“As soon as I heard what had happened back at the castle, I knew I had to find you. I couldn’t let anyone hurt our little Sophie.” Walther knelt behind Gabe. “Go get a blanket or something to press against the wound.”
Sophie ran and got the blanket she’d slept under last night. She ran back on shaky legs and sank to her knees beside Walther. The big man grabbed the arrow and yanked it out.
Gabe’s body went limp, his head sinking to the ground.
She held part of the blanket to the back of his shoulder with one hand and pressed the other half of the blanket over the entry wound at the front of his shoulder.
“You’ll have to push harder than that. I’ll do it.” Walther nudged her aside.
Sophie moved aside. She lifted Gabe’s head and right shoulder and placed them in her lap. Tenderly, she brushed the hair from his forehead.
“Gabe? Are you all right?” He must have fainted from the pain. She hovered over him, watching for any flicker of movement. Finally, he groaned. Then his eyes opened.
Walther was still pressing hard on both sides of his shoulder.
Gabe grunted. “I’m sorry I failed you, Sophie.”
“You didn’t fail me. You saved me.” She touched his forehead again, brushing his hair back and letting her hand linger. “You are so brave.” She still couldn’t believe the sacrifice he’d made. Her eyes filled with tears and one spilled onto Gabe’s shirt. She wanted to tell him he was the bravest man she knew, that he was her rescuer and she would never forget what he’d done for her. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to get it all out. She would choke on her own tears before she’d said two words of it.
“I should have seen him coming,” Gabe said softly. “I should have heard him. I should never have let him get so close.”
Sophie shook her head as more tears dripped from her eyes. Finally, she controlled herself enough to rasp out, “Don’t talk like that.”
His eyes were closed again. She took several deep breaths to calm herself and make the tears go away. If she didn’t, she feared his whole shirt would be wet, from her tears and his blood.
“Thank you for coming to our aid, Walther,” Sophie said.
Walther grunted, still pressing the blanket to Gabe’s wounds. “I couldn’t let that foul man kill our little Sophie. The duchess, she ordered all of us guards to find you both and kill you. I convinced some of them to leave with their families under cover of night instead — after I told them what she was planning to do to our Sophie, they were happy to leave the duchess’s service no matter what the risk. Lorencz had already gone, and I was able to thwart most of the other guards before they got too far from the castle. But there was one man determined to do her bidding, and that was Malger. After I sent my family to safety, I came after him.”
It had become so dark Sophie could barely see Walther’s face.
“I don’t think we would still be alive if you hadn’t found us when you did.”
“I don’t like to think about it myself.”
“Yes, thank you,” Gabe said. “I owe you my life.”
And I owe my life to both of you.
The three of them stayed unmoving and silent for several more minutes while Walther continued to apply pressure to Gabe’s wound. Had the bleeding stopped?
In her mind, Sophie listed all the things Gabe would need. They had to find him water, food, bandages to cover the wound, and a warm blanket, now that his was soaked in blood. He would also need to relieve himself, since they’d been riding for some time.
Walther will have to help him with that.
“I’ll stand guard tonight,” Walther said, shifting his weight to his other knee, still pressing Gabe’s shoulder and the blanket between his hands. “There may be wolves in the area. They’ll smell blood and come hunting.”
“You need sleep. I’ll stand guard.” Sophie had seen Gabe shoot his crossbow and was sure she could do it.
Walther grunted as he shifted his weight again. “No maiden is going to watch over me while I sleep.” His voice sounded angry so she didn’t argue. “Besides, old men like me hardly need any rest.”
Sophie stared down into Gabe’s face. She could see it was scrunched in pain, but he didn’t move or open his eyes. “Gabe?”
He emitted a small sound from his throat.
She wanted to say she was sorry — sorry for getting him shot, sorry for causing him pain. It was all her fault. Instead, she said, “Is there anything I can get for you? Can I get you some water?”
“When he stops crushing my shoulder,” Gabe rasped.
“I’m only trying to stop the bleeding,” Walther said peevishly. “Let’s have a look.” Walther sat back and lifted the blanket from the front of Gabe’s shoulder. He leaned close, and Sophie tried to see too. All she could see was the dark spot on Gabe’s shoulder where the arrow had gone in and the stain on his shirt around it. She watched and waited for the blood to start seeping out, but it didn’t come.
“Praise God and all his saints,” Walther said. “Help him sit up. Slowly, now. Don’t want to jostle his shoulder too much.”
Sophie helped push Gabe into a half-sitting position. “Should we wrap it?”