Chapter Eighteen
Despite growing up in a country of warriors, Emmaline had no battlefield training.
Typically, medics finished their education before they went into the field for hands-on experience.
Emmaline had assisted her mother and other medics in setting bones, birthing children, treating illnesses, and caring for the dying.
She knew what to do, she had just never practiced her skills outside of the calm, measured environment of the sickroom.
Emmaline’s skills versus her experience was what started the argument with Griselda.
“I can help! I know everything a field medic does—how to set bones, stitch wounds, keep someone alive until they can be moved somewhere safe.”
“We have other medics!” Griselda boomed. “I don’t need Adelaide on my ass if I get her daughter killed on the battlefield!”
Emmaline’s lip trembled but she held back her tears—they would prove to Griselda that she was too weak to assist them. “Mama isn’t here, and I won’t ever see her again if we lose this fight.”
Anger blazed in Griselda’s eyes. “Do you have that little faith in me?”
“I have as much faith in you as you have in me, apparently!”
Griselda’s nostrils flared, then she flinched and rubbed her nose like she regretted the action.
“Do you know how I’ve survived as long as I have?
Through battles and missions, torture and imprisonment, every gods damned thing I’ve faced?
Because I understand how best to utilize people’s strengths, and how to make up for their weaknesses.
You don’t put a man afraid of horses in the cavalry, and you don’t put the Witch’s Daughter on the battlefield where she’ll distract everyone.
Every single one of my soldiers knows who you are and would die to defend you.
It’ll cloud their judgement; they’ll make mistakes in their rush to ensure your safety. ”
A lump formed in Emmaline’s throat. She wanted to argue, but she’d already seen how the soldiers treated her.
All the ones she knew personally had swept her into a hug and chattered about the latest news.
The ones she didn’t know still treated her with polite respect, asking after her mother, wishing them all safety.
Whether they were friends or strangers, they knew who she was, who Mama was, and were grateful to the Witch and her daughter for caring for them or a loved one in the past.
“Em,” Echo murmured, gently touching her elbow. “There are other ways you can help.”
Griselda’s lip remained permanently curled around Echo because of the glamours they wore. “Listen to your little magician.”
Echo’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a derogatory term.”
“I’m aware. You’re lucky I’m allowing you anywhere near her.”
They raised their chin and demanded, “Just try to separate us.”
Griselda took a step forward and Echo flinched, then scowled at themself for responding.
“I’m on your side,” Echo muttered. “I’d also prefer Emmaline stay out of danger.”
“And that’s the only damn reason I’m not sending you back to your captain trussed up and gagged.
” The longer she talked, the more her face wrinkled in distaste until she finally sneezed three times in a row.
Each sneeze was louder than the last, drawing the entire courtyard’s attention.
“Gods, you smell like fucking Valerian,” she muttered.
“Find somewhere else to stink up before you break my nose.”
Emmaline motioned for Echo to leave. They scowled but moved to a point ten feet away.
“Better,” Griselda grumbled, blowing her nose in a handkerchief. “Still don’t like ‘em though.” Once she finished purging the mage’s scent from her nose, she refocused on Emmaline. “You can stay here in the courtyard, taking care of the previously injured—”
“But—”
“Or I can lock you in one of the palace rooms and leave you there until the battle is over.”
Emmaline gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
Griselda bared her teeth. “Try me.”
Which was how Emmaline found herself trying to coax an ornery captain to remain on bedrest. “Dresden,” she said, trying not to show her exasperation. “You aren’t in any state to walk right now.”
“F—funny you,” Dresden growled.
Echo snorted delicately behind Emmaline. “Yes, that’s definitely what you were going to say.”
Dresden’s uninjured eye glared at her before refocusing on Emmaline. “Em, I know the signs of a battle. I hear the whispers. Varro is returning, and I’m going to gut that bastard and string his intestines up—” he cut himself off with a grimace.
“You don’t need to bite your tongue,” Emmaline replied, smiling softly as she guided the man back onto his cot. “I’ve heard worse at the sick bed.” She glanced slyly at her companion before adding, “And from Echo.”
Echo shrugged, unrepentant. Although she was dressed as a woman again, she hadn’t quite shaken off her favorite roguish persona. “Language is a great way to vent your anger, Captain. Tell us everything you want to do to Varro and maybe someone will oblige you.”
“Who’s going to avenge me? You? A little wisp of a thing who’s probably never held a sword?”
Emmaline gasped and plunked her hands on her hips. “Captain Dresden, you know better than to look down on a warrior because of their gender.”
“It isn’t her gender,” Dresden replied, rolling his eye. “It’s her size. A wet cat would weigh more than her. And put up a better fight.”
Echo batted her eyelashes. “Oh please, give me more of your assumptions, kind sir, so I can shove them right up your—”
“Echo, this is not good bedside manner,” Emmaline scolded as she fluffed Dresden’s pillow.
When she turned around, she found Koen standing behind her, carrying a tray of food. “Oh, thank you,” she said, smiling as she took the tray.
A soft flush of pride touched his cheeks. “Thought you might need some help.”
“Why do so many people treat me like I’m invisible,” Echo grumbled. “I haven’t even mastered that skill yet.”
Koen ignored Echo and asked, “Do you need anything else, Em?”
“Could you get me some fresh bandages, dear? I want to change Dresden’s dressings.”
Koen nodded eagerly and dashed off to the supply chests.
Turning back to Dresden, Emmaline said, “If you want to heal, you need to take care of yourself, which means you need to eat.” She filled a spoon with stew and held it to his mouth.
He glared at her and reached up as if he would take the spoon, only to glower at his bandaged hand.
Finally, he settled back and opened his mouth, allowing her to feed him.
