“Come on,” the soldier snaps at me. She jerks her head to the side.
She grips my good arm, leading me through the courtyard towards the imposing fort. The doors are heavy and thick, and they slam closed behind us with a resounding bang. I stumble, trying to keep up with the soldier but my eyes are heavy. At my feet, Serus stalks beside me, his amber eyes flashing towards me from time to time.
The flow of blood from my wounds has lessened, but I’m not sure if that’s because the blood has coagulated or if there simply isn’t any left to spill. I hiss in pain when the soldier wrenches me to the side, ducking against one of the walls. My eyes flash towards her and I scowl. “What did you do that for?” I snap weakly.
She shakes her head at me, and I narrow my eyes in confusion. Footsteps, soft and delicate reach my ears. I look up, towards an ebony-skinned woman in fine, golden silks. Her almond-shaped eyes rove over me and a smile quirks at her full lips. My lips part in surprise at seeing such a beauty. The woman is all high, round cheekbones, and glowing skin. We watch her pass, flanked by Fae soldier dressed in strange armor. I saw soldiers like that in Altair’s army, marching away from the fortress.
When the woman has rounded the corner, the soldier drags me out from the alcove and down the hall. My breath is shallow, but no matter how much I gulp at the air, I can’t seem to get enough. The soldier’s eyes dart towards me, filled with concern. A door looms ahead, distorted and twisted. No, I think slowly, my vision is swimming.
We push through the door and she deposits me on the feather-soft cot as a wizened Fae turns in surprise. I sink into the cot, blissful sleep tugging at my conscious. I almost can't feel the pain throbbing in my arm or leg anymore.
“This woman needs help,” the soldier says fiercely. “She’s lost a lot of blood.”
I feel the healer at my side, poking and prodding me, running his hands over my arm and leg. He tuts to himself and I groan unhappily. I just want to sleep. He hushes me and pulls apart the binding. The air suddenly stinks with the coppery tang of blood and it pricks at my sense. I wrinkle my nose against it, hardly remembering it’s my own blood.
Suddenly, blinding hot pain erupts in my thigh and I release a shrill scream. I roll to the side, desperate to get away from the terrible burning in my leg. But the soldier’s hands pin me down, her vibrant eyes lock on my face as I scream. I buck, making the pain worse, but all I can think is that I need to get away.
“Hush,” the healer murmurs. “Stop writhing about.”
I shake my head, biting down hard on my bottom lip. Tears stream down my cheeks, making clean streaks across the dust on my face. I try to settle, but I can’t stop myself from arching my back and twisting in the soldier’s grip. She squeezes tighter, painfully so, and glowers at me. I know she wants me to shut up and sit still, but I can hardly control my body in this pain.
Serus coils up on the pillow beside me and places a single paw on my forehead. His paw is cool, like a bundle of ice on my fevered skin. I relax as my conscious slowly fades into darkness. The pain is nothing but a dull throb in the back of my mind as I float into nothing. I smell a tang of magic and I know he’s using whatever powers he brought with him from the ether to soothe me. I let him, grateful for his efforts. I drift away in the darkness, eyes closed.
When I wake up again, it feels like my leg and arm are on fire. I blink against the bright sunlight streaming through the windows and grit my teeth against the pain. Serus is beside me, stretching out lazily in the sun. The soldier is gone, though I can feel bruises where she held me down before I passed out. I look to the right and see the healer busying himself around a table filled with herbs and poultices. He turns, as if he could sense that I’m awake.
“Ah,” he says, moving to my side. “You have quite the little helper here, don’t you?”
I follow his gaze to Serus and my mouth goes dry. Does he know Serus is from the ether? “I do,” I say hesitantly.
The healer nods. “You lost quite a bit of blood, but I’ve managed to restore most of it. You’ll want to drink a lot of water, stay away from spirits,” he says, sounding like a gentle teacher. “I’ve sealed up the wounds but do keep the area clean.”
I try to rise up to a sitting position. “Thank you,” I say quietly.
“Of course, anything for the Curse-Breaker.” The healer gives me a hand. “Be gentle, don’t push yourself.”
I start at the use of the title; I haven’t heard it from a Fae in what feels like years. “How did you know?” I ask, brows furrowing.
“You have a way about you,” he says simply.
He returns to the table with his poultices and herbs and silence falls in the room. I push slowly to my feet, breathing out slowly. I feel better than I have in a long time, strength has returned to my limbs and I feel comfortable in my body even with the magic in me. Serus follows me out of the room and I glance over my shoulder once more at the healer. He gives me a soft smile before turning away again.
I let the door fall closed behind
