Page 142 of Deadwood
I laid Auria on the bed, not bothering to pull back the sheets. I could clean and deal with those later.
Quinn stood on the other side of the bed, checking the dosage. “Anti-venom,” she explained. “I don’t know how long it’s been in her, so this may not work?—”
“Just do it,” I urged, my tone hard and laced with panic. Tears threatened to fall, but I wouldn’t let them. I had to be strong.
She was going to be okay. There was no other choice. Auria Tenere would not die on me today.
Quinn moved Auria’s blood-soaked hair away from the wound, and the moment she did, Auria started to thrash.
“It’s burning her veins,” Quinn said, as if the explanation would soothe me one bit.
I set a palm on Auria’s cheek, and instantly, she calmed, yet her breathing remained rapid. “I’m right here, Auria.” Gods, all I wanted was to see her eyes. To know she wasn’t on the verge of death. “I’m not leaving your side.”I’d never leave you.
Doctor Quinn slid the needle into the skin by Auria’s wound, injecting every last drop of the serum. As soon as the needle was gone, Auria yelled out, and the sound tore through every last defense I had, obliterating them entirely. Tears sprung to my eyes, but I tried to keep them at bay.
I couldn’t be weak now. Not for her.
I framed her face with my hands, resting my forehead against hers as she thrashed again. “It’s going to be over soon, Auria. Just a little longer. I promise.” My voice broke on the last word. I wasn’t even sure if she could hear me as she let out another scream, the veins in her neck bulging.
My smoke was dormant, eerily still and just as worried as I was over the potential outcome of this situation.
“What’s happening?” I gritted out, wishing like hell I could erase the sound of Auria’s pain from my brain forever.
“The serum is trying to null the venom, but it’s deep in her bloodstream.” The way Quinn’s sentence dropped off held no comfort.
Tears rolled down the sides of Auria’s face, and I tenderly wiped them away, despite the scream that ripped out of her, the sound ending on a whimper as her back bowed.
I tried to calm the frustration rolling through me, but it was no use. Auria’s life was out of my hands, and I fucking hated the helpless feeling that overtook me.
“You’re going to be okay, Princess. You have to be. I won’t let it be any other way.”
As if spilled from a bucket, black liquid sloshed out of her wound, coating the bed in a sticky slime. Once the substance stopped spurting, Quinn attempted to clean up the mess, and I helped replace the pillow under Auria’s head.
“That was the venom,” Quinn explained. “I can heal the wound and put her arm back in place now.”
She walked over to her bag, grabbing a healing vial, and returned to Auria’s side, uncorking the glass. Before she could tilt the vial to Auria’s lips and apply it to her injuries, the green liquid moved on its own accord, flowing out of the open glass in a floating stream.
We watched as ribbons cascaded through the air to caress the bleeding wound at Auria’s neck, stitching the skin back together like a doctor might with needle and thread. As it wrapped around her shoulder, her arm moved on its own, setting the joint back in place, and the red, sensitive skin went back to its pale color. The green substance hovered over her body for a moment, almost like it was checking for other injuries, before dissipating into her skin.
Quinn watched with wide, curious eyes. “I’ve never seen such a thing before. Magic has never behaved so…willingly.”
But despite the phenomenon that had just happened before us, I couldn’t take my eyes from Auria’s face. I couldn’t tell Quinn why the magic might have treated her so tenderly, willingly healing her without command, without sharing Auria’s secret. The magic cared for her like she always did for it, and this was its repayment.
“Thank you,” I croaked, my throat raw and swollen from unshed emotion.
“She may be out for a while,” Quinn said, walking back to her bag across the room. “Days, even. But she’ll be okay.” She stowed the syringe away, along with the now-empty vial. “She needs lots of rest, even when she does wake. Make sure she takes it easy.”
I wrapped my hand around Auria’s limp fingers. My knees had gone numb against the hardwood floor. My lips met the back of her hand as I gripped it, my elbows propped on the edge of the bed. She was so frail and weak in my giant bed, her breaths shallow and slow.
I wouldn’t leave her side until she woke. Until those big, glassy green eyes met mine.
“You saved her life, Bowen.”
I looked over to find Doctor Quinn watching me, curiosity etched into her gaze.
I shook my head, my thumb moving over Auria’s pale skin on its own accord. “You did, and I’m eternally grateful for it.”
She moved her bag from one hand to the other, coming up behind me to set a gentle palm on my shoulder. “She wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for you. Get some rest. She’ll be here when you wake.”
