Page 28 of The Hidden Falling
“What the fuck do you mean too much is at risk?” Shit.
“I will answer your questions after I have seen the injured. Just drop it for now. There are more important things to do than stay out here and argue with you.’ I wave my hand as if I can bat all his questions away. He wants answers, and he will get them. Maybe just not the correct ones.
We come up to the cabin, trailing up the worn steps and entering. The open plan living and kitchen area has been turned into a makeshift workspace for Anna. Pallets have been put on the floor, furs and clean sheets over them as she goes from man to man to assess their injuries. She spies me as I enter, briefly looking over my shoulder at my babysitter before barking out orders for people to hand her things, not letting any of this overwhelm her. Even though I know that she is internally freaking the fuck out.
Josh stands near Kade at the far right of the room where he lies unconscious, his naked body half covered with a sheet, and I rush over, landing on my knees beside him. I ignore the looks I’m getting and lift a shaky hand to Kade’s face, stroking his cheekbone and shaking my head down at him.
“You stupid boy,” I whisper, my feelings caught between worry and anger. He should have been safe. He should have been at home, not in The Deadlands. That wasn’t part of the plan.
I look up at Josh briefly, wanting an update as I look over Kade. He’s covered in blood and dirt, but I can still see the cuts and bruises over his body. The cut on his neck isn’t bleeding anymore, and the gash at his temple and shoulder already has some salve over it, the brown substance thick against it. The other gashes on his body are bare of the healing salve, left to heal on their own.
I suspect we don’t have a lot to go around with us not normally having to treat this many at once.
“Anna says he will be fine,” Josh starts. “She stopped the bleeding from his wounds before it became dangerous, and I gave him some blood for a little boost to replace some of what he lost. He’s mostly exhausted and will need to rest for a few days. She doesn’t want him to go wolf until then, with him being forced to shift before, it drained the last of his energy.” He runs a hand down his face, his exhaustion showing with the strain around his eyes. “He’s also dehydrated, has deep muscle damage to his shoulder, and more cuts and bruises that will hurt for a bit, but are not a problem. She told me to keep giving him water through the sponge.” He nods at the bowl of water next to him on a small table before whispering. “He never should have been in the fucking Deadlands. What in the Gods was he thinking?”
“I don’t know.” I grab the bowl, taking the sponge out and squeezing lightly before bringing it to Kade’s lips and letting the water flow into his mouth slowly. “I’ll speak with him when he wakes, let’s move him back to my cabin after he’s rested for a bit longer. I want him to be in his own room.”
“Give me a knife,” I hear Darius demand, and my head whips around at the harsh sound. Anna passes him a blade, and he crouches down next to one of his Elites, placing the tip at the side of his ribs. “Get something to soak the blood.” Anna grabs a cloth and holds it below where the knife is, and I get up and walk over to get a closer look.
The man is pale, breaths coming in wet exhales. I watch as Darius slides the blade down the man’s skin, blood instantly rushes to the surface and Anna collects it in the cloth she holds below. Darius then takes the knife back to the middle of his cut and pushes in deeper in a straight line. He doesn’t stop until he’s almost at the hilt before pulling it back out slowly.
“Swap with me,” Anna says as Darius drops the knife and takes over holding the cloth. Anna crouches down next to the man and puts her hand over the wound, her eyes squeezing shut for a moment before opening again. She looks at me briefly, asking for permission, and I chew my lip, shuffling on my knees. I look around the room at the number of Elites in here with us and then look at the man’s slowing breaths before nodding. If someone else dies, I don’t think Darius will listen to anything I say. I’m more likely to get a knife to the stomach.
