His towering frame barely fit through the narrow opening.The stairs led to a dimly lit underground chamber that branched off into several makeshift rooms.Medical equipment hummed softly in the background.
“Just breathe slowly,” the woman’s voice drifted from one of the rooms.“The contractions will ease in a moment.”
Nirrn coiled his tail beneath him, pressing against the wall as he observed the scene before him.The human female moved between three beds, each holding a pregnant woman in various stages of distress.Used medical supplies littered every surface.More humans huddled in the shadows, some sporting injuries, others clearly malnourished.
His professional eye cataloged multiple violations of medical safety protocols.The equipment was outdated, and the conditions were unsanitary.Yet the human healer worked with steady hands and quiet confidence, her movements precise despite the primitive conditions.
“There we go,” she murmured to another patient.“The infection is responding to treatment.Keep taking the antibiotics exactly as I showed you.”
Nirrn’s chest tightened uncomfortably as he watched her work.Such defiance of Jorvlen law could result in severe punishment, yet she showed no fear.Her determination to help these people, regardless of the personal dangers, stirred something deep within him—an instinct he’d thought long dormant.
His scales tingled with awareness as she passed near his hiding spot.Up close, he could see the exhaustion etched on her face and the way her hands trembled slightly as she prepared another injection.She was pushing herself too hard and taking too many unnecessary risks.The thought of Jorvlen authorities discovering this place made his protective instincts flare unexpectedly.
A patient’s groan drew her attention back to the beds.“I’m coming,” she called softly.“Just hold on.”
Nirrn’s fingers flexed against the handle of his medical bag as he watched her work.His medical training screamed at him to step in—to correct the angle of that needle, to adjust the dosage calculations scratched on that worn datapad, and to properly sterilize those instruments.The orange scales along his shoulders bristled with tension as another patient moaned.
“Easy now,” the human healer murmured, wiping sweat from the patient’s fevered brow.“The pain medication will kick in soon.”
His golden eyes tracked her movements as she steadily worked, noting how she maximized every step and every gesture—no wasted motion and no hesitation.Despite the crude conditions, her technique showed years of experience.The way she positioned herself between patients, always keeping the most critical cases in her line of sight, spoke of someone who’d learned to manage multiple emergencies simultaneously.
A young woman clutched her swollen belly, tears streaming down her face.“I can’t… I can’t afford the surrogacy clinic fees,” she whispered.“The baby is going to die…”
“Not while I’m here,” the healer promised, her voice fierce with conviction.“We’ll figure something out.”
Something stirred within Nirrn—an echo of that same passion he’d felt when he’d first taken his healer’s oath.His tail coiled tighter under him as memories surfaced: his graduation ceremony in Nirum’s grand medical building, and the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders as he swore to use his skills to protect and heal.
The human female’s dedication to these desperate patients, her willingness to sacrifice herself to help them in secret… it resonated with something deep inside him.His hands tingled with the need to join her, to share his expertise, and to ease some of her burden.
She moved to check another patient’s vitals, her movements growing more sluggish with fatigue.The dark circles under her eyes spoke of too many sleepless nights.Without proper rest, she’d make mistakes.Without assistance, she’d burn herself out.
A patient’s monitor beeped erratically.The healer turned, stumbling slightly as exhaustion caught up with her.Nirrn’s powerful frame tensed, ready to surge forward and catch her if needed.He set his medical bag down carefully on the ground, trying not to make a sound.
She steadied herself against a makeshift exam table and then froze.Her head snapped up.He thought she sensed his presence, and he would be discovered watching her in the shadows.He held his breath, waiting for her to approach him and demand answers.But instead, she moved toward the patient’s bed and pressed a button on the patient’s monitor to silence the alarm.He slowly let out his breath, relieved that she hadn’t spotted him quite yet.He needed more time to formulate an explanation of why he was down here in the first place.
Chapter 2
Islae
Thedankairofthe underground chamber clung to Islae’s pale skin as she moved between her patients.Sweat trickled down her neck, and the humid space felt suffocating.The constant hum of the outdated medical equipment provided a grim soundtrack to her work.
“Easy now,” she murmured softly to the human female on the leftmost bed.“The contractions should ease up in a few minutes.”Her patient’s knuckles were white against the thin sheets.
“What if the Jorvlen authorities find us?”the woman’s voice quavered.
“They won’t.”Islae checked the IV line, adjusting the flow of fluids.“Focus on your breathing, just like we practiced.”
Islae’s legs trembled as she crossed to the next bed.Twenty hours without sleep was catching up with her, but she had no time for rest.Not with three high-risk pregnancies and rooms full of injured patients depending on her care.
The monitor beside the third bed chirped an irregular rhythm.Islae’s heart jumped momentarily, but she forced her movements to remain steady as she checked the readout.The numbers blurred slightly before her brown eyes.She blinked hard, trying to focus better.
“Your blood pressure is climbing again, Miranda,” she said calmly, reaching for a syringe.Her hands trembled a little as she measured the dose.
A distant crash echoed through the tunnels.Islae’s head snapped up, her pulse racing.Several patients gasped.She pressed a finger to her lips, and the room fell silent except for the mechanical whir of equipment.
“It’s probably just the market carts above us,” she said quietly, though her mouth had gone dry.She turned back to her task, but the syringe slipped from her trembling fingers and clattered against the metal tray.
The monitor’s alarm blared again.She lunged for the silence button, stumbling a bit as her exhaustion made her clumsy.Her vision swam ever so slightly, tiny black spots dancing at the edges.