43. Chapter 43 #2
“You forget yourself, Tonio.” Allyah’s voice was hard, edged with annoyance. “They’ve won. Lower your blade.”
Out of everyone who may have rescued her, Allyah hadn’t even been on her list. It was ludicrous to her, and she couldn’t help the snicker that escaped her lips.
“Mad that I won?”
Allyah didn’t flinch. “Be quiet before I regret stepping in, fool.”
Tonio didn’t lower his blade, leveling a glare at Allyah. “Interfere again…”
“And… ?” Allyah replied, frost settling into her tone.
He didn’t respond.
“All bark and no bite, Tonio,” she said, tutting. “Go before I lose my patience.”
He cursed at Allyah, but did as she ordered, disappearing in a flash of blue. Yareli’s team finally caught up to her, surrounding her in chatter and fussing, but her focus was on the Flame General’s back.
“Get out of here, and have her looked at by the medics,” she barked.
Yareli heard the displeasure coating her every word, as though she were irritated that she had won. Dre helped her to her feet, taking most of her weight as her legs threatened to give out.
“Wait,” she called to Allyah. “You owe me.”
“I’ve not forgotten what I promised.”
“If you do…”
“Stop speaking foolishly. Your performance tonight was pitiful.”
Allyah walked away before Yareli could answer, disappearing in a plume of smoke.
“Bitch,” she muttered. Stabbing pain erupted in her temple. She clutched at her head, remembering the blow she had taken to it. “Any chance I can get some first aid, Erbert?”
“I’ve done what I can already. It’s a nasty injury. You need the senior medics.”
“Ah. I guess that explains why I still feel like shit.” She went limp against Dre, deciding that it was much better to lie down than keep standing.
“Be careful with her ribs.” Erbert instructed him. “At least two are broken.”
“And my wrist,” Yareli added, the dizziness devolving her to a giggling mess. “I can’t believe we did it.”
Vanessa shushed her, telling her they would celebrate as soon as she got patched up. Dre carried her through a portal Yareli hadn’t noticed, and they stepped outside the arena in front of a white tent where medics rushed between cots. Dre settled her into a cot, and Vanessa stiffened.
“Ines, your general is coming this way.”
Yareli, who had already been given some sort of anesthesia, rolled her head toward Vanessa. “What?”
“He doesn’t look very happy.”
Yareli looked past her, and her eyes widened. Augrys was indeed walking toward her through the cots, a quiet fury in his eyes, his power surging in an oppressive aura. Erick followed closely behind, his lips set in a straight line of resignation. Uii wey.
“Shit,” was all she said out loud before he reached her cot.
“Lieutenant Ines.”
She flinched at his tone. It was the coldest he had ever sounded. Yareli’s team angled between them.
Vanessa stepped forward. “First General Augrys. I understand Lieutenant Ines is under your jurisdiction. However, as her team lead, I refuse to allow any sort of punishment to befall her while she is receiving medical attention.”
“Vanessa…” Yareli said, touched by her willingness to stand against a general.
Augrys looked at Vanessa. “Rest assured that I am not here to dole out punishment. We will provide her with the medical care she needs.”
“Once she is stable enough, we will transfer her to her room for recovery,” Erick added.
Vanessa made eye contact with her, and Yareli nodded, confirming that it was okay.
“Go get looked at,” Yareli told them. “I’ll be okay.”
“We’ll have to celebrate another time, Ines.” Dre grinned at her, despite the brooding general standing less than a foot away from him. “Don’t forget.”
She smiled at him. “I could never.”
Erbert patted her hand. “Thanks, Ines.”
Vanessa was the last to leave. “Well done, Ines. Swing by the Fire Court in the future.”
“Of course.”
Yareli’s smile dropped as soon as Vanessa turned away; the dread that ballooned in her cut the joy of winning short.
She flopped her head back onto the pillow, refusing to meet Augrys’s stare, and asked, “What?”
What could he possibly be angry about? She had won, hadn’t she? She watched in confusion as his face softened, and he looked concerned.
“You pushed yourself too far again,” he said.
She looked away, feeling guilty for a moment before she frowned. She had done it to win.
She snapped, “I did what I had to.”
“Augrys,” Erick said, “Have this conversation later.”
“No, we can have it now if he wants,” Yareli said, petulant.
Here she was, proven victorious in the Fire Court’s most renowned festival, and all he cared about was reprimanding her.
Erick pressed down on her ribs, and she hissed, black dots clouding her vision. “No, in fact, you cannot have it now. You’re in bad shape again.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he snapped his fingers, and her mouth closed. She glared at him, shocked that he had used magic to silence her.
Erick ignored her, turning to Augrys. “Go sulk elsewhere, Augrys. I need my patient relaxed, not with high blood pressure because she’s busy arguing with you.”
Augrys’s jaw muscle twitched, but he acquiesced. “Fine, but I’ll be on the other side of this tent.”
“I don’t care where. Just go.”
His footsteps faded away, and Yareli’s anger melted with each step, exposing the sadness she had stuffed beneath.
“I’m going to put you under, Ines. When you rouse, you’ll be back in your room, okay?”
She nodded, avoiding his gaze as her eyes burned. Even though she had proven herself countless times, why did it feel like she was always fighting an uphill battle with Augrys? When sleep came, she welcomed its cool and quiet reprieve from the distress that consumed her thoughts.