Page 10 of A Spark So Bright
Besides, no one wanted to see their victorious warriors walking through the streets, bloodied and battle worn. The king didn't need the fear that would come from such a thing. He'd asked the fighters to stay hidden and heal themselves, and then they could let others see them. He wanted to present a united front. Warriors who were never once touched by the terrors of battle.
The dark caverns were almost impossible to see in, but he meandered his way through until he got to the main central area. It was here that many of the injured would be kept. Most of the people in Trollveggen believed their war bands were gone for weeks, when in reality they were here. Waiting to be released so they could see their families.
Countless people were already here. Some of them were injured, but most were all right. He could see a few who had been poisoned, but they were already drinking the antidote that their healers had made.
All of them were covered in blood, though. It was hard to tell who was injured and who had just been victorious in battle. Like he had.
Gunnar wove through all of them, trying to find the sight of his purple-skinned brother who should have been with the other healers. Ragnar was so much more powerful than the rest of them, though. He could heal until he dropped, and the king knew that.
They all had their parts to play, and Ragnar played it with the best of them.
Finally, he found his brother. Ragnar was wrist-deep in someone's torso, twisting what looked like their intestines back into their stomach while the massive male grimaced in pain.
No use trying to talk with Ragnar then. Not until this was all settled.
He crouched down beside the two of them, surveying the damage with a low grunt. "They got you good with this one."
"I wasn't looking," the troll panted. "The poison is the worst part. Feelings like I've got broken glass underneath my skin."
"I've heard it's like that. At least your intestines will be back where they're supposed to be in just a few moments." Gunnar watched, waiting for the moment when the troll would feel the worst pain.
It was always when Ragnar started sealing the body. His magic reached whatever he touched. The king thought it could go deeper with the right bride, but for now, Ragnar had to be touching what he was healing. And that meant all the pain would come back the moment he stopped being able to reach inside the troll's stomach.
At the first hiss of pain, Gunnar snapped his fingers and brought the troll's attention to him. "Who did you fight to become a warrior?"
"Ingvild," he panted.
"She must have been a real shit fighter."
Anger burned the troll's blue cheeks even darker. "She was the best of her kind. Who the fuck are you to question her?"
"You got your stomach ripped out. She should have taught you better than that."
He kept the male spitting mad until his belly was fully sealed. Ragnar leaned back with a sigh, and then rolled his eyes when he saw the anger on the troll's face. "Are you antagonizing my patients again?"
"Keeps them arguing with me and not fighting you, doesn't it?" Gunnar slapped his shoulder and stood. "You'll be all right, friend. Send Ingvild my regards."
"If she doesn't rip you apart herself," the troll grunted as he pressed his hand against his likely aching belly.
Gunnar didn't have any time to give one last retort before Ragnar dragged him away. His friend practically hauled him through the crowd before hissing, "Did you get Tindra?"
"No, she wasn't fighting today."
"She was. I saw her out there fighting. I saw..." Ragnar ran a hand through his hair, stopping them on the edge of the crowd. "She wasn't supposed to be. That entire war band was supposed to be training today. But they were much lower than us. We were picking off the people who slipped through their wall. And I thought... I thought I saw her fall."
Everything went white. The walls. The room. All of it faded away, except for the fear that burned through him.
"No," he said, forcing himself to focus. "Wasn't her. She's safe at home."
"Gunnar, I don't see any of the trolls in their war band here."
"That's because they're all safe at home. They weren't fighting today." He cleared his throat. "They weren't out there with us."
But then he heard a keening cry. One of the troll women who had fought with him nearly every day since he'd been a warrior dropped her head back and screamed. The entire cavern went silent at the sound of her grief.
Then she pointed at the general who stood before her, accusation dripping in every word. "Torvi was not supposed to fight today!"
Torvi.
