Page 20 of Remnants
“Yes, you can.Afteryou’re better,” Cibrina soothes.
“I can do some now,” the healer argues. “I know we can’t stay here long. Let me at least get them better enough that we can all leave tomorrow.”
There’s silence as if Cibrina’s thinking it over. Cassandra leaps at that opening to push even more. “Thisis what I’m here for. It’s the only thing I can help with. If anyone can understand, it’s you. We can’t fight like they can. But this…pleaselet me do this. I need to beuseful, or else…I just…”
“I’ll ask Aiden. He’ll make the final decision.”
As soon as the first knock hits the door, I open it.
“Aiden,” Cibrina begins, and I wave them inside, stopping Cassandra mid-rush to get to Raegan.
“Wait.” I hold her back by her uninjured shoulder, only releasing her once I’m sure she’ll stay still so I can look at her. Her shoulder is bandaged, and her arm is in a sling. The rest of her is unharmed, thankfully, but I’m not sure what kind of drain these healings will have on her and how it will affect her own healing.
“I’m fine. I know my body better than any of you,” she says stubbornly while raising her chin with a sniff.
Shaking my head, I mutter beneath my breath about strong-willed, stubborn women and move aside.
She sidles up to Raegan’s bedside. If not for her pallid complexion and some bruising, no one would realize how injured she is. There’s an IV feeding her fluids and pain medication on the opposite side of the bed. She could technically wake up at any time, which is what makes it so difficult to leave.
I want to be here when she wakes up.
Cassandra gently tugs the blankets down to expose more of the hospital gown, then places her hand on Raegan’s chest. Her eyes begin to glow just before she shuts them, concentrating on rooting out every injury.
The room is silent while she works. Jackson even stopped sharpening after she started her healing, his focus consumed entirely by watching Raegan for any sign of improvement. Only because we’rewatching her so intently do I think we’re able to actually witness the color returning to her face. The smoother rise and fall of her chest that’s no longer agitated.
I breathe a relieved exhale, then touch Cassandra’s shoulder to remind her this was only meant to be a brief healing. Dane and Reid will need far more, and I don’t know how much she has left before she’s drained.
Cassandra blinks, coming to, then smiles at me. “There. She should be okay to leave after she gets the sleep she needs.”
Frowning, I ask, “How much did you heal?”
She shrugs, and her smile curls a bit before she looks away. “Enough. Can someone show me where the others are?”
“I’ll take you to them,” Cibrina offers, slipping me a smile and a nod. She knows I wish to stay here with Raegan, and she’s giving me that extra time now at least until Cassandra is finished.
I owe her more than I think I’ll ever be able to repay.
She was the one who gathered most of the Guild members and locked them away where GE couldn’t find them. GE stole the ones we’d rescued in quarantine, but outside of that? Tinsley and five others.
It could have been much worse. But Cibrina’s quick thinking and action kept the others safe.
The ones she didn’t reach were protected by the members who stepped up to fight back. Members like Evie. Silas. Fabian. Even Gabriel and Zedd. And Cassandra. With no fighting gift, she still found weapons to defend and protect the kids who had escaped the quarantine floor.
The sound of metal scraping on metal brings me back. I cut a look at Jackson, who smirks but keeps his gaze on his work, and then I turn my focus to Raegan.
I’m not sure how long Cassandra will be, but I drag the overstuffed chair to her bedside and sit anyway. Leaning my elbows on the bed so I can be close, I take her nearest hand in both of mine, bringing it to my lips.
No more,I promise her silently. Whether or not she heels to my demands to make her safe is a problem for later. It’s easy to imagine her doing what I say when she’s asleep like this, when her expression is soft and peaceful now that she’s healed, and her pretty lips part as if asking for me to kiss them.
Her present state reminds me of Sleeping Beauty. A princess in bed, asleep and vulnerable as she waits for her true love’s kiss from Prince Charming to wake her.
But I’m no Prince Charming.
I’d be the villain who locked her away.
To keep her safe.
To keep her for myself.