Between each bite, his eyes skated back and forth between Echo and Emmaline.
Then suddenly he relaxed and smiled. “Thank you, Em. You’ve always been my favorite medic. ”
Emmaline beamed at him, happy to see him finally settling in. Perhaps working in the medic tents wouldn’t be so bad after all if it meant she could soothe her patients.
Just as she settled into the role, a warning bell rang in the distance: three distinct, harsh clangs.
“I knew it,” Dresden growled. “That bastard has returned.” He started to struggle out of his cot again, determined to face the traitorous general head-on.
Emmaline’s hands hovered over the captain, trying to keep him on the cot without accidentally exacerbating his wounds. “Please, Captain, settle down.”
He wasn’t the only agitated soldier in the tent. Several of them were calling out questions, arguing with the medics. Two who each had one bandaged leg had grabbed onto each other and were hobbling out of the tent.
“Everyone, calm down!” Medic Hess shouted over the noise. “We are aware of the situation, and your siblings-in-arms will protect the city.”
Arnsveldian soldiers were some of the worst patients. Protests rose from every corner of the tent as they insisted they were fit enough to fight.
Emmaline rushed to the bedside of a woman trying to find her sword despite the severe burns on her arms. Koen stood nearby, watching with wide eyes as he clutched an armful of bandages. He looked pleadingly at Emmaline, not sure what to do.
“Grab me a vial of Liquid Sleep,” Emmaline instructed as she grabbed the soldier’s shoulders, careful to avoid the bandaged areas, and pinned her to the cot.
Koen shifted the bandages to one arm and returned to the supply chests. It took him less than a minute to find the vial, but it was long enough for the soldier to wear herself out. She glared up at Emmaline, her eyes determined even as they clouded with pain.
“Use the dropper to measure out two drops—just two.”
Nodding, Koen followed her instructions, squeezing two careful drops into the soldier’s mouth while she continued to insist she could fight. The medicine and the exhaustion worked quickly, and within minutes she was asleep on the cot.
“We can’t knock everyone out,” a nearby medic muttered as he gazed down at his own unconscious soldier. “Or they’ll be defenseless if the fighting spreads to the courtyard.”
Hess pursed her lips and nodded sharply. “Just the worst of the lot then, the ones who are more likely to kill themselves than the enemy.” She glanced at Emmaline and added, “Including your patient.” The medic spoke quietly, as if afraid Dresden would hear her over the noise and fight back.
Emmaline nodded and gestured for Koen to follow her back to Dresden’s cot. But when they arrived, they found it empty. “Echo! Why didn’t you—” she stopped when she realized Echo was also missing.
Where would a determined soldier run off to in the middle of the chaos? There was only one answer of course. Emmaline ran out of the tent, then sighed with relief when she saw Dresden had barely escaped. He’d stolen a crutch and was hobbling across the courtyard, Echo a few steps behind him.
“Stop following me, dammit!”
“I couldn’t care less if you join the fight, but Em would be concerned. Least I can do is tell her where you went.”
Emmaline hurried over and stepped into Dresden’s path.
“Captain, you need to return to the tent,” she scolded as she gently took the crutch from him, passing it to Koen, and slipped under the captain’s arm to offer her support.
Without needing instruction, Echo picked up Dresden’s other arm and slung it over her shoulders.
“Stop treating me like an invalid! I can still fight,” Dresden insisted.
“You can’t even walk,” Echo grunted.
“I don’t need to walk—I need someone to get me a damn crossbow and let me shoot the fuckers!”
“Captain!” a familiar voice shouted.
Emmaline looked up to watch Langley running toward them. He gestured for Emmaline to step aside so he could take her place. Dresden and Langley were a similar height, which made it easier for him to carry the captain without allowing his leg to drag across the ground,
“Langley, great timing,” Dresden panted. “Get me to the wall.”
“He doesn’t need to go to the wall!” Emmaline insisted, plunking her hands on her hips. “He needs to get somewhere safe!”
“I’d rather die a soldier than cower as a civilian.”
Save me from the stubbornness of Arnsveldian soldiers. “How about dying from an infection?”
Other arguments broke out around her as everyone insisted they knew the best course of action. Suddenly, she understood why Griselda was always growling.
“We’re not arguing,” Silas said, raising his voice above everyone else’s. “We’re all going inside. You too, Em.”
Her eyes widened as she pointed at herself. “Me? But I’m a medic! If someone’s injured, they’ll need my help!” Even if Griselda had forbidden her from entering the battlefield, they would need her back at the tents.
But no matter how she argued, he didn’t listen to her, just insisted it was his job to protect her. When the warning bells rang again, Silas shouted, “Inside!”
Emmaline could now here the sounds of fighting. Although Griselda had ordered her to stay away from the battlefield, all her instincts screamed to rush forward, to help everyone in need. She only made it a few steps toward the wall before strong arms scooped her up.
“Echo, you put me down right now!” she shouted as they carried her up the palace steps.
“Sorry, princess, but captain’s orders were to follow the king’s orders, and the king’s orders are to take you inside.”
Silas shouted after them, “Take her to the kitchens!”
Emmaline struggled in Echo’s grasp until their arms tightened around her. Their hazel eyes gazed at her imploringly as they whispered, “Please don’t fight me, princess.”
How could she argue with such an intense plea? She slumped in their embrace. “Fine, but I can walk on my own.”
Echo didn’t argue with her, didn’t doubt her. They simply slowed their steps and carefully set her on her feet.
She could betray that trust to run away. Instead, she took a deep breath and assessed the situation. “I’m sure there are some scared people hiding in the kitchens, maybe even some who have been injured.”
No matter where she went, in a chaotic battle like this, she would still be needed.