31. Chapter 31
Isla hurried into the fray, vaguely aware of Aurelia at her back.
They passed what seemed like countless people huddled among the the wreckage of storefronts and stalls.
Isla felt her stomach lurch as she took in the scale of the destruction surrounding her.
Humans, fae, and others with rich, golden skin - Dunovarians, she assumed - huddled together among crumbled stone and splintered wood.
Isla swallowed hard as she realized how much time had passed since she and the others had happened upon the aftermath of this disaster on the opposite side of the Market.
Since they had doubled back to the trail that would lead them on their ascent to the Skybridge, since they had survived the crossing, and taken a full day to rest. This landslide - these injuries - did not happen recently.
These people had been in pain for hours — days, even.
It was likely that many had already died.
Those with crush injuries or uncontrolled bleeding, caught in the slide itself or pinned beneath debris as the buildings in the market had collapsed, torn apart by the force of the earth…
It didn’t take long to confirm her suspicions.
A quick scan of the area revealed piles of bodies in a clearing near the perimeter of the market, covered in what scraps of fabric people had been able to salvage from the wreckage.
Isla felt emotions well in her chest — grief, guilt, frustration, anger. She turned back to Aurelia.
"We need to see to those with the most severe injuries first, and the children. Their bodies are more susceptible to shock,” she winced, a memory of Neve flashing behind her eyes. "Heavy bleeding, things that need stitching, head wounds, obvious breaks..."
“I’ll need to use my magic more sparingly than I’d like,” Aurelia said, her tone regretful. Isla recognized the tug of frustration in a healer forced to come to terms with their own limitations. “Yesterday was helpful, but healing Vaelin so frequently has taken a toll.”
Isla’s eyes passed over the lines of fatigue on the fae’s beautiful features, another pang of guilt clanging through her.
Twice now, Vaelin had driven himself to the brink of exhaustion, of burnout, for her.
And the consequences of that had affected Aurelia as well.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Vaelin and Evric approaching, their heads bowed together as they discussed something.
The latter glanced up, shooting Isla a tight smile, but Vaelin looked pointedly to Aurelia.
“You’re weakened,” he said warningly, concern in his eyes. Isla pushed away the sharp twinge that seemed to lodge itself in her chest.
Aurelia narrowed her eyes at him, “I know my limits. I’ll pace myself.”
Vaelin exhaled heavily, equal parts acceptance and exasperation.
“We're still in Vaelora,” Aurelia said, glancing to Isla. “My magic replenishes faster here than it does in other realms,” she explained.
Vaelin didn’t look pleased, but he nodded stiffly. "Evric will be close by if you need anything. Be careful." And without another word, he turned on his heel, his hand finding the grip of the sword as it always seemed to.
Isla blinked at the curt dismissal, feeling oddly stung, but quickly turned her attention to the injured as the sounds of pain once again reached her ears. Together, she and Aurelia rushed to where the sounds were loudest.
Among the ruins of a larger store front, a man with deep, golden skin and striking, almond-shaped eyes that turned up at the corners called out before falling silent, his head drooping to the side.
A boy cowered beside him, his clothing in tatters and his brown eyes - the same as the man’s - wide with fear.
“It’s okay,” Isla soothed. “We’re healers. Is this your father?”
The boy nodded, shaking, his eyes snapping back to the man as he loosed another pained wail.
As he dipped in and out of consciousness, Isla dropped to her knees beside him, gently pulling back his long robes to reveal a mess of bone and torn flesh.
As Aurelia examined the boy, wrapping something she’d found in the wreckage around his small body - a torn curtain, perhaps - Isla leaned closer to inspect his father’s wound.
The largest leg bone was visible, a shock of gruesome white against the surrounding reds and browns of blood and grime.
What looked to be shards of glass had lodged themselves around the wound.
“Can you heal it?” Isla asked Aurelia, remembering the way Vaelin’s back injury had seemed to wash away under the gentle brush of her magic.
But she shook her head, staring grim-faced at the wound. “Fae magic speeds the healing process by drawing on the earth’s energy, but the bones still need to be properly set, and the wound cleaned. I can’t draw out infection or remove disease… only speed up the healing process.”
The man moaned again, the tendons in his neck straining in pain as his eyes fluttered open before shutting once more. Isla’s brows pinched with concern as she laid a hand gently on the side of the man’s neck to feel his thready pulse.
