Page 158 of The Last Guardian

I cupped my hands over my eyes, gently massaging my face. “Why does my head hurt so much?”

Solasta dipped a cloth in a bucket and wrung it out before coming near the bed. “Unfortunately, a side effect of the cure,” she said, pushing away the sheets to see the injuries on my chest. “But the side effects will pass. This wasn’t the most dangerous one.”

With her slender fingers, she gently removed the bandage, soaked in blood, and cleaned the wound on my chest.

I hissed, gritting my teeth at the warm cloth touching my open flesh. “Dangerous?”

“Well, you might not have woken up.” She grimaced. “So that was a bit concerning.”

Great. I could have died then. From the injuries, and from the antidote too…

“It was quite the debate between the commander and the prince,” Solasta continued, finally removing the cloth and putting a clean bandage on the wound. “But they eventually agreed to the antidote because you would have died eventually if we didn’t try it. You also had a concussion from your fall.”

My fall? Oh.

The memory of the attack came back to me in flashes. The sea monsters—the Dead Nymphs—the blood splashing everywhere. The man on the ship, the fire. The mast… I had almost died on that mast.

If Zaid hadn’t come to help, the explosion would have killed me. Even if I’d jumped, the creatures would have eaten me alive.

“I have to clean the others and apply a new bandage. It might hurt a bit; the wounds are still fresh,” Solasta said.

For the next hour, Solasta dressed my wounds, on my neck, wrists, thighs, and chest, while she explained what had happened the last two days.

The crew had ensured that the damage caused by the attack had not compromised anything, and once the situation was secure, the ship had resumed its course the next day.

A small book lay on my nightstand—one I was sure I recognized from Lorath.

“Did Lyra visit?” I asked, and then rectified, “A ginger-haired woman?”

Solasta smiled. “Yes, she spent the entire day with you.”

It was her book. Lyra had come to read to me while I was unconscious.

Back at Lorath, Lyra often went to the healers to read books to the sick children in the Old Town; she had also done this for her father every night before he died.

“It’s finished!” Solasta declared at last. “You must rest for a few days, but after that, you will be back on your feet, in better shape than ever.”

“Thanks,” I replied with a soft smile.

“I’ll come by later today and first thing in the morning to check on your wounds. If you have any discomfort, take this.” She handed me a small bottle of slightly cloudy, pale-yellow liquid. “Take it at night, right before bed. The yarrow relieves headaches, while the chamomile helps you get some sleep.”

I gave her a nod and placed the bottle on my nightstand.

“Get some rest! I’ll see you later.”

Solasta turned her back, and the moment she opened the door, a ball of red hair jumped in front of me, wearing a big grin.

Lyra rushed over, leaping onto the bed. “You’re awake! Thank the stars.”

I let out a groan of discomfort as the mattress shifted beneath me.

“Oops, sorry,” Lyra said, biting her lip.

“It’s alright,” I replied, offering a faint grin as she snuggled up beside me, pulling the blankets around us.

“I wish I had brought hot chocolate,” Lyra mumbled with a grimace. “No one could tell me where the kitchen was on this damn ship.”

I chuckled. “It’s fine. You are here, that’s all that matters.”