The color drained from Paige’s face. “Bloodletting?” she gasped. “You want to bleed a child who’s already in such a weakened state?”
At the raised voices, Emily’s eyes fluttered open. “Mama?” As weak as she was, they still heard the fear and confusion in her voice as she tried to focus on the strangers surrounding her bed. “Don’t let…”
The weak protest in her voice, the way she instinctively shrank back against her pillows, ignited something fierce in Noah, but Paige had already moved to shield Emily from the healers, her entire body radiating protective fury.
“It’s okay,” Paige said firmly, leaning down to smooth Emily’s hair with gentle fingers while her eyes blazed up at the healers with maternal rage. “They will do nothing to you.”
“The corruption must be purged,” the elder insisted, his voice taking on a condescending tone. “It is the only way to save her life.”
“No!” Paige’s voice cut through the chamber like a blade. “Absolutely not. You will not bleed her. You will not purge her. She needs more blood, not more blood loss.”
The healers exchanged glances, their expressions hardening as they turned from Skye to Paige. “Woman, you do not understand the complexities of medical practice,” the elder said, his dismissive tone making even Skye’s jaw tighten with unexpected anger. “This child will die without proper treatment.”
“She’ll die fasterfromyour treatment,” Paige shot back. “I know what she needs. This isn’t it.”
Noah watched Skye’s face during the exchange, saw her growing confusion and distress. She looked between Paige and the healers as if trying to understand. She’d been taught all her life these were learned men. The practice had even been used in his time. But Paige came from a future time far removed from his or Skye’s, and if she said what the healers proposed would harm Emily, he would stand by her. The certainty in Paige’s voice, the obvious love and knowledge she brought to Emily’s care, stood in stark contrast to the healers’ cold arrogance.
Skye looked stricken, obviously wondering how these supposedly skilled men—men her father had specifically chosen for their expertise—could be as wrong as Paige was accusing them of being.
“Perhaps,” she interjected carefully, her voice strained with the effort to remain diplomatic, “there might be other treatments to consider? Other... approaches?”
The elder healer turned his haughty gaze on her. “Mistress, we have examined the child thoroughly. The diagnosis is clear, the treatment proven. If we are not permitted to practice proper medicine, we cannot be held responsible for the outcome.”
Skye’s face hardened. “Then you’re dismissed,” she said flatly. “Thank you for your time.
The healers stiffened at the curt dismissal, clearly offended. “Very well,” the elder said icily, momentarily glancing at Paige. “When the child dies from outside ignorance, do not say we did not warn you.”
They swept from the chamber with wounded dignity, leaving behind a heavy silence.
Noah moved to Paige’s side, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder as she trembled with suppressed fury.
“I’m sorry,” Skye said quietly, her voice thick with emotion. “I thought they could help. I truly believed—” She stopped, looking both embarrassed and confused. “My father said... If I’d known they could be so utterly wrong about something as important as healing a child, what else could they be wrong about?”
“You couldn’t have known,” Paige replied, some of the tension leaving her voice as she noted Skye’s obvious distress. “In their time, in their understanding, bleeding probably was the standard treatment for many conditions. They’re not evil, just... limited.”
“Their time? But that would mean...” Skye’s voice trailed off as the implications sank in.
“It means we’re right back where we started,” Taran said grimly from the open doorway. “Wi’ nae help for our daughter.”
Silence stretched between them, heavy with desperation and failing hope. Noah looked at Emily’s pale face, at the dark circles beneath her eyes, and felt a familiar surge of helpless rage.
“No,” he cried. “We’re not giving up. There has to be another way to stabilize her until…” He looked at Taran, sick with shame.
It had been Noah’s job to locate the portal while Taran and Finn brought Emily here. Everyone had done their job but him. All he’d managed to find was a tunnel so unstable and dangerous he’d never dare take Emily or anyone else in his family through it.
He watched their mother struggle with the loss of hope, fighting to keep grief from taking over. He couldn’t decide which was worse, that or Taran’s stoic endurance.
Something had to be done. Anything.
“Skye, you said your father has brought books from other places. Maybe even some from…other times? Would there be any medical books? Perhaps there’d be something—anything—in them that might help.”
Her brow furrowed. “A few, I believe. But I only glanced through a couple. With so many other books to explore, I didn’t give them much thought. What I did see, seemed rather advanced, but I’m sure only because of my brief perusal and lack of understanding of the terms and treatments.”
Noah moved closer. “May we search your library? If there are medical texts there, they might mention Emily’s condition, maybe suggest some therapies Paige could apply, or even something to slow the illness’ progression.”
“Leukemia,” Paige blurted, understanding dawning in her voice. “If I’m right about what’s making Emily sick, that’s what they’ll call it. Leukemia. And if any of the books are new enough, the common treatments they’ll likely mention are things like chemotherapy, platelet transfusions, targeted therapies. But what we need is information on anything we can do in advance of that. Something to stabilize her, or as Noah mentioned, to slow the progression.”
Skye was staring at Paige as if she were speaking another language. “Loo-kee-mee-ah?” she repeated carefully.