She exhaled, calming herself. “I can reset the bone, but it won’t be pleasant. What do you typically do for pain relief?”
“Liquor,” came Evric’s voice from behind. The grim set of his jaw mimicked Aurelia’s.
Aurelia brushed an arm across her sweaty brow.
“He’s right. If the injury is mild enough that it can be healed, it mirrors pain relief.
But we don’t have the knowledge of herbal remedies that human healers do, and your herbs don’t grow in Vaelora.
That’s part of why I enjoyed working with the human healers in the regiments — the combination of tailored treatment and increased healing speed made the process almost seamless. ”
“You worked with the human healers?” Isla asked, momentarily distracted as surprise flashed through her. Her stomach flipped oddly as Aurelia smiled. Isla shook her head, refocusing as she looked to Evric. “I’ll need you to hold him down.”
Within twenty minutes it was done, the shards of glass removed from the flesh and the torn wound cleaned as well as possible.
The man’s shrieks as Isla pulled hard on his ruined leg until she felt the bone slide into alignment still rang in her ears.
She wiped her bloody hands on her tunic, watching as the warm glow of Aurelia’s magic enveloped the leg, the man’s muscles easing as he slipped into unconsciousness once again.
Aurelia looked up at Isla, exchanging a loaded look with her. One down.
As night fell in earnest, they moved through the masses of the injured.
After the first hour, they had developed an easy rhythm, as though they’d worked together for years.
Isla set bones and cleaned wounds as best she could, while Aurelia sealed wounds closed to the extent she was able.
Isla stitched the larger gashes, splinting broken bones while Aurelia healed them enough that they would set completely within a few days, rather than weeks.
Isla was stitching closed a ragged laceration that ran down the inside of a woman’s arm, stretching from her shoulder to the crook of her elbow.
She had been lucky no major veins had been nicked, but the bleeding was heavy nonetheless, the makeshift bandage she had wrapped around it soaked through.
"I've been waiting to have my leg seen to for hours,” an auburn-haired fae complained loudly, his voice thick with boredom and distaste as he surveyed Isla.
A wave of irritation washed over her, stoked by the fatigue that swept through her own body, an anchor pulling her down.
Pausing her stitching, her eyes flicked over the Fireborne fae.
His leg was injured - likely fractured, since he couldn’t bear weight - but he was clearly in less pain than many of the others surrounding him, including the woman she was currently stitching up.
The entitlement rankled her as she met his eyes.
“Your leg can't be healed until it's properly set,” she said, “and this bleed is more critical.”
The fae snorted, his lip curling. “More critical,” he mocked. “She's just a human. Hardly worth prioritizing. Now get over here and see to my leg, bitch."
Isla felt the hot sting of anger flare under her skin.
Beside her, Aurelia stiffened, adopting that unearthly fae stillness Isla was beginning to grow accustomed to.
But before either of them could fire back a retort, a shadow slid over them both.
Isla turned, expecting to see Vaelin, but it was Evric that stood next to her, powerful arms folded across his chest and eyes glittering with the promise of violence.
"Shut the fuck up and wait your turn, or I’ll break your other leg,” he snarled, his voice rumbling deep in his chest.
The fae’s eyes flicked over Evric, as though he were weighing his options. Then he snapped his mouth shut, jaw tight as he looked away, shaking his head.
Isla felt Aurelia relax beside her, returning her attention to her own patient.
Isla slid her eyes to Evric, who nodded at her, the twitch of his lips suggesting he’d be more than happy to provide additional broken bones for her to mend tonight if warranted.
She dipped her chin, trying and failing to hide a smile.
Countless stars shone overhead in the expansive, inky black sky by the time Aurelia and Isla dragged their beleaguered bodies toward the campsite Vaelin had established for them along the outskirts of the remains of the market.
The ache in Isla was bone-deep, though she also felt a sense of tempered fulfillment.
She had helped many people today, and though they hadn’t been able to save them all, many would live thanks to her and Aurelia.
Against her better judgement, her eyes drifted to the pile of bodies stacked on the outskirts of the market. She sighed heavily, grief burrowing deep into her soul.
“Does it ever get easier?” she asked Aurelia quietly. “Losing some?”