Chapter 33
SEREH
Sereh was trying to dribble water through his closed lips when Erann gave a gasp and abruptly fluttered his eyes open.
He stared around the cave wildly, then back at Sereh and then beyond her to the mouth of the cave.
A small smile lit his bruised face. He glanced back at her and she reached for his hand, feeling the jolt his touch elicited in her.
She felt her heart clench. He was awake. He would be well.
‘I take it I have you and Arrow to thank for saving my life again?’ She expected his voice to be raw. Instead, it sounded sharp and amused.
‘Well, yes, you do.’ She smiled. She still wasn’t sure how the hole in the snow had appeared. Had their Gods made the snow collapse? She wished she knew.
He grinned at her, one eye swollen, and said, ‘I don’t suppose there’s more water, is there?’
Almost falling over herself with relief, Sereh dashed to reach the cup with the melted snow.
She passed it to him. Her hand shook as she did so.
She hoped she wasn’t suddenly going to suffer a delayed reaction to what she’d endured to rescue him.
She needed to be strong for Erann if she was going to nurse him back to health.
She wouldn’t be able to look after herself and him if she suddenly struggled now.
He either didn’t notice or chose not to comment. Whichever, she was grateful. He drained the cup and handed it back to her with an apologetic grin.
‘Don’t suppose I could have some more, could I?
’ She tripped over the strap of her backpack as she rushed back to the other cup and handed it to him.
Arrow looked at her, almost in amusement, wearing what Sereh suspected was a wolf-dog grin, from where she lay to Erann’s other side.
Sereh frowned at her. She needed to calm down. Her relief was making her giddy.
‘I owe you thanks as well,’ she called lightly from just outside the cave, as she busily refilled the first cup with snow.
‘If it weren’t for you pushing me into the cave, I’d have been buried as well.
I don’t think either of us would have escaped.
’ She turned back to him at that moment and saw his cheerful grin replaced with a small, tight smile. She wasn’t sure what it meant.
He replied in a soft voice, ‘I’m just glad I got you out of the way. When I was under the snow, it was good to know you, at least, were safe.’
There was no denying the catch in his voice. Sereh looked at him. He met her gaze unflinchingly.
Sereh felt her cheeks flush and she turned to place the cup near the fire.
‘It must be getting hot in here,’ he murmured, throwing his furs aside. He gasped in pain, collapsing back against the furs.
‘What is it?’ she demanded. He sounded like a wounded animal.
His face was sheeted in icy sweat once more. She hurried towards him and touched his forehead. He was burning hot.
He scrunched his good eye in pain. His breathing was ragged.
Sereh felt a stir of panic where a moment before there’d been only excitement.
She knew people could be hurt inside even while everything might seem fine on the outside.
What if Erann had injuries that couldn’t be healed?
They were alone in the caves surrounding Vatna Jokull.
There was no one she could ask for help.
‘What is it, Erann? Where are you hurt?’ she demanded, her voice a squeak of fear. She ran both her hands over his face and chest, trying to assess the damage, until his hands encircled her wrists, and once more, and despite it all, she felt a bolt of something jolt her at his touch.
‘Sereh,’ he hissed through tight lips. ‘Please stop panicking. I’m well.
Well, as well as I can be after being buried alive in the snow.
’ His eyelashes fluttered open on his startling green eyes, and he offered a small, tight grin.
‘I think I’ve broken one of my legs. The pain is, quite frankly, excruciating.
Will you check for me?’ His eyes fluttered shut once more.
Sereh felt his grip slowly release and found herself wishing he’d not let go. That simple moment of connection was enough to make her feel calm again. She shook her head. What Erann needed now was her full attention.
She gently lifted the furs over his legs.
He groaned again.
‘Are you sure you want me to do this?’
He opened his good eye enough to smile encouragement.
The smile made her beam. ‘Brace yourself.’
She pulled the furs free from where they’d become entangled around his legs with a grimace and immediately discovered the problem.
One leg had a piece of bone sticking through not only his skin but also his trousers.
How had she not noticed before? She inhaled sharply as she went on to examine the other leg.
It appeared uninjured, but when she rolled up the fur leg covering, she was greeted with a patchwork of purples and blacks. It was badly bruised.
Erann’s breathing was uneven. She was grateful he couldn’t see her face and see the worry that was undoubtedly reflected there.
While his injuries weren’t life-threatening, they’d heal with time, so long as they were set correctly.
But out here it was difficult to know what to do for the best. They’d quickly run out of food, and Sereh was worried there’d soon be another avalanche.
She’d heard more booms and snaps that made it feel like the mountain was waking the entire time she’d been awake, watching Erann.
She covered his bruised leg and sat back to think about what to do with the broken one. To properly tend to it, she’d need to remove his trousers. The thought made her blush. Erann let out an exasperated sigh, from where he lay with his eyes still closed, his breathing ragged with pain.
‘Well, are you going to tell me or sit there?’
His voice sounded strained but amused. She met his unflinching gaze, good eye open. She flushed from the intensity and quickly looked down. ‘Your left’s broken below the knee, and your right is very badly bruised.’
‘Well, that explains the pain then,’ came his matter-of-fact reply, only for him to hiss once more.
Sereh almost laughed. He didn’t sound anywhere near as worried as she was.
‘I’ll look around for something to use as a splint and get your leg tied up. It doesn’t seem to be bleeding, not any more.’
As she made to stand, she felt a pressure on her arm and turned to see Erann’s eyes on her again, his hand on her arm.
‘Thanks, Sereh,’ he whispered, ‘really, thank you.’
The intensity in his voice brought a flush to her cheeks once more, and she got up a bit quicker than she intended and then stumbled over the furs she’d pulled to one side when uncovering his legs.
She didn’t trust herself to answer. Something unfamiliar had taken root inside her – a warmth that seemed impossible here, amid the ice and blood and fear. It frightened her almost as much as the avalanche.
She turned back to the backpack, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand. When she glanced over her shoulder, his eyes had drifted shut again.
A knot tightened in her chest.
His pain was evidently unbearable, and yet, somehow, he made her feel like this. As though they could survive anything. And maybe he was right.