Chapter 13
Burns
When Evelyn woke again in the hospital room several hours later, her bruised hip and shoulder were less sore and her head had cleared.
She was also starving.
After grabbing her shoes at the end of the bed, she quietly opened her door. She was at the end of a long hallway and could hear voices coming from deeper in the building.
Evelyn walked down the hall and peeked into any open doorways. The rooms in her wing were all private, meant for injured officers or other important guests.
One occupied room had the door cracked enough to reveal a person lying on a bed.
His whole body was wrapped in bandages, including his head.
Gaps around his mouth and nose allowed him to breathe, but his eyes were covered.
Only the slight rise and fall of his chest proved he was alive.
Evelyn hurried along, not wanting a Healer to catch her.
Dread coiled in her stomach.
What if that was the man I met at the bar? Is Haydn in this hospital?
At the far end of the hall and around a corner, an open set of double doors led into a large room with high ceilings.
The space was long from the doorway to the opposite wall, with windows along the left and right sides.
Four rows of cots spanned the length of the room, one below each bank of windows and another two down the center.
There must be a hundred beds here. And none of them are empty.
No one looked at her while she lingered in the doorway, the Healers too busy to notice and the patients too hurt to care. The hospital wing, meant for soldiers wounded in battle, had transformed into a burn unit for bar patrons and residents of the partially destroyed neighborhood.
Damien made it sound like the survivors would be home in time for dinner. But this… This is a nightmare.
Skin that hadn’t been bandaged was blackened or pus-filled or missing altogether.
The smell of burned flesh and hair mixed sickeningly with the scents of medicine and disinfectant.
Evelyn grew lightheaded as her eyes flicked from one patient to the next.
A cacophony of cries, moans, and screams echoed off the walls.
But the silent patients were just as spine-chilling.
“Evelyn?” said a voice behind her.
She wanted to turn around, but her legs wouldn’t move. She couldn’t take her eyes off the people she had allegedly saved.
Leo stepped in front of her, his hands gripping her shoulders. The sight of him broke the spell she was under.
“I did this,” Evelyn whispered.
“You saved their lives.”
“Can they live without their skin?”
Leo threw an arm around her waist and pulled her out of the room. She didn’t resist, didn’t think about what was happening, didn’t want to make any decisions.
He led them around the corner and stopped in the hallway she had come from. “Why are you wandering the hospital? Why did you leave your room?”
“I… I don’t remember,” Evelyn said honestly.
Leo muttered a curse. “I thought you were sleeping?”
“I woke up… There’s a man covered in bandages in room eight.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t think he has eyes anymore.”
Evelyn was shaking. Leo gave up on the conversation and scooped her into his arms. She let him because the feeling of being cradled was so, so comforting.
“You smell like smoke,” Evelyn whispered as Leo walked them to her room.
“There should have been guards outside your door in case you needed something,” he complained.
Leo laid Evelyn on her cot, clearly intending for her to go back to sleep. But she sat up and he settled beside her.
“Damien was here earlier, right?” Leo asked.
“Yes. He said Angelina died. And that some of the bodies can’t be identified because they were burned so badly.”
Leo’s temper flared. “That’s what he chose to talk about? I swear to the gods—”
“He said King Gerard was yelling at you because we almost died.”
Leo huffed. “That was to be expected. The king loves yelling at me.”
“Damien said last night wasn’t my fault.” Evelyn’s voice was higher than usual.
Leo’s anger faded. “Damien is right. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But all the people here—”
“Will heal,” Leo interrupted. “All the people you saved will heal and be okay.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because we have magic on our side. The best Healers in the kingdom are right here, helping all the people who made it out alive because of you. Evelyn, the real tragedy today would be an empty hospital, not a full one. Dozens of people have a chance to be healed.”
“Ninety-three,” Evelyn said solemnly.
“What?”
“Damien said ninety-three people survived.”
“Then ninety-three people owe you a debt.”
“No.” Evelyn shook her head. “That’s not—”
“I know that’s not what you were thinking about.” Leo squeezed her hand. “But everyone in this hospital knows it’s true, or they will soon. The dead can’t say thank you. Only the living can.”
Leo traced lines on her back with his fingers, which was oddly soothing. There was a small window above the cot. Evelyn could feel sunlight streaming in and warming her hair. In that moment, she wished to be a cat and curl up in the sunbeams.
“I left my room because I was hungry,” Evelyn remembered.
Leo smiled, relieved to have a problem he could actually solve. “I will get you some food if you promise me that you won’t leave this room while I’m gone.”
She nodded.
“Say it,” he demanded. “I want a real promise.”
A hint of a smile showed on her face. “I promise not to leave the room.”
