“It’s not taking as much as with the orcs, but it is a constant suck, and we’re far from Myrr. One of the vampires would be better, I think. They’re probably sticking close to Thyra.”
The vampires! Of course. Their blood could ease the king’s pain and injury, lessening Isolde’s need to give blood to that shadow.
“I’ll be right back.” Not wanting to waste time getting to my horse, I rose in the air.
As I scanned for Freyia or Astril, I assessed the damage done to our side. Some had fallen, but fewer than we’d guessed. Only a handful of giants remained on their feet, most of them entangled with our soldiers. It was in one such battle that I spotted the eldest Red Assassin, working with her sister to bait a giant very near where Thyra flew.
I flew towards her. “Astril!”
Her hearing, as impeccable as ever, caught my shout. She located me, and I waved her over. A blur came my way, and a second later, the vampire was there.
“What?”
“Isolde is over there, keeping the King of Dergia alive, but barely. She needs you to give him blood.”
“We do not make it a custom to share our blood.”
My shoulders hardened. Isolde was no normal person, but a princess. Their princess who one day might be a queen. “I do not expect you to help the entire army, but if you do not do as she asked, Iwillrip you apart.”
The vampire scowled, but gave a single nod before she disappeared, her blur of motion heading for my mate. I followed, and when I arrived, I found Astril’s wrist already pressed against Isolde’s lips. My stomach clenched. In what little time I’d been gone, Isolde’s cheeks had paled.
Upon seeing me, Isolde released the vampire’s wrist and took a long breath. “See to the king.”
“Will he be fine with it?” Astril asked.
“Do it,” Thordur said, his tone raspy. “Do it, please.”
At the prince’s plea, the vampire stalked over to the dwarf king, knelt, and assessed the damage.
“I’ll have to apply blood to the wound first. Then have him drink. My blood won’t heal all this damage, or even ensure the wound stops bleeding during the journey home. This damage is far too great.”
“He must survive,” Thordur said. “That’s all I ask.”
“Very well. Remove the shadow bind so I can apply blood. You’ll have to reapply it afterwards to be safe, but take the rest while you can.”
Isolde did as the vampire asked, and the effect on my mate was instantaneous. She sucked in air and stood straighter. I went to her side as Astril worked, dripping blood over the king’s wound.
“How are you?” I asked.
“Weak,” she admitted. “She’s right that the injury is extensive. I wouldn’t have lasted the whole way back.”
I pulled her close.
“But if she can stabilize him enough and stop the bleeding, I think the bind to keep the wound from re-opening will be minimal,” Isolde continued, seemingly trying to convince herself as much as me. “I’ll ask Thyra to help too, when necessary. And of course the healers, though I think they’ll need more supplies than we brought.”
I cast a glance at the battle. Or, more accurately, the lack of fighting. Not a single giant remained standing, leaving a relative hush where their roars and bellows had been.
We’d won, but we weren’t out of the dark yet.
“Burning seas, what happened?” a groggy voice came from behind.
Isolde pulled away just enough so that we could both see Sayyida rise to sit with Qildor’s assistance.
“I’m almost certain the fall severely strained some muscles in your arm. Maybe even fractured or broke a bone,” the knight said. “It’s already heavily bruised. Take care.”
“Fates,” I muttered. How many more dire injuries would there be?
Isolde let out a long sigh, mirroring my inner turmoil. “You should go help the others. See if anyone else needs stitches or the like. I’ll be fine here.”
