Chapter 34 Ariana
ARIANA
Erik lost consciousness, and I nearly fell with his weight, crushing me beneath him.
“Sorry.” I braced myself against the weight of the Lysian King.
Iver grunted in effort. “It’s fine. We can lower him to the ground. Kole is nearly here.” He must have heard and smelled Kole somewhere in the distance, heading our way. Slowly, we lowered Erik to the ground. His only acknowledgment of the change was a low moan.
Kole emerged full sprint, heading towards us.
To his back was strapped something made of wood in a rectangular shape, with a tight fabric stretched over it.
Kole took the device, lowering it to the ground beside Erik.
Iver helped settle Erik onto it, the two of them then lifting him into the air with ease.
Erik’s head, back, and hips were supported while his legs bent at the knees hanging.
The two Lysians moved wordlessly into position around the device that would help carry their King.
Iver and Kole began a quick pace towards the city. I nearly had to jog to keep up. Several minutes later, we entered the castle where Erik lived, but we moved to an area I had never been to before. Down the hall, there was a female Lysian at the far end standing by an open door.
Iver and Kole entered with me on their heels. They lowered Erik onto a slated wooden table bed, one allowing for various adjustments.
Kole cursed. “What happened?” It was the first time he had spoken since joining us.
I answered with a shaky breath. “Lysians attacked. One of them called Erik his cousin. There were six of them. Erik killed five. The sixth ran off.”
The female Lysian moved, a frown etched into her otherwise smooth face.
Her hands flew over Erik’s leg, and she gritted her teeth.
“There’s no time. He will lose his leg if I don’t start right now.
” She looked up at Iver, silently asking for permission.
Iver gave it with a nod, and her focus shifted to the horrendous wound before her.
The sight of it was enough to turn my stomach.
Her hands barely grazed Erik’s skin, and he jerked violently.
“Hold him down,” she hissed.
Kole and Iver went to Erik, grabbing his shoulders and legs.
The female began again.
There were no herbs, no tools in her hands. She merely touched him with her fingertips. Conjuror. She was healing with her touch.
I glanced around the room. Jars of familiar herbs and some I had never seen before littered the shelves. She was a healer. I took a quick inventory of what she had, noting the herbs and roots I recognized. They had pretty much everything needed to . . .
“He is burning up,” Kole said through clenched teeth, drawing my attention back to Erik. His entire body was trembling. Had fever already taken hold?
I reached out, fingertips barely grazing his forearm. He was not just warm from fever. He was literally burning. No average person could survive such temperatures.
“Stop.” I spun towards the female whose sharp eyes flicked to me.
“You may wish for his death. I do not,” she stated, sounding surprisingly calm.
“You can’t save him if we all die,” I snapped and turned to Iver. “I can make a tea that will help to numb some of the pain, and it will also serve to numb some of his conjuring abilities, just for a short time. If you do not do this and continue, then he very well may set the entire room ablaze.”
“We have things for pain, but they take half an hour to work, and we do not have such time,” the healer cut in.
“This will begin working almost instantly and will help temper his conjuring so that you can heal without fear of injury.” I turned to Iver again, for it was clearly going to be his decision. “All the supplies I need are already here. It will take me less than a minute. Please, let me help.”
Gray eyes looked down at his brother. “One minute,” he stated.
The healer removed her hands from Erik, and he stilled.
Instantly I moved, pulling herbs from the shelves, while the female watched me in surprise. Most healers I knew were very particular and guarded regarding their herbs, yet she did not seem uncomfortable with my prying and using her supply. Or she was good at biting her tongue.
“Is there any hot water?” I asked, grinding herbs and roots in a cup, just enough to release the oils from the leaves.
“Silver pitcher. It was freshly boiled just before you got here,” she answered.
“If possible, sit him up so that he doesn’t choke,” I said to no one in particular.
The healer moved. With Kole’s help, they adjusted the wooden table, raising Erik’s upper body to a gentle angle. Kole stepped aside, giving me access to him.
I brought my hand to his burning hot cheek.
“Erik,” I said his name, my voice calm but firm. “You need to drink this.” I poured a little into his mouth, and he coughed it up, spewing it all over himself.
