2. Korr #3
I'm leaning down to lift him when I spot it—a Scion issued dagger buried deep into the back of his skull.
A steady stream of blood flows from the wound, pooling on the stone floor beneath him and almost connecting with another puddle I can only imagine came from Annalise.
Unfortunately, judging by the way she stabbed into the soft spot at the base of his skull, he died too fast to suffer.
There’s no sign of where Web was during the assault, but that doesn't stop my mind from imagining every possible horrible scenario.
Throwing Platt over my shoulder, dust and debris making it nearly impossible to see as I work my way back out.
Halfway to the mouth, I spot her clothes, cut-up and lying beside another puddle of blood and ropes.
Her academy-issued daggers are nowhere in sight, and the urge to torture and kill Platt and Web over and over flares hot and blinding.
They hid them so she couldn’t defend herself.
I step back out into the dimming light, practically slamming Platt’s corpse into the rocky edge closest to Tyr, before dragging Web’s body over like the trash he is. Then I’m running—sprinting down the trail back to Matt. Back to Annalise.
Horrific sounds tear through the air behind me as Tyr takes his vengeance on their bodies, but I don't have a chance to look back as I skid to a stop at the bottom of the hill.
A shirtless Matt has my gun aimed at my head as he holds Annalise tight to his chest.
"It's me, Reyes. They're both dead," I tell him as I fully take them in. His jacket is wrapped around her tightly, and his shirt has been shredded to make an arm sling and two tourniquets, the first already fully bled through. Both of her eyes are closed, and I can’t tell if that’s from the swelling or if she passed out.
He lowers the gun, and like he can read my mind, Matt looks back at her still body. “She’s asleep. Clear signs of concussion, but there was no way to keep her awake.”
“There's a path ahead that'll take us to the riding grounds. It's the fastest way to the infirmary from here,” I say as he carefully stands up, holding her like the most precious package.
“No. We can’t take her there.”
“What the fuck do you mean ‘we can’t’? She needs to be seen. She needs medical treatment!”
“You don’t think I know that? But she will never forgive us if we take her there.
Not only does she not trust doctors, but she was upset the last time she got out…
well, snuck out…She wouldn't even tell me what happened.
She tried to hide it, but it was obvious.
Add on that her last infirmary shift was the bear attack victim, and she'd wake up just to stab us. "
I know exactly why her Combat Med shift left her worked up, but what would have upset her during her stay? The only thing out of the ordinary when I went to check on her was that she had left without anyone knowing.
“She needs to be healed, and I am not a healer," I urge.
“Sasha can do it. Graduation's over, so she’s probably headed back with Antonio and James. We only need a safe place to take her where she won’t be seen. Maybe the girls' locker room?”
I completely forgot about graduation after everything that’s happened. I’m going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble for missing it, but right now, I couldn’t care less.
“Sasha is a student. She can’t treat these kinds of injuries!” I stare at Matt, letting him feel exactly how absurd his idea is.
“Do you think I would let anyone touch her who isn’t the best?
” he asks, but it’s rhetorical because we both know he wouldn’t.
“Sasha is a Spell Casting prodigy who grew up with the kingdom's best healers for parents. She’s been brewing shit in her barracks room for the last six months, fixing everything from period cramps to Lee’s knee that’s been hurting her for years.
If she were awake right now, she’d only want Sasha. ”
“You’re not treating her in a locker room. We’ll take her back to my place.” He looks like he’s going to argue, so I keep going, “I’ll work it with the dean and we'll figure out where to go from here and will make sure all of her classes are accounted for. Okay?”
Matt thinks it over before giving me a single, sharp nod.
“We’re headed to my place. We’ll meet you and Tyr there when he's done,” I tell Kali.
The area glows from Tyr's scorching flames—so hot my back warms, even from this distance. A final roar bellows from Tyr before they take off into the air.
“Can you carry her for a bit so I can call Sasha?”
“Of course,” I say, cradling her in my arms as gently as I can.
She whimpers a little with almost every step we take back toward my house. Without thinking, I pull her against me, hoping my body heat will soothe her just a little. “Stay with me. We’ve got you," I whisper, and to my surprise, it seems to work.
Sasha picks up on the second ring, and after a quick description of Annalise’s injuries, her and Matt hang up.
“She’s grabbing the guys, and they’ll be here in fifteen.”
“Fifteen? It’s a twenty-minute drive from the museum to the other side of campus.”
For the first time since I found Matt in the woods, he laughs.
“You haven’t seen Sasha drive.”