Chapter 36
AIMILIA
The only light Aimilia had to see by was the glow from her ring, and the vitae from the shield she’d managed to throw up, holding up at least some of the debris fighting to crush them. Some of it had already fallen by the time she’d been able to get the shield up.
Aimilia hadn’t actually felt any of the debris that had made it through. Nikias had used his body as a shield in a last-ditch effort to protect her. Aimilia could feel her chiton getting wetter and stickier, but it wasn’t her blood.
When Nikias hadn’t responded the first three times she’d called his name, she’d given up to save her breath and what little air she did have.
He was slumped against her, not necessarily making it any easier for her to breathe.
He’d positioned himself in a way that wasn’t outright suffocating her even while he was unconscious.
Aimilia just didn’t know how much more blood he could lose, or if her strength—even boosted with the ring—would last long enough for them to be found.
Finally, the weight bearing down on her shield began to shift. Aimilia took a stuttering, choked breath as the weight kept decreasing. The soldiers were digging them out.
She whispered again, “Nikias?”
Still no response.
Was he even still breathing? Aimilia couldn’t tell.
“Nikias, hold on, just a little longer. We’re going to get out of this. You’re not going to die. Do you hear me?”
Still no response.
Finally, light broke the darkness, and Aimilia winced as it blinded her.
“Your Highness?”
Aimilia called out, “He’s unconscious! Move faster! He needs a healer!”
“Yes, Commander!”
Aimilia’s vision began to clear, and she could see the Runai soldiers clearing the rest of the debris that had fallen into the chasm with them.
Frankly, the only reason either of them was still alive was because they had gone into the chasm.
If they’d stayed where they had been, the force and amount of the debris would have suffocated them.
Nikias had saved her life.
More than once in that battle.
When the last boulder was lifted by the Runai, Aimilia banished her shield and slumped against the ground.
She brought her hands down, shifting to Nikias’ body.
She found the wound with one hand, bleeding from his side.
With the other she reached up to his neck and felt for his pulse. It was faint, but it was there.
She cupped his face, brushing her thumb across his cheek. “It’s going to be alright. You’re not going to leave me. You’re not going to let the Stonai do you in.”
But his eyes remained shut, his skin streaked with dirt.
Finally, the men were lifting Nikias off of her, and Aimilia could do nothing but watch as they pulled him up back to the surface.
Her eyes never left the wound on his side. It couldn’t be too late.
Nikias wasn’t allowed to die on her.
But after holding up her shields for so long, Aimilia didn’t have much strength left within her. She’d exhausted almost all of her vitae. Her physical strength wasn’t far behind.
Once Nikias was out of her sight, one of the guards appeared at the edge again and called out, “Commander, are you injured as well?”
She lifted her hand and waved it, saying, “Just a few scratches. Nothing serious. I just need to catch my breath.”
Aimilia managed to get herself propped up onto her elbows and flash a grin at the guard, hoping that proved her point. The chasm wasn’t so big that she couldn’t stand up and be able to touch the surface. When she did manage to stand up, two guards reached down and helped haul her out.
They were careful with the scratches on her arm, but Aimilia still hissed anyway.
She huffed for a breath as she hit the ground again.
It was uneven thanks to all of the dirt and rocks now covering it.
Aimilia looked over to where Nikias lay in the dirt, but the two healers in their group blocked him from view.
All Aimilia could see was the red staining his chiton.
“While His Highness is being treated, what are your orders, Commander?”
Right. With Nikias down, she was the next highest-ranking officer.
One of the guards immediately began doing basic first aid on her, wrapping her scratches and examining the throbbing bruise on her leg.
She looked around and said, “We can’t afford to move Nikias until he’s stable, and I don’t expect the Stonai will be back soon.
Even so, we’ll cast an illusion over our camp in case they do return.
But we will set up camp here, at least for the night. ”
Aimilia glanced around at the debris once again. If this was anything like the landslides Konstantin had been talking about…
“Did any of our horses make it?”
The guard nodded. “A couple, the others ran off. One or two weren’t so lucky.”
“Then have the fastest rider take whichever horse is in best condition and ride back to the Desero estate so they can be informed of the situation. Have someone else try to locate our missing horses. We’re going to need them.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Aimilia, wanting to ensure she was still useful, began to help set up the camp, despite her sore, aching limbs protesting every move she made.
Anything to keep her distracted so she didn’t spend all her time watching the healers treat Nikias and holding her breath.
She was a commander. Even if she hadn’t gotten the chance to prove it before now, she would still conduct herself appropriately.
She had a few tents set up, waiting for her vitae to replenish enough for her to be able to cast an illusion over them all, when one of the guards, leading one of the horses back, called out, “Commander, you’ll want to see this!”
Aimilia dropped the rope she was holding, leaving it to the guard who had been helping her as she moved across the rubble, away from the stable clearing they had chosen to make their camp.
When Aimilia approached, he knelt down and gestured to something in the ground.
Aimilia leaned down, and that was when she saw it.
Blood.
Someone was under there, and every single Runai was accounted for.
It could only be one of the Stonai.
Aimilia whistled. “All available hands to me! We have to get him out.”
The guard closest to her obeyed, immediately beginning to cast, using vitae to move the rubble. “Commander, the chances that he’s still alive—”
“Are slim. Still, if there’s even a chance he’s alive, I want him out. Not only did they attack us in the heart of Imperia, but they nearly killed fifty children, and now they’ve almost killed our prince. If the Stonai is alive, I will have him answer for it.”
