4. Annalise
Chapter four
Annalise
“She needs a few more days' rest before we bring her out.”
Sasha's calm voice is the first thing I hear, and I'm instantly at ease knowing her and Matt are…wherever I am…with me.
“Days? You’ve had her under for almost a week.
I don't give a damn if you're a prodigy.
It's time to bring in a real healer for a second opinion,” a voice snaps, sharp with frustration.
My foggy mind latches onto it, shocked Matt's talking to Sasha like this…
but then he keeps talking, and every word begins to sink in.
His tone is too deep, too rough around the edges. That's not Matt…
“Her blood loss alone should have killed her, but the fact she’s alive after all of her internal injuries is a gods-given miracle!
" Sasha argues, though she's much calmer than I would be if I were being talked to like that. "If we bring her out before the healing is further along, then we’re just being cruel. The pain she’ll be in will be unbearable.”
As though it’s been brought to life by being mentioned, sharp, agonizing pain tears through me. I think I scream—though the sound seems distant as the stabbing sensation clouds my mind.
Sasha’s soft fingers gently comb through my hair as the furious male's voice…Korr’s voice, I realize…snarls, “Put her back under, now!”
“Are you sure you don’t want to ask another healer for their opinion first?” Sasha asks mockingly, and for a second, I imagine slapping her so she could feel an ounce of my pain.
“No second opinion, help her Gods damnit! Give her the tonic damnit, she’s clearly in pain. You’re supposed to be her friend!”
“I am her friend," Sasha says, and I have no doubt her hands are on her hips in the same way they were as she lectured Matt when she did my hair. "That’s why I gave it to her as soon as I saw her body tense up a couple minutes ago. Any second now her body will go back into a deep, numb sleep."
That’s my brilliant friend, I think proudly as whatever she gave me takes effect.
“Hey, beautiful girl. How are you feeling?” Sasha asks, her voice soft like she’s talking to a scared, cornered animal.
“Give her a minute, her eyes are barely opening,” Matt says protectively.
“I know they’re—”
“Enough!” Korr’s commanding tone snaps, shutting my friends up immediately. “The last thing she needs is to wake up to you two bickering.”
I fight to open my eyes through the headache already in full effect. “Headlights. Too. Bright.”
“Clearly, the pain meds aren’t fully out of her system yet,” Matt teases.
*Smack*
“Ow! What the hell was that for?”
“She’s saying there’s too much light in here, Reyes. Help me close all the curtains,” Korr says, leaving me to wonder if it was him or Sasha who smacked him.
“W…” I try to speak when Matt settles back on the bed next to me, but my throat is too hoarse from lack of use or libation. “Wa..ter.”
“Right here, Lee,” Matt says, tapping what must be a rubber straw against my lips.
I take one long drink, letting the slightly chilled, and mildly sweet taste soothe my throat. Then, I can’t drink it down fast enough. Every long pull feels like it’s giving me strength.
"Slow down, Lee. It'll upset your stomach if you have too much too fast," he says, slowly pulling the cup away.
“I put a tonic in the water to hopefully prevent that, but still, it's better to be safe," Sasha tells us cheerfully.
Slowly, I open my eyes, braced for the pain that's come every time I remember trying before now, but it doesn't come.
"There are those gorgeous eyes!” Sasha beams just before Matt lifts me into his lap, pulling me tight to his chest.
“I never want to hear you complain about me being overly protective ever again, you got that?” His words are chiding, but every word sounds as though he's breaking.
Sasha and Korr both start to scold him for moving me, but the second he kisses the top of my head, I burst into tears, and then he does too.
“I thought I lost you,” he whispers.
“I thought you did too,” I admit, which only has him holding me tighter. "I love you so much Mattey. I was so scared you wouldn't make it to me in time."
"Have I ever broken a promise to you?" he asks, but he continues without waiting for the answer he already knows, "I'll always find you."
A sobbed laugh escapes me as I nuzzle closer into his chest. "That was really corny."
"What do you expect? I've been stuck with them for company for the last week and a half," he laughs, nudging my face toward the audience I'd completely forgotten about.
Sasha has taken the spot I was just pulled from, radiant smile aimed at me as tears fill her eyes. I smile back as much as I can manage—and she loses it completely.
"Gods, do I really look that bad, Sash?"
"No!" she insists at the same time a brooding Korr says, "Yes."
I shoot him a glare as he leans against the doorframe like he owns the place. Glad to see he's still an asshole.
