Page 33 of Releasing Darkness

“I have known Sasha for a very long time. I’m sure she told you that.” At my jerky nod, Varek looked back down at the gaping, bloody wound that exposed her organs. “As long as I have known her, she has always been a fighter. She went through a lot to escape the Underworld and her father and swore she would never return. But she did. She went back knowing it could be her death—for you. She is stubborn and resilient. But most of all, she has something to fight for.”

He backed away as Juliette stepped forward with a bowl filled with water and a stack of cloths. She set them down on a small table next to the bed, then pulled a pair of strange scissors from her pocket.

Juliette looked up at me as she held the scissors in her hands. “Sasha needs to be cleaned up. The easiest way would be to cut her clothing off. I used to be a nursing assistant, ummm, a healer’s aid. This was actually something I might have done in my job before I met Varek. I understand if you don’t want me touching your mate, but I’d like to help.” She looked down at Sasha, and I watched as a tear rolled down her cheek and dripped off her chin. “Sasha is my friend. One of the first friends I ever had.” She looked back up at me with watery eyes. “Can I help?”

Numbly, I nodded my head and stepped back. A hand on my shoulder had me glancing over to see my brother Valen standing next to Varek. “Hey, brother. Why don’t you sit down before you fall to the floor? You look rough.” He shook his head. "I can’t imagine what the two of you went through to get here." Wordlessly, I let him guide me to a chair that allowed me to watch over my mate as Juliette carefully cut through the shirt Sasha was wearing. “Varek and I are going to step out whileJuliette does her thing. Is it okay if my mate, Kallista, stays and helps?”

I glanced over to see a pretty brunette watching Juliette with tears in her eyes. Yet another person who cared for my mate. I nodded in acknowledgment, unable to look away from the bed, from seeing all the blood. I heard the door close with a soft snick and closed my eyes, attempting to fight back the darkness that threatened to overwhelm me. I thought I felt pain and hopelessness before, but now I realized that all that I’d experienced before was only preparing me for this moment.

Chapter

Twenty

VAROS

The feel of something moving on my lap had my head jerking upright and looking around wildly. The brush of fur on my hand had me looking down to see Max curled up, looking up at me with his large purple eyes. I lifted a heavy hand to gently scratch behind his ears the way I had seen Sasha do. At thoughts of her, I looked toward the bed to see my mate laying with her head on a pillow and blankets pulled up to her chin.

I moved Max to the side and rose slowly, walking toward my mate hesitantly, scared to see if she was still alive. I knew that I would feel it in my soul if she were dead, but that didn’t stop my head and heart from being terrified.

I spoke her name softly, the sound barely audible in the room. Carefully, I gripped the bed covering and slowly lowered it, revealing her naked body, which had cloth draped over her breasts and pelvis to protect her privacy. But it was the wound on her abdomen that had my attention.

“We cleaned her as well as we could. We weren’t able to find a demon or human doctor close enough to care for her, so I didwhat I could with the knowledge I had. I’m sorry, the stitches aren’t done very well.” Juliette’s voice pulled me from the daze I had been in as I fixated on the wound and the small black stitches that had pulled it closed.

“We hope that her demon healing will prevent an infection. But since her wound wasn’t closing on its own, I stitched it closed. That’s what we do with humans who have injuries. Humans heal at a much slower rate than demons and often need medical intervention to help the process. I, uhh, am trying to find a way to get her some fluids and antibiotics that I can give her through an I.V. drip.”

With a frown, I tore my eyes away from the wound and looked at Juliette, taking in her tired appearance and the way she was wringing her hands. “I am only understanding about half of the words you are speaking. You closed her wound and are concerned about something else. I know what infection means, but I am uncertain how that applies to her wound not healing.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I am having a difficult time trying to process that you have never seen a human or just about anything in this realm.” She walked to my side and bent over, looking closer at the wound. “Since humans heal so slowly, bacteria can cause a serious health risk. It can make the already damaged tissue worse, even killing it off. Sometimes, bacteria can get into the blood stream, killing off healthy cells inside the body. Many times that humans die from injuries isn’t because of the wound itself, but because of the infection they get.”

My voice was more gruff than I intended, making my new sister’s eyes widen. “You think Sasha could die?”

She shook her head quickly as she looked at me. “No! No, that’s not it. Damn, I am screwing this up.”

“Amica mea,calm. You have done nothing wrong.” Varek walked over and gripped my shoulder. We had yet to properlyreunite, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave my mate’s side long enough. “What my mate is trying to say is that Sasha is healing slowly, and as such, she needs care the way a human would. Antibiotics are just a precaution.”

I ground my teeth and nodded my head once. This wouldn’t have happened to her if she hadn’t come to the Underworld to save me.

“Why don’t you take a shower? I brought you some clothing to change into.”

“I’m not leaving her,” I rasped.

“Look,” Varek pointed to a door across from the bed. “That’s the restroom. It has a shower inside and everything you’ll need to get clean. You won’t be but a few feet away from your mate and will be able to hear everything while in there.”

I shook my head. “I’ll wait until she wakes up.”

“Brother,” he sighed, “do you think your mate will want to see you like this? You are covered in her blood.”

I blinked down at myself, seeing the stiffness of my black clothing. Knowing that it was because of Sasha’s blood had my gut clenching. Finally, I reluctantly grunted my agreement. When my mate woke up, I wanted nothing to remind her of this experience. I allowed my brother to lead me into the next chamber to see a much smaller room.

A glass cubicle stood against one wall, and a chamber pot that looked like nothing I had seen before sat in the corner. A basin sat across from the glass cubicle, but I didn’t see a pitcher for water, nor did I see a tub for bathing.

A chuckle sounded from beside me, making me turn to glare at my brother. He walked over to the glass and pulled it open. “This is a shower. Turn these knobs to control the temperature.” He demonstrated, and streams of water immediately shot through a metal device from above and drained through metal slits in the floor. “Take as long as you need. On the wallare different soaps for your hair and body. The one marked ‘shampoo’ is what you would want to use on your hair. The conditioner goes on after you rinse the shampoo out. You’ll be surprised at how soft your hair will feel afterward.”

I gave him a look that conveyed my total uncaring for having soft hair. He chuckled and then waved his hand, indicating the chamber pot. “That’s called a toilet. You sit on it to take a shit, stand to piss. Or sit, whichever you prefer. When you’re done, just press on this lever, and it goes down the drain.”

A wooshing sound filled the room, and the water swirled around the inner bowl until it disappeared. Then, the bowl filled back up with water within seconds. I shook my head. Water that didn’t need to be heated, chamber pots that emptied themselves. What else did this realm have to offer?

“Alright, brother. I’ll leave you to it. Take your time. My mate and I will watch over Sasha and your… pet.”

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