The other guards joined her, and it wasn’t long before they were pulling the Stonai out as well. He had a deep olive complexion and dark straight hair, but it was hard to be sure with how much dirt covered him.
He had also dropped himself into a gap in the earth the Stonai had made, but this one seemed to have been made perfectly to fit him. He was breathing, but only just.
Aimilia quickly examined him, and while she could heal, she wasn’t an expert. She knew enough to take care of Gavril when the occasions had arisen, but the Stonai was probably out of her depth.
She looked over to see one of the healers stepping out of a tent. She hoped that meant Nikias was stable. She waved him down, and he hurried over to them. As he came closer, Aimilia met him halfway, glancing over her shoulder to ensure the Runai were occupied as she asked, “How is His Highness?”
The healer nodded. “He lost a lot of blood, but he will be fine. He’ll need to rest, but I expect within a day or two, he will be functional.”
Aimilia closed her eyes and couldn’t stop the smile on her face as she sighed. She had done such a good job focusing on what needed to be done and the Stonai that it wasn’t until now she realized just how tightly her fear had gripped her heart.
But she couldn’t let it take over. She was still the commander in charge and they had an enemy in their grasp if they could find a way to keep him.
Aimilia opened her eyes and gave the healer a brusque nod. “Good, do you have anything left in you? I want the Stonai alive. He does not get to die and avoid answering for his people’s crimes.”
The healer glanced over at the Stonai on the ground and said, “I can’t say I’ve ever had a stone mage on one of my tables or even studied them in any of our academic texts, but I should be able to manage. If they don’t look all that different from us, then their insides should match as well.”
Aimilia stepped away saying, “Remember, I want him healed. Anything else will come later.”
She ducked into the largest tent and saw the second healer finishing cleaning Nikias up. The healer looked up and said, “Commander, I trust you’ve been informed of his condition.”
Aimilia nodded. “Yes, and now there’s a stone mage I need you to keep alive. Can he be left alone?”
The healer nodded. “He can be, but I wouldn’t recommend leaving him alone for long.”
“I’ll make sure he’s well attended. Should he need anything, you’ll be informed.”
The healer finished adjusting the blanket covering Nikias’ torso. It was drawn all the way up to his neck. “Yes, Commander.”
The healer disappeared out of the tent while Aimilia sank to the ground beside Nikias.
Thankfully, her horse and her saddlebags hadn’t been lost. She had just enough of her vitae-replenishing tea to be able to make some for herself and for Nikias later.
It would take her only a second to grab them and start making the tea for her.
When he woke up, having some would do a great deal to speeding along his recovery.
She just hoped now wouldn’t be the time he got suspicious.
If there was a way she could pin the blame of his father’s decline on the Stonai, they would make a perfect scapegoat.
Unfortunately, the Stonai weren’t known for specializing in poison.
Aimilia knew she needed to focus on making the tea for herself so she could get back out there and protect them all with an illusion, but now that she was sitting beside Nikias, she didn’t want to leave him.
His skin was incredibly pale, and his breathing was shallow from the rise and fall of the blanket on him. She said, “See? I told you that you weren’t allowed to die on me.”
She received no response. She couldn’t stop herself from reaching forward and brushing his hair out of his face so she could see it clearly. Once she had, she also couldn’t help herself from running her fingers through the strands, gently untangling a few knots before she cupped his cheek again.
Nikias’ eyes fluttered, but they didn’t open. He did, however, lean his head into her palm, and Aimilia’s heart stuttered.
How long had it been since anyone had handled Nikias with any gentleness? Was that what she was doing? Why was she doing it?
She looked at him, and it wasn’t as though her anger was gone, but it seemed so distant right now.
His lips parted, and Aimilia pulled her hand away, cheeks flushing bright pink. She whispered, “I’d stay if I could, but I can’t. Duty calls, but I’ll be back.”
But Nikias was asleep, so he hadn’t heard a word of what she’d said.
As soon as she stepped out into the sunlight, she caught the gaze of a nearby guard and assigned him to watch over Nikias.
Once he was inside, she made quick work of grabbing her things and setting about heating up the water to make just enough for a single dose of tea.
She made sure no one was watching her too closely, using her vitae to heat the water and dropping the herbs into the cup with her back toward everyone else.
She let it steep and then downed it all as fast as possible.
The warm rush of her vitae and strength coming back filled her, and the men carried the Stonai into their camp, Aimilia cast the illusion to hide them.
It would be critical in case the stone mages came back for their comrade. Although, Aimilia had doubts they would. They were more likely to just consider him dead or lost. He was just a soldier; he wouldn’t be worth the risk.
Aimilia had them gag him and put him in limiter cuffs. When he woke later, she would deal with him then.
The sun had long since set, and she was exhausted.
As the men began passing around rations to help replenish their strength for the night, the guard she’d set to watch over Nikias stepped out of the tent and called out, “Commander, His Highness is awake and asking for you.”
Aimilia abandoned the guard she was with, working out a watch for the night. They’d gotten enough done; they could work the rest out themselves.
Aimilia quickly hurried into the tent to see Nikias. His eyes were fluttering again, and he didn’t seem fully awake, but he was softly muttering, “Amata?”
Aimilia’s heart hit the ground, scattering in pieces around her.