Page 93 of Jewel of the Sea

Her hands shook as she opened the cabinets. She paused and drew in several deep breaths.

Calm.

Panicking or crying wouldn’t help Arkon. She needed to distance herself from her emotions, from the pain in her heart, and focus on her knowledge. These weren’t the first bullet wounds she’d dealt with.

Releasing the seal on her suit, she tugged her arms out — she’d need her hands unrestricted to work properly — and tied the sleeves behind her back to keep her chest covered. She brushed the tears from her eyes, scrubbed her hands at the small sink, and gathered the tools and supplies she’d need to remove the bullets and seal the wounds, placing them on a cart.

When she turned back toward the room, Arkon and Randall were already stretched out on the tables. Macy kept her hands over Randall’s wound, and Dracchus and Jax stood beside Arkon, Jax’s hands on his friend’s abdomen to staunch the bleeding.

Wheeling the tray to Arkon, Aymee grabbed the scanner hanging overhead and directed it over his abdomen. “Lift your hands, Jax.” She pressed the button on the side of the device.

It hummed to life. Beams of light bathed Arkon, illuminating the blood vessels beneath his skin with a soft red glow. This was far more sophisticated than the scanners they had in The Watch — those displayed through a screen, rather than directly on the patient. Her fingers fumbled over the touch panel on the scanner until she found the depth adjustment and used it to view deeper inside his body.

The differences and similarities in their anatomy were apparent. His three hearts beat weakly, pumping blood through large arteries. The scanner picked out the bullets and highlighted them as non-organic objects; she ran her eyes over his abdomen, studying it closely, and finally breathed a small sigh of relief.

No major arteries had been hit, and the damage to his internal organs appeared minimal.

Aymee wiped away the blood and bits of carnage from his stomach with a towel and cleaned around the wounds with antiseptic. She picked up the anesthetic injector and dialed up the dosage slightly; there was an entire science behind determining the proper dosage, but such anesthetics weren’t common in The Watch, and she didn’t have time.

“If this does its job, you’re going to be nice and numb, okay?” she said as she pressed the gun to his neck and injected him.

“I will heal,” Arkon slurred.

Aymee glanced up; his eyes were closed, his features drawn in discomfort, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. Despite his attempt to comfort her, he was far too pale for Aymee’s liking.

“You will,” she replied, “but you don’t have a choice this time. I’m helping you along.”

She bit her lip and watched his face as she pressed a finger into one of his wounds; he made no reaction.

“Jax, be ready to clear blood away for me.” Aymee took up her tools and, using the scanner to guide her, removed the bullets one by one. Jax mopped up the blood as she worked, and she couldn’t help but notice the strangely washed-out cast of his skin; he was worried for his friend.

“How are you doing, Randall?” she called as she worked.

“Tired. Of getting shot.” His voice was strained and weak.

A pang of guilt rose in her chest. She swept it aside; no room for emotion, now.

Once the last bullet was out, she used another tool to seal the internal damage and close his wounds. Despite the room’s climate control, sweat trickled down her face and back. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and set the tool down.

She cupped Arkon’s cheek. He didn’t respond to her touch.

“Rest,” she said, pressing a kiss to his lips. “And remember, you’renotallowed to go.”

One more patient to treat.

* * *

An hour had passed in relative silence since Aymee finished tending Randall’s wound. She sat beside Arkon as he slept, and Macy remained nearby, her presence providing a bit of comfort. Jax and Dracchus had left to search for more boats once they’d been told they could do nothing more for Arkon.

Aymee held Arkon’s hand, brushing her thumb over his. She hated this. Hated not knowing.

He’d lost so much blood. Kraken were tougher than humans, but to what extent? How much damage was too much, when did their bodies reach their limits? She’d done everything in her power. Now, idleness had invited her fears back in.

The door slid open; Dracchus and Jax entered.

“How is he?” Jax asked.

“Stable. Sleeping,” Aymee replied.

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