It was the voices that woke me. At first I thought it was simply the air, begging me to get up, to move, to not die, but some of those voices had a timbre that reminded me of the earth. Perhaps the tunnel’s collapse had cleared the dead soil and uncovered the living earth in this area.
But even if I’d had the strength to move, I couldn’t have. There were several weights lying across my body, pinning me, and my legs were numb. As for dying… breathing was becoming a struggle and there was a part of me that was more than ready to give up the fight, to let go and find peace and an end to the pain.
No! the voices said. You will not die in this place. Fight, damn you.
I tried to open my eyes, but couldn’t. I shifted slightly, realized I had movement in my right arm, and raised a hand to gently probe my face. It was covered with sticky moisture, dirt, and freedom only knew what else, and it was that muck that had glued my eyes shut. I carefully rubbed it away, and then opened my eyes.
Three feet in front of me was a massive rock that was jammed hard against what remained of the nearby tunnel wall. It had stopped on an angle, in the midst of falling flat and, instead of crushing me, had protected me from the worst of the tunnel’s collapse. The air swirling around me was heated and thick with dust, suggesting I hadn’t actually been out for long. I twisted to the right, trying to see what, exactly, was pinning me, but the left half of my body wasn’t moving properly. I turned to see why, and saw the mess that was my left arm. Not only could I see bone, but blood—blood that already stained the earth and whose flow showed no signs of abating.
I was going to bleed to death before anyone could get here to help me.
We are close, the voices said.
Only it was one voice now, not many, and its tone was as rich as the earth itself and oh so familiar.
Trey.
But why was he here, in this place? Why wasn’t he mopping up the Irkallan with the rest of the outpost forces?
Hang on, he continued. We are little more than ten minutes away from you now.
“Everything hurts,” I said, though whether I gave that reply voice or it was merely said in my mind, I couldn’t say. Not that it really mattered—he’d hear me either way.
I know, he said. And we’ll fix that. Just hang on.
“I’m hanging,” I said, even as I wondered if that would be enough.
I shifted my good arm and slowly reached down into my pocket. Despite everything that had happened, the medikit was still tucked safely inside. I dragged it up toward my face, pried it open, and then freed the second canister of sealer. It wouldn’t do a whole lot for the mangled state of my arm, but maybe it would stop the worst of the bleeding. It might not, in the end, make much of a difference given I had no idea if there were worse wounds elsewhere, but I had to at least try. Whether it would give me ten more minutes or not was anyone’s guess.
I tore the cap off with my teeth then slowly but carefully eased my good hand over to my left and sprayed the sealer. It hurt so bad it tore a scream from my throat, and even though the sound came out as little more than a garbled cry, I thought I heard its echo in the near distance.
I kept spraying back and forth until the canister was empty, and then dropped onto the ground. Pain was a white-hot lance that continually stabbed into my brain, and it quickly consumed what little strength I had left. As unconsciousness began to claim me again, the earth around me shook.
Whether the earth remained unstable because of my bombs, or whether it was Trey and his people coming to get me, I couldn’t say.
All I knew was I didn’t have the strength to remain awake. I closed my eyes and let the blackness claim me.
The second time I awoke, it was to bright sunshine above me, and the softness of bedding underneath me. I remained completely still for several minutes, simply enjoying being able to breathe in and out without the flicker of pain. Then, remembering the numbness in my legs and mashed remnants of my left arm, I cautiously wiggled my toes and then my fingers. When they both responded, I felt like cheering. There was a decided tightness in my calf where the Irkallan’s claws had dug in, and a similar tightness along my arm that spoke of new skin and scarring, but I didn’t care.
I was alive, and I could move. Nothing else really mattered right now.
I opened my eyes. It was immediately obvious that I wasn’t in Winterborne—that I was, in fact, back in Trey’s quarters at Blacklake.
But the first face I saw was Ava’s, and while I was more than happy to see her, I couldn’t help the sliver of disappointment that ran through me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Is that all the thanks I get for sitting by your bedside for weeks on end, waiting for your lazy self to decide you actually needed to wake up?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.” Then I blinked as her words impacted. “Did you say weeks?”
“Yes.” She leaned forward and caught my hand in hers. Though a smile still played about her lips, her eyes were all seriousness. “You had us all really scared for a while, there.”
“Don’t tell me April’s here as well?”
Her smile grew. “Well, no, because he’s too busy bumping uglies with that pretty little nurse of his. But he’s been in regular contact for updates. I meant the docs, the healers, and of course, your commander.”
I scowled at her. “He’s not my anything.”
“Yeah, right.” She squeezed my fingers lightly and then leaned back in the chair. “So how are you actually feeling? Because let me tell you, the list of your injuries was pretty impressive.”
“I don’t think I really want to know that information.”
“You should, because by all rights, you should be dead. The healers are saying it’s only thanks to your Sifft heritage that you’re here at all, but April and me, we think it was something else.”
I knew exactly what she meant, and it wasn’t either the earth or air magic. I lightly slapped her knee. “Enough, woman. We barely even know each other.”
“Yeah, but it was the connection—the spark—between the two of you that not only saved you, but also pulled you through. I saw it, and so did the healers.”
I didn’t reply to that, asking instead, “How did you manage to get so much time off from the Nightwatch?” I knew for a fact she wouldn’t have that much leave left, as both of us had a tendency to use it as soon as a new allocation came in.
“The captain wouldn’t give me leave, so I did what any cot sister would do, and transferred my ass over to Blacklake. The commander was more than happy to have me, especially given the current state of the wall and the continuing attacks by the Adlin.” She paused. “Those bastards are seriously pissed off.”
I frowned. “How bad are the attacks?”
She shrugged. “They’re almost daily. Nothing we can’t cope with though.”
I smiled. “It sounds like you’re enjoying life here.”
“I am, surprisingly.” A wicked gleam appeared in her eyes. “And let’s just say the manpower in this outpost is mighty impressive.”
I chuckled softly and dragged myself up the bed. Ava immediately rose and adjusted the pillows to support my back. My left arm was decidedly weaker than my right, and there were thick, ugly scars crisscrossing its entire length. I was also missing the tip of my ring finger, but all in all, the healers had done an amazing job.
I thanked her, then glanced toward the bedroom door, my heart suddenly racing with anticipation. Trey was approaching.
The door opened and he stepped in. The grin that stretched his lips was warm and delighted, but there was little in the way of surprise. He would have known I was awake, just as I’d known he was approaching.
“Commander,” Ava said, immediately rising and offering him a salute. “Our girl has finally awoken.”
“So I see,” he said, his gaze not leaving mine as he strode toward the bed. “You’re relieved, Officer March. I’ll take over from here.”
“Yes, Commander.” Ava gave me a wink then quickly walked out of the room.
I didn’t even hear the door close. I was too busy getting lost in the gaze of the man who’d saved my life.