She swallowed, but nagging guilt built up as she started to turn away. With a breath, she went against common sense telling her to move on. She opened his tunic to reveal a large gash, exposing his intestines.An evisceration, she noted, but before she could dress the wound, his eyes shot open.
He lunged, pinning Amaris’s arms as he straddled her. His guts spilled from his abdomen. Yards of gooey organs poured onto her chest. She fought the urge to vomit as they rolled onto her neck. She tried to let out a scream but only managed an awful gag.
The man leaned into her face, completely unfazed by his bowels between them. Amaris wiggled and attempted to break free from his grasp, but for a dying man, he was strong as hell. A line of bloody spit dripped down his lips to land on her cheek. Her eyes widened, but he took a single breath before more blood spilled from his lips and his eyes rolled back in his head. A sword had skewered his body, and Amaris shrieked as a boot kicked him off her.
“Amaris?”
She was still in the grass, blood and intestines scattered across her shirt as her vision focused in on Theodoric’s face. His hands reached around her, pulling her to her feet. Her throat dried, even as raindrops pelted her lips.
“What are you doing out here?” He was angry, storms immediately filling his eyes. Gone were the golden drops of sunlight, taken over by the soldier within.
He’s alive.Amaris displayed her bloody hands before them.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, but she couldn’t speak.
She only stared at her hands, the blood seeping into the chapped ridges of her knuckles and the lines of her palms. Her gaze didn’t move as Theodoric’s fingers grasped a stray hair coated in blood clinging to her cheek. His thumb grazed her skin, wiping away the red before it stained. Amaris stared at the blood dripping down her forearms, her heartbeats drowning out all around her.
Theodoric kneeled, untucking her shirt as he slid his hands around her abdomen to feel for cuts. His hands were rough with calluses and strong as they wrapped around each limb and felt for injuries.
“Amaris!” He shook her.
She dragged her eyes to meet his.He’s alive. I’m alive.His shirt was ripped in two, and blood splattered across his face and chest. She swallowed, the gravity sinking into her bones. He wasn’t a soldier as she knew him, none of them were. An assault rifle wasn’t slung over his shoulder. He was only several inches from a man when he took his life.
Her hands ceased their trembling, and they began searching for any visible injury. She brushed the hair from his forehead, coated in sweat not blood. She was rendered speechless, unable to form a thought as she scanned his bare chest for any life-threatening injuries. Her fingers scoured every inch of his chest, arms, neck, and face. There wasn’t a single cut. She tried to gaze at the wounds on his back, but he stopped her and grasped her shoulders.
“I’m not wounded,” he whispered.
Amaris shook her head, snapping back to reality. “You better not be wounded.” It was like earmuffs were ripped off her ears and everything hyper-focused. “Fuck, if I’m running out here just to see everyone splattered dead in the grass, I’m unleashing hell on this realm,” she said, fire turning to rage in her eyes.
She was focused. She was a paramedic.
“Not that it isn’t a joy to see you alive,” Esaias called, “but we have more pressing matters.” He jabbed a thumb toward an incoming horde of navy-suited soldiers fresh from the beach.
“You shouldn’t be out here.” Theodoric pulled her closer.
She could barely smell his salt and leather, masked by the reek of sweat and blood. “We removed the barricade and—”
“You did what?” Theodoric burst out.
“People are out here. I can’t leave them to die!”
The cry of battle loomed closer.
“Theo,” Esaias warned.
“Get back to the manor.”
“I won’t,” Amaris declared, planting her feet in the ground.
“Theo.” Esaias grew more impatient.
“You almost died, and I won’t allow anyone else to harm you,” Theodoric insisted, but Amaris stood her ground, even with her heart skipping in her chest.
“You’ll have to drag me back before I leave this battlefield.”
Theodoric’s eyes trailed down her figure, making note of her crossed arms and anger in her eyes. She swore he smiled, but the slight feather of his cheek distracted her, and he lunged. Grabbing a hold of her waist, he lifted her over his shoulder.
“Put me down!”
