Page 400 of Alchemised
It was still intact right down to the waxed sheet of written instructions, carefully folded and stored. Several of the vials were long empty, but in the slot she wanted was a new, full vial and the necessary syringe. Clearly it was something he used regularly.
She pressed her forehead against the kit, sighing with relief, and hurried back.
She checked his pulse. It was still intermittent, starting and stalling and failing and then beginning again.
She wiped his chest clean of any remaining blood.
“Sorry,” she said as she filled the syringe, tapping it to knock out any bubbles, and then she sank it into his chest, right over his heart, pressing down on the plunger, injecting the full dose.
Kaine slammed upright almost faster than Helena could pull the syringe away, clutching at his chest. Then he dropped back down on the bed, going limp. He was conscious now, his eyes roving blindly around the room.
“Kaine?”
“—H-lena …?” Her name slurred from his lips.
He sounded bewildered. She set the syringe down and came closer, but his eyes weren’t following her. They kept roving as if trying to find something to land on. She leaned over him, stroking his hair back.
“I’m here. What did he do to you?”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Whe’re we?”
Her throat tightened, and she glanced around. The lights were on, the room familiar. Her face was just above his, but he was staring through her.
“We’re in my room. You collapsed outside, and I had the servants bring you here. Can you see me?”
“Can’t—g …” His mouth worked, and she’d never seen him look so scared before. “Can’t—sseee …”
Suddenly his expression changed, and he grasped blindly for her, hand bumping against her arm. “You all right?—your heart? Is your—heart—”
She caught his hand and pressed it to her chest and then her face. His fingers spasmed against her cheek. “I’m fine. My heart is fine. I’m a healer, remember? Patched you up a lot of times. Calm down.”
She cleared her throat, sitting on the edge of the bed so he could feel her nearness, checking his heartbeat and pulse again. Now it was racing, too fast, but at least it wasn’t failing. “I had to inject you with the stimulant to keep your heart going. It kept giving out, but I don’t have my resonance. Can you try to get my manacles off so I can check you?”
She led his hands to her wrists, placing them on the manacles, but his movements were disjointed, and his fingers kept twitching oddly. Whatever had been done must have been neurological; he’d never had symptoms like this before. He tried several times. She finally grasped hold of his fingers, stilling them.
“Never mind,” she said as she fought to keep her voice steady. “Never mind that. I’ll work manually.” She swallowed. “Can you tell me what happened? Why did he do this to you? You’ve been doing everything he wants.”
He was quiet for a while; when he finally spoke his words were smoother, no longer so disjointed. “Hevgoss announced their alliance with the Liberation Front this afternoon.”
That should have been good news.
“In their—declaration, they cited my ‘barbaric slaughter’ as the reason. Seems I should have foreseen this and refused orders. I was made an example of—the cost of failure and incompetence.”
His chest convulsed as if he were attempting to laugh.
“What did he do?” Helena said, afraid of the way he’d avoided the question.
He exhaled. “He ripped out my heart first. Said it was—f-fitting …”
Helena was speechless. It had never even occurred to her that something like that could be survivable.
He managed a grimacing smile. “I think I owe the Principate an apology—terrible way to go. Although growing back was the worst part …”
His voice trailed off again.
She was glad he couldn’t see as she forced herself to breathe slowly several times. She pressed her hand over his heart, feeling the heartbeat.
“And then?” she prompted.