I gripped his jaw. “Erik. We are trying to help you, but you need to drink this. If you do not, then you may kill us all. Do you hear me? Please. Trust me and drink this.” It seemed like his eyes may have opened briefly into thin slits before closing once more.
Again, I tried to pour the tea into his mouth.
He swallowed.
The relief I felt was extraordinary.
I poured more of it until it was all gone.
He drank the entire thing.
Thank the Spirit.
Moving out of the way, Kole helped to lower Erik back down, flat on his back. The healer’s hands found their way to the wound at Erik’s leg.
“Cut the bandage,” she ordered, and Kole moved, snipping the fabric. I hesitated, fearing the sight of blood gushing through the wound, but it never came. Had she already done enough to stop the bleeding? Amazing.
“Amazing,” the healer murmured, looking from Erik’s face to mine before returning to the gash. Her hands remained on him the entire time, and slowly I could see the wound heal, the sides gradually coming closer together, the skin stitching together.
I jumped as the door into the small room swung open with force. Edmond entered, his gaze traveling over Erik’s body, before looking at each of us.
His attention ended on Kole. “Get her out of here.” His voice was frigid as he gestured to me.
“But I—” My words were cut off when Kole grabbed me under my arm, guiding me through the room and out the door. He did not release me when we exited the chamber, practically dragging me down the hall.
“Let go.” I bit the words out, trying to wedge my arm out of his hold. He only released me once we got to a narrow staircase. His enormous body stood squarely between me and the floor we had left Erik on.
“Go.” His voice was firm.
I took a step towards him, entering his space.
Anger flooded through me. How could they treat me like this?
I was the one who cut off the blood to Erik’s wound and who half dragged him back to this wretched place, and they treated me as though I was not even worthy of being in the same room as him.
Within that anger was a sliver of hurt, which only further fueled the rage.
Kole knew me, yet he stood between his King and me as if he needed to shield Erik from me. As if I were the dangerous one.
There was no way of getting around Kole, and so I reined in my emotions the best I could and pivoted, taking the stairs to the fifth floor. He trailed silently behind me till we finally made it to the small sitting room leading to my individual room.
Only when the door closed behind us did Kole finally speak. “Thank you. For everything you did today.” His tone was gentle.
I whirled around. “You have some way of showing it. Treating me like . . .” I stopped myself, for I was a prisoner. That’s all I was to any of them. I had no rights, nothing except for what they allowed me to have.
“Edmond is overprotective and wary. He does not know you as well as we do. I am bound to follow his orders within reason until Erik is back on his feet. Though Edmond may not yet fully appreciate what you did today, I do.” The sympathy in his voice was disarming.
Some of the anger left me, though most of it remained. A tornado of fire burned inside my body, searching for an escape. With a sigh, I took a seat in one of the chairs. Bringing my hands to my temples, I made several circular motions before dropping them in my lap.
“Do you mind telling me a little more about what happened?” Kole asked.
“It all happened so quickly. The other fire conjuror and his pack of Lysians appeared. They attacked. Erik took care of them, but clearly, he was wounded. Thankfully, he could keep it together until the other fire conjuror vanished.” A shiver ran through me at the thought of what might have happened if that other Lysian had noticed the severity of Erik’s injuries.
If he had not used that opportunity to burn me where I stood, I would have stolen the air from his lungs, but after that, I would have had no choice but to run, for they would know what I was.
Would I have left if it meant Erik’s death?
An uncomfortable feeling skittered down my spine.
“They just left you alone?” Kole took a seat in the other open chair.
“No. One tried to attack me. I managed to get him to not use his sword. Somehow, I dodged a few of his attacks, and when he finally grabbed me, I hit him in the throat. He choked, and a moment later, Erik was there, killing him.”
“You were brave,” he stated.
“I had no choice.”
As if I summoned her with my thoughts, Edda knocked on the door and without waiting for a response, she entered. Onyx eyes pinned me before sweeping over my body, taking in the dirt and blood covering me.
“By the Spirit,” she whispered, moving through the room till she stood directly in front of me.
“There was a Lysian attack. I’m fine,” I said to her, voice clipped.
“Lysian?” She turned to Kole with a storm brewing behind her stare.
“Not our Lysians,” he clarified.
“Who?” Her eyes darkened.
“I am afraid I cannot answer that,” he stated flatly.