Chapter 10 Hanne
HANNE
Slowly and carefully, I removed my sword from the sheath, careful not to let the steel of the blade drag against the exterior and make an audible scratch. My breaths increased, and I tried to slow them as I removed it from its casing, scared these breaths would be my last.
I pulled it free and held it aloft, the blade rusted and ordinary, not adorned with rubies or plated with gold like my father’s.
He’d been buried with it, and now I wished I had it with me.
I slowly rose to my feet and gripped the hilt of the blade so hard it made my fingers ache.
I held it to my chest as I rested my back against the tree, knowing a monster was just on the other side, a creature so foul that it scared a grown man like Caius.
With the weapon clutched to my chest, I breathed, feeling the fear cycle through my body over and over, the rush of adrenaline so heavy it felt like poison in my blood. My entire body trembled, and the terror was so paramount I almost changed my mind.
But then I turned to look at the flowers—and I was so damn close.
I peeked around the tree again, and the creature was still there, its back to me, facing toward the base, seeming to be alone. I took one step and then the next, coming out from safety behind the tree, and I aimed my sword at the back of his neck.
He wore no armor, so if I used all the strength I had, I should be able to impale him through the spine and kill him instantly—so quickly, he wouldn’t be able to make a sound. It was a straightforward plan, but it could still go wrong.
Very wrong.
I gripped the hilt in both hands and raised the sword, the sharp point aimed in the center of his sea of hair. My lungs pulled in the biggest gulp of air I could handle, and I tensed before I launched my attack.
“ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR.”
Loud and piercing, the sound echoed through the chasm, bouncing off all the pointed crags and the emptiness between. I gave a gasp of surprise as I stepped back, unsure where else to look but the sky.
The creature’s head turned up.
I should dodge back behind the tree, but I looked up instead and saw a flying creature through the branches. The being was a deep-green color, with razor-sharp points along its back. It was very long and had several sets of wings down its dark body.
Mesmerized by the sight, I was frozen in place, unsure of what I was looking at.
It passed overhead, passed over their base, and continued on.
The creature in front of me moved forward, as if in pursuit of the creature so high in the sky it was untouchable.
The sound of the roar must have been so loud that it drowned out my voice and hid my presence.
I watched the creature’s heavy body move as it stomped over the roots and the rocks, a massive form packed with muscle and strength, the skin appearing far thicker than my own.
So shocked, all I did was stand and watch him go.
Then I was alone.
I gripped the sword to my chest and finally let myself breathe, practically hyperventilate, as I stood between the trees, truly let myself feel the fear now that my life had been spared.
But within seconds, the urgency of my mission returned, and I sheathed my blade and headed to the group of flowers that could save Morco.
I sliced them all at the root and stuffed them into my pack, taking every single flower I could, harvesting at least a dozen. I wanted to search for more because this opportunity might never come again, but every second was precious.
I returned the way I’d come, trying to be quiet but moving quicker than I had before, knowing I could sprint back to the hole if I were being pursued. I passed the rocks then entered the forest, and the closer I came to security, the faster I moved.
When I had eyes on the crack in the rock, I ran for it.
Caius’s face became visible, and he stepped aside so I could make my way in.
He pushed hard on the rock and rolled it across the hole, blocking the crack from sight or entry. “Did you get it?”
“Yes. Hurry.”
We ran back without stopping, making the return trip quicker than the journey there, and when we rowed across in the boat, Caius got us there in record time. When my feet hit the earth, the fatigue struck me like a rock to the head, but I pushed on.
We ran down the path from the shore and made it inland, and the second we were there, I dropped my sword and my pack on the table.
“What now?” Caius dropped his things where he stood, his face caked in sweat, his clothes damp.
I removed the petals from the bag. “Mortar and pestle.”
“What?”
“I need something to grind this down.”
He ran off to retrieve the proper tool.
I removed the petals from the stems and set them on the table. Other people were at the Gathering, but it was dead silent. They didn’t seem to understand what was happening, like Morco’s sickness had been kept a secret.
Caius returned with a circular rock and a plate.
I started to grind the petals, breaking up the surface to unleash the chemical properties inside. The residue was yellow like the streaks, and then the stench wafted up to my nose. I broke them down until the purple color faded, and then I lifted the plate. “Come on, let’s go.”
We ran to his cabin, and I was careful not to spill the precious flowers I’d risked my life to get.
We reached the door, and Caius threw it open first then stepped aside for me to enter.
Morco was unconscious in bed, shirtless and coated in sweat, his facial features tight in pain.
An older woman was at his bedside holding his hand, and I assumed she was his mother.
“Move.” Caius grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away.
“She’s returned,” she said with a gasp.
“I need him to ingest this,” I said.
Caius grabbed Morco’s jaw and forced it open.
I packed the contents into his mouth, giving him the biggest dose I could, considering the progression of his sickness. It might not be enough. Every Pedalium flower might not be enough in his case.
Caius got the contents down by pouring water into his mouth and forcing him to swallow.
Morco tried to cough, but Caius cupped his mouth so the medicine wouldn’t escape. Morco didn’t fight it, drifting back off into a sickness-induced coma.
“His arm.” I left the rest for the wound, knowing it had burrowed deep within his flesh. “I’ll need to cut through the webbing to get the medicine to the source of the sickness. I need gauze to stop the bleeding.”