Matt barks out a laugh, and Sasha’s eyes go wide in shock.
"I guess I said that out loud? Oops!" I say, sending both of them into fits of laughter. Of course, Korr stays stoic as always, shaking his head, but not snapping at me for once. I guess near-death experiences have their perks.
“What happened?” I ask no one in particular, refusing to apologize when we both know it would be a lie.
“We've only pieced together a little bit, but you were attacked during land nav,” Sasha starts, but I shake my head, cutting her off.
“No, I remember all that. I mean what happened after I got out of the cave? Where are we?” Then a wave of fear hits me, my entire body going rigid in Matt's arms. “Where's Web?”
“Dead,” Korr states, so matter-of-factly, you would think he was telling me the day of the week…which I'll also need to ask Matt once I find out everything I've missed.
“I didn’t kill him. He couldn’t have died from the…injury…I gave him,” I wince, unsure of what all they know.
“You didn't kill him, I did,” he says. “And then Tyr wanted a turn so he shredded his and Platt’s bodies before incinerating them.”
“Tyr?” I say aloud and in my mind, too exhausted to focus on only sending it through our bond.
“I’m here. I’m behind the house in the woods.”
The sudden urge to run out back and see him hits me, but I don’t even think I can stand on my own right now.
“Tomorrow, Little Faren. I’m not going anywhere.”
“He hasn’t left since we found you," Korr answers, not privy to the conversation Tyr and I are having. “And before you worry, he hasn’t been starving. Kali has been bringing him food.”
“Who the hell is Kali?” I ask, torn between grateful someone is taking care of him, and upset anyone other than me is doing it.
Tyr chuffs, and Korr laughs out loud, the sound foreign, but not horrible. “Kali is my bonded dragon.”
“Okay..." I guess that's a little bit better than a person. Maybe?
"I'm an Alpha, Little Faren," Tyr laughs, "Even if that didn't guarantee that I'd be taken care of, dragons always take care of each other. I wasn't leaving you, so they made sure to bring me anything I needed."
"Such a fancy Alpha that other dragons wait on him, you sure you want to give that up for me?" I tease.
I'm thankful when Tyr sends me a memory of us, until I realize it's one of the times I crashed to the ground trying to climb up his leg.
"I'll get you back for that."
"How long have I been out? Where are we? Catch me up on everything I don’t know," I push, forcing myself to refocus on my situation.
Sasha’s face blanches as Matt gives me a little squeeze.
“I’ll let you all talk alone. I’ll be in the kitchen making some lunch if you need anything,” Korr tells us. But before he leaves, a pitying expression flashes across his face as he takes one last look at me.
I'm immediately on edge, and Sasha scooting closer to hold my hand doesn't help that.
Once she's settled, she shoots Matt an unreadable look, and I feel him tense beneath me before nodding back at her.
"Annalise…" her voice trails off as tears begin to fill her eyes. "What do you remember about your attack? About Matt and Korr finding you."
My head snaps up to Matt, tears filling his eyes as he squeezes me harder, and I rack my memory, trying to remember seeing him.
Memories of the horror Platt and Web put me through instantly consume my every thought…
the monstrous faces they made as they got off hurting me, the things they still planned to do…
"Here's some coffee. The heat will help your throat," Korr says, pulling me from my nauseating spiral I was on as he passes a mug to me before retreating back out of the room.
Taking my first sip in what feels like forever, I groan as the warm liquid fills my mouth.
"Seriously, he has got to be a mind reader!" I whisper-shout. "How does he know exactly how I like my coffee?"
Matt's lips lift a little. "That would be me, actually. I knew you'd kill us if we didn't give you coffee as soon as you woke up, so I brought everything over a few days ago with written instructions on how to make it if I wasn't here to do it myself."
"Oh…I guess that makes more sense."
"So…about what you remember…" Sasha pushes gently, getting me back on my miserable track.
"Land Navigation started normally enough. We were all spread out looking for any food supplies and trying to look for berries while we used our maps and compasses to pinpoint where we were based on terrain.
"We were only a few miles away from Scion when Platt snuck up behind me and tried to strangle me. I thought he was trying to kill me, but after getting tackled to the ground by Web, it became clear they were solely focused on trying to subdue me and tie me up."
Sasha's mouth is already wide open, and I regret everything else I have to tell her before the words even come out.
"After fighting for what felt like forever—fists and boots colliding with every inch of my body—they finally knocked me out."
I take a deep breath, knowing she's asking for medical purposes, but still not able to relive every horrific moment again.