37. Kit I Need a Healer
Kit: I Need a Healer
The Snow Queen’s scream of agony was nothing next to the anguish Kit felt as he watched Nelle slump into the snow.
Unbidden, his dragonish form revealed itself, as he let out an ear-shattering bellow that shook the icicles from the ceiling.
He dropped to his knees, uncaring of the danger, uncaring of anything except gathering Nelle into his arms, holding her close to his body.
The animals that had been fighting to get into the room stumble backward in dismay, looking at each other nonplussed.
Then, without warning, a tangle of vines erupted from the ground, separating them from the escaping prisoners.
Kit looked up, confused, until he laid eyes on Princess Josephina.
She twisted a strand of hair around her fingers.
“That should keep them busy for a while. At least until we can get away.”
Kit nodded, uncomprehendingly, as he cradled Nelle. His voice didn’t sound like his own when he said, “Thank you.”
Princess Josephina grimaced. “I should be thanking you. I was in that icy prison for longer than I want to remember.”
Kit kept his eyes focused on Nelle. “But at what cost?” He couldn’t believe they’d come so far, only for him to lose her like this.
Kai limped over, his eyes narrowing on the young woman’s body. “There’s still hope. She’s not dead yet.” He gestured to the mirror, where another prisoner winked out of sight. “If she was on the brink of death, the spell…it would end. She’s still holding on, somehow.”
Princess Josephina nodded as she kneeled next to him, keeping her eyes focused on the scarlet blood staining the snow.
“We need to stop the blood flow. Otherwise, she’ll be gone before we can get her to a healer.
” She mumbled a word that proper princesses weren’t supposed to know.
“If only I had my herbal kit. I have just the plant.”
Little John regarded her with interest. “You have plant magic,” he surmised.
Princess Josephina nodded. “Though it doesn’t do me much good here.”
Kit ignored them, whipping the shirt from over his head. He glanced at Josephina. “Do you think I should keep the spike?—”
“Ordinarily, yes, you’d keep it in, but the ice is already melting,” Josephina said. “There’s no point.”
Kit gritted his teeth and, with one firm movement, removed the spike from Nelle’s chest. She screamed in pain as he threw the spike aside and pressed his shirt against Nelle’s wound.
He ran his fingers through her hair as he whispered, “Hold on, snowdrop. We’re going to get you to a healer. Just hold on.”
“There’s only a few more people left to go,” Kai said. “She can make it. Little Sister is a fighter.” He smiled sadly. “She always has been.”
Kit eyed him warily as he pressed the shirt more firmly into the wound. “You’ve known her for a long time, then?”
“Since we were children. I was…” His shoulders slumped.
“I was a prisoner of the Snow Queen for most of my childhood. Here, I mean, not in her official residence in Taracocoa. I was ten years older, but Loli—I mean, Nelle—was so sweet. She was always checking on me, trying to help me with the accursed puzzle Queen Snow White had given me. She was only about three or four when Gerda, my first wife, managed to rescue me. I regretted I couldn’t bring Nelle with us when we escaped, but we barely got out of there ourselves.
We couldn’t have…” He shook his head. “We just couldn’t have brought her with us. ”
Kit didn’t want to look at the man as he asked, “So how did the Snow Queen get you to spy for her?”
Kai lowered his head. “It was just after my Gerda had died. I’d married Saphira so that my children would have some type of mother-figure.
And then, one night, the Snow Queen appeared in my house.
” His voice shook. “She told me that Little Sister had been…injured somehow and needed my help. She demanded I go to the Sherwood Company’s camp and ‘watch over her,’ just to make sure she was safe.
If I refused, she told me she’d take my children and give them the same treatment she’d given me, only they would never have the opportunity to escape.
” His voice broke. “I should have said no!”
Nelle weakly reached for his hand. “You…you had no choice. She was threatening…threatening your children.” She hissed as she shifted slightly.
“Shh,” Kit said, stroking her brow. “Don’t talk. Just rest.” He looked back up at Kai. “I assume you knew about her minions?”
The older man nodded. “She sent along three of them to keep me in line, to ensure I didn’t slip up with Nelle.”
“Scarlett and Gisborne?” Kit guessed.
“Yes. There was a third person, but I didn’t know who they were. Their identity was—is—a closely guarded secret.” He grimaced. “I wish I could be more helpful.”
“I’m going to have to do an investigation into every single bloody person in the Company, aren’t I?” Little John muttered, motioning for Princess Zelda to stand. “Come on, princess. You’re up.”
“I’ll tell the healer to get bandages,” the princess said over her shoulder as she stepped up to the mirror.
“I’ll come with you,” Kai said, hurrying toward her.
“No, you won’t,” Little John growled. “I need to inform Robin that we’ve got a spy in our midst as soon as possible.
Wait thirty seconds and come right after me.
” Cowed, Kai nodded, as Little John turned his attention to Kit.
“Your highness, when you bring Nelle, make sure she goes last. Otherwise, the portal won’t close properly. ”
Kit was still nodding as Little John and Princess Zelda disappeared from the room. He gathered Nelle into his arms as he tried to keep pressure on her wound. She hissed in pain, breaking his heart. “Stay with me, snowdrop. We’re almost out of this mess,” he murmured.
