I walked up to him, coming close enough to smell the sweatstill lingering on his skin. “You will fix her. As your king, Icommandit of you.”
He shook his head and looked away.
With a racing mind, I ran through the townhouse collecting each item, still not understanding how she’d been left so broken. It had taken everything in me not to go to her in the sky the first chance I got, but rushing would’ve only created more chaos.
The moment the witch released her grasp, I knew I’d have followed her into death’s waiting hands. By the grace of darkness, I’d grabbed onto her limp arm just as she collided with the wooden roof below. Unfortunately, her lower body still struck.
“Here.” I piled the supplies on the bed and the side table. “What now?”
“Well.” Micah sucked a breath through his teeth. “You’re not going to like this, but we need to take off her clothes and start cleaning out the wounds.”
“Fuck no,” I barked. “You will not see the naked body of the woman I love.”
Two sets of eyes darted to me, but their owners didn’t provide any commentary. Sky grabbed a damp cloth and a stick swab to pull debris from an exposed wound while Micah turned his gaze to the ceiling.
“You’ll run your magic and repair internal injuries,” I ordered. “Sky and I will clean the wounds while you wear an eye cloth.”
Sky’s lips curled inward while Micah rolled his eyes, but conceded. Minutes later, my brother’s eyes were bound, and he was sending his magic through Audryn’s body. I carefully removed her tattered shirt while Sky respectfully looked away. The material was torn in dozens of places, each tear marking a thick gash against her bruised and swollen skin.
As I went to remove the waist of her pants, the pale skin of her pelvis was so bruised it was deep blue. With thighs split open from the beating, small bits of gravel lay embeddedwithin the gaping wounds. Goosebumps pricked her body as the cold air kissed her skin. I shuffled to grab a blanket from the chair across the room, both for her and myself; selfishly, I needed a moment as the extent of her injuries slammed into me.
“What are you doing?” Micah asked while keeping his hands stilled against her exposed belly.
“She’s cold. She needs a blanket.”
“No,” he protested, “you can’t cover her. The small pieces of lint could lodge inside the open injuries.”
I glanced around the room, and the hearth stared back at me. “Fine.” The stacked logs tumbled down as I fumbled for pieces of wood.
“Being warm is the least of her problems. Her pelvis is shattered and she has several broken ribs. Not to mention?—”
“Enough,” I ordered. “She may be injured, but she deserves to be comfortable.” It was the least I could offer her.
Sky stayed silent, remaining focused on cleaning the flayed skin. Apparently only hearing the last bit, she chimed in, “Speaking of comfort, I should give her pain medication.”
With a shaking head, Micah advised, “Later. We’ll be lucky if she doesn’t die from infection before she ever feels the pain. You both should be focused on cleaning. If you cannot manage that, I will remove this mask and handle it myself.”
I sparked the fire to life, washed my trembling hands, and returned to the bed. “Remove the mask and I will pluck out your eyes.”
We worked for hours as the room heated to a blistering temperature. We’d all removed our sweat-drenched shirts as I loaded log after log. Unable to provide her with any other accommodations, I would be sure to keep her warm while she endured the flagrant humiliation of being left naked to the eyes of others.
“There’s nothing more that I can do.” Micah’s cheek perkedas his lips pulled sideways in thought. “I can help or I can leave, but I need to see in order to help.”
I growled in his direction.
“Leave it is.” He hummed.
“You’ll stay until we’re finished.” I looked at Sky and flicked my chin toward the chair in the corner.
She dutifully led him across the room and returned. We worked until the early morning hours, making sure every pebble was removed from each wound. Micah had fallen asleep and snored while Sky teetered on her feet from exhaustion.
There was a knock on what was left of the broken door. “Hey,” Amalee called out.
I gestured Sky to the doorway.
She gasped.
“I’m fine,” Amalee said in a dismissive tone and paused. “How's Audryn?”