The maid left to get what I asked for. Liam produced a dagger and handed it to me.
A rush of guilt surged through me for what I was about to do, but Morco’s life hung in the balance.
I gently sliced the blade across the thick webbing that had grown over his skin and encountered another layer below.
I had to keep cutting until I found the flesh underneath, and a large amount of yellow pus poured out of the wound and dripped down his arm.
I continued to slice, removing the excess tissue that had made a home in his skin and hacked it away, taking off layer after layer like a peeled onion until I reached the flesh and blood underneath.
The smell was repugnant, enough to create a rush of bile to my mouth.
When the infected skin had been removed and I had access to the tender flesh, I applied the crushed petals all along the opening and into the cut, coating it everywhere like a lotion to hydrate the skin. There was little blood, and I was glad I’d spared him further injury. “Bandages.”
The maid handed me a few.
I wrapped up the wound and secured it in place, making sure the medicine was pressed where it needed to be.
The mission had been completed, and the adrenaline passed.
But now, anxiety remained. I’d given him what he needed…
but maybe not in time. I saw him lying there, his hard and muscular body coated with so much sweat it soaked into the sheets underneath him.
His handsome face was tight, like he fought a battle alone behind his eyes.
If he didn’t recover, he would suffer until the end.
“Will my son live?” The woman spoke with a diplomatic voice, but I heard an ocean of misery in her tone. It hurt to watch him suffer, but it must have hurt her a million times more.
I wouldn’t give her false hope, but I wouldn’t give her a death sentence either. “His sickness is advanced. One of the most advanced cases I’ve seen. With another man, I would say I got here too late. But with Morco…I have hope.”
With his mother and his closest friends at his bedside, I felt like I didn’t belong.
I left Morco’s side and bathed in my cabin before I ate something.
The journey had taken an entire day. I’d had neither food nor rest in that time, so I ate something at the Gathering and then collapsed on my bed, sleeping for a couple of hours until my body had enough energy to carry on.
I knew there was nothing more I could do for Morco.
He had to fight this battle alone.
I stood outside his cabin in the hope of news, not wanting to impose myself in a room where I didn’t belong.
I’d arrived in this place just weeks ago, and while that time might feel brief to everyone else and they still viewed me as a stranger, it felt like an eternity to me.
I felt like I belonged in that room, but they might disagree.
So, I waited.
Hours passed, and I sat on the ground facing the cabin, knees to my chest, my heart afraid.
I was afraid of losing Morco for my own selfish reasons.
He was the only person I had, the only person I trusted without reservation.
The only person who ever made me feel a crescendo of emotion so powerful it terrified me.
But I also didn’t want to lose him because… he deserved to live.
He deserved it more than anyone else here.
The door opened, and Caius stepped out. He didn’t notice me at first, and he gave a slight flinch when he noticed me on the ground. “Why are you out here?”
“Waiting for news.”
“I mean, why aren’t you inside?”
“I—I don’t want to intrude.”
He stared at me blankly, his blue eyes light and very different from mine. “You deserve to be in there more than anyone else, Hanne.” He stepped forward then extended his hand for me to take so he could pull me to my feet.
My heart gave a small burst before I took it and let him help me up. “How is he?”
“The same.”
“He’s not worse, so that’s good.”
He gave a slight nod.
“It means his body is still fighting. If the medicine subdues the sickness, the tide will turn in his favor, and he’ll win the battle.”
He stared at the cabin door like he could see straight through the wood. “I hope you’re right, Hanne.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“How long do you think it will take? For either outcome?”
“If he doesn’t improve within a day…then we’ll have our answer.”
He nodded, his eyes down. “People are going to start to notice he’s gone. I’ll need to say something.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“You’ve done enough, Hanne.” He started to walk off. “Go inside.” He headed to the Gathering to deliver the news.
I glanced at the door, knowing his mother was inside grasping his hand, watching over him. Even if I was his savior, I still felt like an intruder, so I returned to my seat on the ground outside the cabin and waited.
An hour later, Allegra ran up the path to his cabin, her eyes wet with emotion that was about to drip down her cheeks. So overwhelmed by the news she must have received from Caius, she didn’t even notice me on the ground before she went inside.
An indescribable rush of anger hit me when she let herself in.
She’d been there many times before, spent numerous nights there, and even though that had happened before I got here, it still made me feel sick.
I struggled to describe the emotion because I’d never felt it before, lacked enough experience with boys to know all these things.
I swallowed it back and ignored it, knowing it didn’t matter if Allegra was there holding his hand next to his mother. All that mattered was Morco pulling through.
Hours passed before Allegra left the cabin, her body broken and defeated by what she had witnessed inside. She didn’t notice me, her mind preoccupied with Morco.
I wasn’t in the mood for small talk, so I didn’t mind.
She gave a sniff then wiped away new tears.
It made me worry what she’d seen. If it was just the shock of his sickness, or if his condition had worsened over the course of the day.
A pain burned in my chest, and a fear lit my heart on fire.
She finally walked off, probably back to her cabin.
I stayed in my spot on the ground and looked at the cabin across the path, trying not to think about how sickly he had looked in that bed, a strong and powerful man fighting for his life without a sword or a shield.
“I hope I wasn’t too late.”