I watch Anna close her eyes, her face scrunched in concentration as everyone watches on in silence, confusion written on all their faces. After a few seconds, she pulls back her hand slowly, a rope of blood following her out of the wound. I rush and grab a bowl off the side before coming to sit next to her. Her eyes open, and she guides the blood into the bowl I’m holding, careful not to spill any. I hear the Elites inhale sharp breaths at the sight of Anna using blood magic and internally cringe, not looking at Darius even though his gaze is on me. This will be another conversation he will want to have, I’m sure. She repeats this process again and again until the man’s breaths become clearer, and no more blood is left to remove from his lungs.
“All done,” Anna pants, sweat beading on her brow as she lifts her red hair off the back of her neck and fans herself. “I’ll put the broken rib back in place that is piercing his lung. I’ll have to remove blood from his lung again as I’m doing it and hope I can get it done the first time. He can’t shift until his broken rib is back in the correct place, otherwise the shift will move that rib straight through his lung. If it goes in any further,” she trails off, shaking her head. “I don’t think I will be able to repair the damage. I’ll assess his state once the rib is back in place and determine if he’s healthy enough to shift afterwards. He has a nasty gash on his leg that will need stitching and his wrist needs to be checked out.” She gets up and moves to wash her hands in the sink in the kitchen before coming back to me. “He will live if this all goes smoothly,” she tells me and Darius. Then to everyone else in the room she says. “Now, will you all leave while I work? I need quiet to concentrate. There are too many of you in here to do that, and I have many others to tend to.”
I give Anna a small smile before I look back over to Kade one last time. Josh walks next to me as we leave the cabin, exhaustion hitting me hard now as my adrenaline fades with Kade out of danger. I lean my head on Josh’s shoulder as he rubs his chin on my head, sighing through the ache in my bones. I’m just closing my eyes when my babysitter speaks from behind us.
“Time for answers,” he growls, and I grunt. I just want to curl up in bed and sleep for a week.
I want to pretend none of this happened and I don’t have Elites crawling all over my home, breathing down my neck while I try and figure out how I’m going to answer him.
Because he can’t know it all, but I have to give him something.
Sixteen
Rhea
Isitinmyoffice chair, gulping down coffee as Darius leans against the wall by my door, glaring at me. We have been in this sort of standoff for a few minutes now and my mood is already sour. I’ve had a shower and put some salve on the cuts I had gotten from The Deadlands to help the healing process, but I can’t do anything to help the aches throughout my body. I would rather be sleeping as my exhaustion is already over its limit, but here I am, getting ready to answer the questions I said I would answer. Kind of.
Josh is with me, as well as Taylor, Sebastian, Hudson and Colten. They all stand near me around my desk, Josh the closest to me as always. Zaide and Damian stand while Leo relaxes back in the chair across from me instead, his blond hair brushed away from his face as he watches us all.
I have no doubt his relaxed pose is just a facade though.
I sigh, putting my mug down on my desk before leaning back in my chair and folding my arms. I really don’t want to do this now, but it’s far better than them harassing my pack. “Go ahead, ask,” I say in a bored tone, waving a hand at them to start even though I’m dreading their questions.
“How long have you all been here?” Leo asks in front of me, looking around my office and out toward the window. I knew they would be curious about our home, but I didn’t think they would ask that right away.
“We were born here,” I lie, my face set into a neutral mask.
“That’s not possible,” Darius adds, shaking his head. “In the history of the Elites, we have been to every place in Vrohkaria. This wasn’t here, there is no way this has been here all this time. We would know.”
“How would you know?” I question him with a lift to my shoulders. “We are deep in The Deadlands. It’s always been here, you just haven’t ever come across it.” I don’t know this for sure, but Solvier told me he has always been here, and he’s hundreds and hundreds of years old.
“We would know,” Darius assures me, and I suppress an eye roll. “The Elites have access to all Vrohkaria’s history from the Highers. They are the keepers of knowledge. Their records would have shown this place existed, so I call bullshit.” He pins me with a hard, green glare, not backing down. Well, neither am I.
“I don’t know what to tell you.” I shrug. “We have always been here on our own. Away from everything in Vrohkaria and any civilization. We self-sustain and live peacefully.”
