wrap the sutures, and you can rest.”
I nod at the medic’s words and push away from the mattress.
Kyron places a steady hand to my side, and I’m grateful for the support.
I swing my legs over the bed, facing my back toward the medic.
The cut and soiled fabric of my nightgown falls down my shoulders, and I hunch over, holding it to my chest and exposing my entire back.
While the medic works to weave a clean bandage around my torso, Kyron remains lowered to the ground before me. He presses his forehead to mine and says, “I’m sorry.”
“Please don’t. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I do. I shouldn’t have snapped at Terro or asked him and Greer to withhold information. I let my worry get the better of me. This is your army, not mine, and you’re a very capable leader.”
I shake my head. “I failed them. I should have implemented precautions to keep them safe. My father wouldn’t have let this happen.”
“Hey, you and I both know that’s a very high standard to live up to. But if anyone can do it, you can. You’re not in this alone, this is my burden too, and we’ll get them back.”
I chuckle at that. This isn’t the first time Kyron has said those words to me. And that rescue didn’t work out the way I thought it would.
He places his hands on my cheeks and lifts my head. “Together, Raelle. We will devise a plan together and bring everyone home. And then we will crush the Allaji.”
It is a rich promise, but one I know he intends to keep.
I nod. “Okay.”
“You’re all set, Your Grace. I will fetch you a clean tunic and get you situated in bed,” the medic says, pulling the tattered ends of my gown together.
“I’d rather rest in my own quarters and make room for someone else who needs this bed,” I say.
“Of course, I’ll check on you in the coming hours to ensure there is no infection.”
“Thank you.”
I rest my feet on the floor and move to stand. Everyone rushes forward. The four of them are ridiculous. Just as soon as that thought runs through my mind, I question if they are onto something. My legs are wobbly, and I can’t hold my weight.
“I’ve got her,” Kyron says, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing me to his chest. He guides my legs around his hips and braces me to him with an arm under my ass and the other resting at the base of my neck, staying clear of my wounds.
I lay my head on his shoulder, and he carries me from the medical facility. Glancing behind us, I find my friends at his heels. They won’t back down, especially now that I’m without a guard. Which doesn’t make sense. No one is going to protect me like the man carrying me.
“Guys,” I say as we enter the barracks hallway, and all eyes land on me, even Kyron turns his head. “I need to sleep, and I can’t do that with all of you watching me.”
Leif quirks his lips and jerks his head to the side. “Thanks for taking her to her room, but we will take it from here, Your Royal Asshole.”
I blow out a long, slow breath. “Kyron’s staying, and we will meet the rest of you first thing in the morning in Greer’s office.
” Kyron jerks with a chuckle, and I lift my head.
“I’m giving them the opportunity to say what they need to say to you, and we’re moving on.
” I look at each of them. “After you all have it out, we will work as a team to save our friends and soldiers. Is that understood?”
They are all quick to agree.
I don’t miss the way their eyes light up. This is a moment all of them have waited for, a chance to voice everything they’ve felt since Kyron betrayed them. The Statera knows that they all will have a lot to say, and they can’t wait to dump it all on Kyron.