“Avery, what did you just do?” Rue asked. Her face was dark with confusion and fear.
“I gave Garnel CPR. His essence must have responded or something because we lit up like a candle, and he came back to us. What a miracle!” Avery’s body was filled with adrenaline as she contemplated the last few minutes.
“A miracle is right,” Rue replied. “That was no essence. That was a Goddess-given miracle right there.” She shook her head as others approached them.
The surrounding fighting had subsided at some point, but Avery hadn’t noticed when it happened. She continued to hold Garnel’sicy hand. Soon she felt an imposing presence, and she knew Savine was there. His appearance shocked her. His hair was tangled and loose. Blood splatter dotted his leather armor and face. There wasn’t a scratch on him that Avery could see, which sent a shock of relief through her. She’d been so preoccupied with saving herself and Garnel that she hadn’t thought about Savine’s safety since he left the tent. But seeing him safe and whole made her want to run to him and hug him. She resisted, knowing he’d hate that sort of affection.
“Avery, is Garnel alive?” Savine asked. The color on his face faded to ash. Even his essence faded into nothing.
“Yes. He’s critically wounded, though,” Avery replied.
“Garnel, an arrow laced with helmsbane, hit you. It is still in your abdomen,” Rue said to Garnel. Garnel’s red hair was matted with sweat. At Rue’s words, Garnel looked resolute at his fate.
Savine turned to Avery. He looked like Rue had given Garnel a death sentence. “Helmsbane is deadly to the fae. An arrow coated in helmsbane can kill a fae in minutes. It is made from the fermented and rotting roots of a rare plant. There isn’t an antidote. What have you done to keep him alive?”
Avery was taken aback by Savine’s words. “I used gauze to stop the bleeding. His pulse stopped, and I began CPR. While I was doing chest compressions, a light came out of my arms and into his chest. He began breathing again.”
Savine’s eyes widened at this. “Avery, he should be dead. You have healed him. With magic. Withyourmagic.”
“That’s not possible. I don’t have magic. It must have been the CPR, or his own essence that circled through us.”
Savine took her chin in his hands. He looked into her eyes. “It was you, Avery. You saved him.” A chill ran down Avery’s spine. She did not know how she’d done it.
“He’s not safe yet though, but it seems you’ve given him time. We need to remove the arrow and cut the flesh that’s been exposed to the helmsbane. Then we must travel with all haste to Bayberry. A woman among them is renowned for her healing gifts.”
“Okay, how do you plan to remove the arrow? Where are the other healers here?” Avery asked, fearing what his answer would be. It seemed wrong to be doing this without an ER doctor.
“They’re helping other injuries. The attack—it was worse than we anticipated. I’m going to pull it from his gut. I want you to use your dagger to cut back the rotten flesh and use some of your human tools to clean the wound.”
“Let me just clean the knife first.”
Avery wiped the blade with an alcohol wipe and removed the gauze. The blood was black and oozing at the wound. Avery needed a lot more than alcohol wipes and gauze to help Garnel.
As Savine pulled the arrow from Garnel’s body, Garnel gasped in agony. His eyes rolled back in his head, and Avery saw the gaping wound in his abdomen. The flesh around the wound was black and looked like it was already rotting. Avery worked quickly to cut the rotting skin off, but she worried what his organs were like with this type of poison in his body. She covered the wound with her remaining gauze and taped the gauze to his body.
While she worked, she heard a frantic voice approaching the tents. “Where is Garnel? Have you seen Garnel?” It was Kyla. Avery had not thought of the panic that Kyla would be feeling.
Savine called to his sister through the chaos of the post-battle sounds. “Kyla! We are here. Garnel is here.” Kyla moved with such light, quick steps that she was beside Garnel in no time.
“My soul, my Garnel.” Kyla’s voice was etched in concern and pain. She kissed Garnel’s sweaty brow. He breathed raggedly, and didn’trespond to Kyla’s kiss. As Kyla looked at the arrow on the ground, her eyes widened. “How is he still with me?” Kyla asked.
Savine pointed at Avery. “It was Avery. She used magic to bring him back.”
Kyla stepped around Garnel and Savine to where Avery crouched. She wrapped her arms around Avery and leaned her head against Avery’s forehead. “I am forever in your debt. You saved my soulmate from certain death.”
“You don’t have to say that. I don’t even know how I conjured the magic. I was performing chest compressions when it happened.” She couldn’t take credit for something that she hadn’t consciously done. If she did somehow draw magic out of herself, it was not purposeful.
“It doesn’t matter the circumstances. I owe all my happiness to you,” Kyla said, with tears in her eyes.
Savine brought the two women back to the task at hand when he said, “He’s alive for now, Kyla. The poison from the helmsbane still courses through his body. We must get him and the other injured Latians to Bayberry, where they can receive help from Hyacinth.”
Savine called out for some warriors that Avery didn’t recognize and formulated a plan for who would transport the injured fae to Bayberry. Meanwhile, Avery looked at her surroundings and took in the carnage all around her.
Scattered among the dead and injured Latians were also dead wolves and the bodies of some sort of creature. Their gaunt bodies were covered in spiny skin. They had long, insect-like noses and cruel faces. One of the injured creatures cried out in a long, wailing sound. Avery couldn’t help but walk closer to the creature. Maybe she could give it peace somehow as it lay mortally wounded. As she approached, the insect creature locked eyes on her and began screaming hysterically.The sounds were overwhelming and frightening, but still she continued to move closer.
As she approached, she caught sight of something moving swiftly beside her. In the blink of an eye, Savine was past her, sword out, before he sliced into the screaming creature, killing it instantly. Blood splattered over Savine’s already filthy armor.
“Why did you do that?” Avery asked, shocked by the violence in Savine’s stern face. His body was rigid. So predatory that it frightened her to see him like that.
