Page 183 of The Lands Defying
Anna is already rushing off, barking orders as I go for the male with a broken leg. “Hey, lay back and stay still.”
“Fuck, it hurts.” He looks to be in his late twenties, but his eyes speak of battles far more than they should be able to.
“Yeah it will,” I tell him and then grab my knife from my boot and start to cut his leather pants around the bone.
Blood seeps out of it in spurts, and the metallic taste hits my mouth. I pull and tear until I have his leg clear, trying not to throw up. Then placing a hand on his leg near the open wound, my face warms as I push some power into my palm, willing it to go to the wound.
It reacts, strands probing into his legs and the subtle glow lights my face. I close my eyes and concentrate. The last time I did it with Josh, it was going on a whim, but I can’t do that here.
I feel the tears, the ligaments and muscle torn from the bone snapping through his skin.
I open my eyes and look at the male who’s panting, sweat dripping from his neck. “You there,” I say to an Elite as he passes. “Get me a small piece of wood.” His brows furrow and I release a little dominance and try with a more forceful tone. “Now.”
We can’t be fucking around here.
I rest my hand on the guard’s arm. “Now, this will hurt,” I tell him, and I see him swallow. “But it will only be for a moment, okay?”
He nods, and then the Elite is back, handing me some wood.
“Thank you,” I say to him. Lifting the wood to the man’s lips, I tell him, “Bite down.”
I don’t wait until he’s even fully doing so as I grab his leg, the bone, and push them together. He screams around the wood in his mouth, his back arching and then he’s moving, trying to get away from the pain.
“Stay still,” I grunt, trying to keep a hold of his leg as he lifts his arm and accidentally hits the side of my face.
“I wouldn’t do that,” a growling Leo says, his hand stopping me from getting hurt again. “You will be in worse pain than you are now.”
I continue to take the strips of leather that I cut and wrap them around his leg, all the while continuing to work on stopping the bleeding.
“Keep it still,” I tell the male, “Don’t move until a healer has seen you.”
“Rhea,” Leo says as I check him over before rising. “You need to come with me.”
“What is it?” I ask, looking at all the other injured men. “What happened Leo?”
I see Sarah and Josh helping, along with more Elites and those that came to us from Colhelm. Anna is with a bleeding Zaide, and I’m so shocked at the fact he’s hurt that I don’t move for a moment, until Leo’s words hit me.
“Darius got hurt.”
My heart lodges in my throat. “Where is he?”
“He was trying to save others. We pulled him out but…”
“But what,” I whisper, my hands trembling.
“Just come.”
I follow him as I weave through injured men… and dead ones. He leads me to the bottom of the cliffs, and I see Jerrod and Damian there, looking down at the ground.
I rush forward, my heart beating hard against my chest.
They both turn at my approach, faces full of concern, but I go between them, pushing them out the way and there he is.
Darius lays on the ground, sweat beading his brow and blood… everywhere.
I get to my knees, putting a hand to his chest and feeling his heart beating. Then my eyes go to the wound on his arm.
“No,” I whisper, sucking in a sharp breath.
