Page 151 of Journey to the Elderoak
Collapsing to her knees beside him, vision blurry with tears, she checked him for wounds. Nothing. There was no blood, no visible injuries. Casimir joined her, performing his own assessment, brow pinched with worry. He was breathing. Barely.
A sob burst from Ava, unable to hold it in any longer.
“Wake up,” she cried, shaking Raine’s shoulders. “Wake up, you idiot! Wake up, wake up!”
Monterre’s soldiers filtered into the town square, the rush of boots announcing their arrival. Ava looked up, meeting her brother’s panic-stricken eyes as he carried Quinn in his arms, her leg covered in blood.
“What happened?” she and Thorne said in unison as he saw Raine’s unconscious body on the ground.
“We need the healers. Now,” ordered Casimir as he stood.
“Are there any daemon soldiers left?” asked Thorne.
“No,” said Casimir. “They’ve all either fled or have been cut down.”
Casimir sent out two teams, one to check for their own survivors, and the other to ensure any last enemies who may be hanging on to life were truly dead.
Within minutes, Skye arrived carrying Kai and two other healers. The rest were on their way on horseback and would join soon. Ava had pulled Raine’s head into her lap, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stroked his hair.
“Please don’t die,” she whispered. “You were the first friend I had here. Don’t leave me. Don’t leave Cas. We need you.”
They established the healing quarters in the center of the decimated square, using a large open-air tent they’d brought for this purpose, and stationed the remaining soldiers around the perimeter to guard their space.
Kai approached, trying to hide the strain on his face at Raine’s condition.
“Ava,” he said quietly. “Why don’t you let us move him to a bedroll so he can be comfortable while I work?”
She nodded, shoulders shaking from her sobs as she backed away and allowed soldiers to carry him to the tent. They laid him next to Quinn, who was moaning through gritted teeth as Thorne hovered over her.
Ava sat on the ground between the two of them, holding Raine’s hand as tears continued to fall. Thorne’s face was a picture of rage and worry, eyeing the healers with irritation.
“If you don’t hurry your ass up, I will have you strung up in the dungeons when we return,” he growled.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the healer replied, rushing over with supplies.
A deep laceration ran from the top of Quinn’s thigh to above her knee, muscle and fat visible among her blood-soakedleathers. Ava turned back to Kai as he was laying his hands on Raine, eyes closed, searching for whatever was keeping him unconscious.
He opened his eyes. “What happened?”
She sniffled, wiping her face. “Andras appeared and Raine tried to stop him. Then Andras shot shadows at him and he dropped to the ground. It’s my fault. He was trying to protect me.”
Kai shook his head. “It’s not your fault. And he’s going to be fine.”
“He is?” she asked, voice hopeful. “Why won’t he wake up?”
“I’ve heard of Andras’ power but never seen it in action. His shadows can cause invisible injuries, such as internal bleeding. He has a laceration in his spleen, but I can heal it with help,” he answered as he waved over another healer.
She blew out a breath, her pulse finally slowing. “Okay.”
“You’ll need to let go of his hand while I do this,” he said.
She did as he instructed. Kai and the other healer laid their hands on his chest and closed their eyes, remaining that way for several minutes. Raine let out a cough and opened his eyes.
“Please don’t tell me I’ve stained my leathers with that horrific daemon blood,” he whispered hoarsely.
Ava laughed through her tears.
Raine turned and looked at her, a weak smile on his face. “Good thing you survived. Otherwise, Cas would have killed me anyway.”