She smiled weakly up at him. “I know. Thank you…for taking me…me out of here. I don’t want…to be in this place when I…”
“You’re not going to die,” Kit said with a fierceness that almost frightened him.
“We’re going to get married and live by the sea and have as many babies as you want.
You’re going to bake pies for the holidays and read all the books your heart desires, and through it all, I’m going to be by your side.
” He turned around and pressed his head against the mirror.
“You’ve got to hold on, Nelle. Please. You’ve got to stay with me. ”
Silence greeted his words as the world spun for a second. He found himself in an enormous room that seemed a lot smaller than it was because of the people inside. “I need a healer here!” he shouted, desperation threading through his voice.
A petite young woman with dark hair and silver eyes raised her hand. “They warned me you were coming. Follow me.”
Kit nodded as he forced himself to move. “She was hit with?—”
“I know. Your friends told me,” the young woman interrupted. “I’m Elodie. I?—”
“Lodie, Sebastian’s demanding to know what—Oh.” A man with scars all over his body stopped short when he saw Kit. To his credit, he didn’t flinch as he studied the man’s dragonish form. All he said was, “That’s different.”
Elodie elbowed him. “Oliver, this is no time for personal comments. Did you bring my healer bag?”
The man nodded and held out a simple cloth bag. “I’ll send your mother to help Lucy. And then I’ll come find you.”
Elodie nodded her thanks. “Thank you, love.” She turned to Kit. “Follow me.”
Without another word, she turned and strode down the hall. Kit followed on her heels, his heart pounding as he felt Nelle’s breathing get more irregular. “She’s fading.”
“But she’s not gone yet,” Elodie said as she opened the door and gesturing for him to enter.
Light streamed in from the windows, illuminating a small bedchamber.
To his surprise, she pointed to a long wooden table at the far end of the room rather than the bed.
“We don’t have any time to waste. Lay her flat and keep the pressure on the wound, if you please. ”
Kit did as she instructed, pressing down as hard as he dared on the shirt. “Please, don’t leave me, snowdrop,” he whispered desperately.
“Don’t worry,” Elodie said, coming around to the other side of the table.
“Between me and my husband, I’m fairly certain we can help her.
” She fished a vial of bright purple liquid from her bag.
“Tilt her head back for me, please.” Once Kit had done so, she unstoppered the vial and poured the liquid down Nelle’s throat.
“Okay. That should slow the blood flow. Now we just need to?—”
The bedroom door opened again, revealing Oliver, who was now wearing a smock over his impeccable suit. Elodie smiled grimly at his entrance. “Oh, good, you’re here. Why don’t you take Kit’s place, and he can work on keeping her comfortable?”
Kit opened his mouth, but Oliver gave him a gentle nudge, taking his place at Nelle’s side, as he handed him a damp rag. “I know you want to help; I would too, if I were in your position. But the best way for you to help her now is to keep her cool.”
Reluctantly, Kit nodded and moved to stand by Nelle’s head. He wiped the sweat from her brow, keeping his eyes trained on her face as the two healers got to work.
“Oliver, are there any internal injuries?” Elodie asked, mixing the contents of two of the vials from her bag.
The scarred man muttered a spell under his breath, and for a millisecond, Kit could have sworn that Nelle’s body glowed. He grimaced as he muttered, “Nicked ascending aorta. Otherwise, nothing.”
“Tricky but manageable,” Elodie said. She inserted the mixed concoction into a syringe and injected it into Nelle’s arm. “You keep her heart going. I’ll repair the injury.”
“As you wish,” Oliver said, closing his eyes and murmuring an incantation.
Kit could only watch as the pair worked to save his love. He prayed they weren’t too late.
It seemed like hours later that Elodie and Oliver looked up from their work, their brows shiny with sweat. Elodie stripped off the magical gloves she’d worn and tossed them into a nearby wastebasket. “I need to go check on Lucy’s progress. Can you get Nelle into the bed?” she asked Oliver.
He nodded. “Go. We can manage here.”
Kit looked from the scarred man to the retreating woman, then back again. “Is that it?” he asked.
Oliver nodded grimly. “We’ve done what we can to repair the injury. Now, we’ve just got to wait and see whether she pulls through.”
Kit’s stomach sank like a stone. “You don’t mean?—”
“She’s got good odds,” Oliver said as he, too, stripped off his gloves.
“Elodie and I haven’t lost a patient since…
well, we have an excellent track record.
Still, every case is unique. Only time will tell what happens next.
” His gaze softened as he studied Oliver.
“You should get some rest. We’ll send for you if there’s any change. ”
Kit shook his head. “No. I need to stay here. She needs me.”
Oliver offered a small smile. “Of course she does. But you’re covered in blood, and, if we’re being honest, you need food and sleep to keep up your strength.
You’re no good to her half-dead.” He put his hand on Kit’s shoulder.
“The servants have prepared a room for you right next door. Go bathe and eat, then come back. I’ll stay with her until then. ”
Kit met his eyes. “You swear?”
“On my life,” the scarred man said.
Kit hesitated a moment longer, then nodded. “Fine. But I’m coming right back,” he swore, before fairly jogging out of the room. He couldn’t help but look back at Nelle’s deathly pale face, praying that this wouldn’t be the last time he saw her.