Leo kissed her cheek. Butterflies invaded Evelyn’s stomach, but the sweet reaction made her feel guilty.
Most of the people in this building are missing their skin, and I’m excited about one tiny kiss?
Less than a minute after Leo left, a guard arrived outside her door. He didn’t say anything, only glanced in the room long enough to make sure Evelyn was there. Moments later, another guard appeared, and they each took a position on either side of the doorframe in the hallway.
They look so serious… I should ask them if Leo needs to answer a riddle to get back inside.
Evelyn had planned to rest until Leo returned. But when she opened her eyes again, the room was no longer filled with sunlight. She gazed out the window. It wasn’t completely dark yet, but the sun had just set.
“You’ve been asleep for hours, Princess.”
Leo was sitting at the small table in the corner, with a book open in front of him.
“I only promised to stay in the room, not stay awake.” Evelyn swung her legs over the side of the bed.
He grinned. “I guess I should have been more specific.”
She joined him at the table. Her stomach grumbled when she saw the tray of food.
“I brought you soup,” Leo said. “It’s still warm. The kitchen charms all the food to stay at the right temperature. The army discovered it was the easiest way to keep soldiers happy.”
Evelyn sighed. “I love magic.”
In addition to the bowl of soup, the tray had bread, salad, and several cookies.
“Don’t be mad, but I ate one of the cookies,” Leo confessed.
“I’m furious with you, obviously. You shan’t be forgiven.”
I could listen to Leo laugh for a thousand years and not tire of it.
Evelyn tore her bread in half and handed one portion to Leo, who looked surprised but took it. Then she dipped her own bread into her soup. “Did anything happen while I was asleep?”
“The kings came by.” Leo tore off a piece of bread and popped it into his mouth.
“Both of them?”
“Yes. Your father was amused that you were still asleep.” Leo stared straight at her. “Notice that I said amused and not shocked. He even offered me a bet on how long your nap would last.”
“Did you take the bet?”
“I did not. I am a gentleman. Damien, however, may owe your father some gold.”
A spark of interest lit in Evelyn’s eyes. “Damien came back?”
“Only briefly. He’s been in and out all day.”
“What about King Gerard? What did he want?”
Leo ripped off another piece of bread with more force than necessary.
“He tried to reprimand me for being alone in a sleeping princess’s room.
He shut up when I explained I found you wandering the hospital in a daze, no guards in sight to protect you.
Your father took my side on that one and gave me permission to stay here.
King Gerard couldn’t do much after that. ”
“I don’t know how you’ve worked with him for so long.”
They fell into silence for a few minutes while Evelyn ate her soup.
She heard Damien greet the guards before entering the room.
“Nooo,” Damien whined when he spotted Evelyn, throwing his head back in agony like she’d broken his favorite toy.
“What’s your problem?” Evelyn snapped.
“Twenty more minutes and I would’ve been five gold pieces richer!”
Evelyn gaped at Leo. “You were serious about the bet?”
“Of course!” Leo said. “But don’t worry, Damien. I would’ve woken her up with a minute left on the countdown, anyway.”
“You are an asshole,” Damien told his oldest, dearest, most loyal friend.
Damien hauled the armchair over to the table. He then snatched a cookie off the tray and shoved the whole thing in his mouth.
“Those are mine!” Evelyn protested.
“I stole one earlier and she’s only just finished whipping me as punishment,” Leo added. “You should see the scars on my back!”
Damien swallowed his first cookie before he took another one. He slowly licked both sides of it, then held it out to Evelyn. “Here.”
Leo howled with laughter. Evelyn refused to smile and glared at Damien instead.
“You are a child.”
Damien smirked at her and took a bite of his treat.
He looks worse than earlier. He hasn’t bathed or changed clothes. I think he rinsed his face with water at some point, but that made the dark circles under his eyes stand out.
“Have you been meeting with families all day?” she asked him.
“Yes.” Damien yawned. He snagged the plate of salad and a fork off the table.
Evelyn didn’t fight him this time. “And none of them cared that you’re covered in soot?”
“I doubt any of them noticed,” Damien said between mouthfuls. “Everyone saw the fire last night. Anyone missing a family member today was waiting for bad news. One of the wives started screaming before I could even knock on the door.”
Evelyn glanced at Leo, unsure of what to do. Damien had said it all so casually, like he’d finished a shift delivering tax bills. But his eyes told a different story.
“And how did it feel to be the god of death for a day?” Leo asked lightly.
“Better than being a prince,” Damien deadpanned.
Leo rolled his eyes. Damien set the plate and fork back on the table. Evelyn handed him a third cookie.