The woman looked at my shoulder. "This looks like it needs stitching."
I'd forgotten about my wound. "I'll live. Please check Kailin first."
I didn't want to let go of her, but I forced myself to ease back. The medic examined her, checking her throat where purple bruises were already forming, her wrists where she'd been grabbed, and her scalp for any head trauma.
"It's mostly superficial," the medic announced. "The bruising will hurt for a few days, and you'll be sore, but nothing serious. You're very lucky, Cadet Strom."
Kailin nodded mutely.
The medic turned to me next, hissing when she got a better look at the knife wound on my shoulder. "You'll need to come to the infirmary with me."
"I'm not leaving Kailin."
"You don't have to. Both of you need to be checked thoroughly." She looked around the destroyed room and shook her head. "You can't stay here anyway. You'll be spending the night in the infirmary."
Ravel nodded. "Go. I'll handle the scene here."
Shovia offered Kailin a hand up. "Come on. Let's get you and your boyfriend taken care of."
Morek retrieved my weapon from where I'd dropped it and handed it back to me, then gathered Kailin's as well. "We are coming with you, and we will be right outside the infirmary. No one's getting near you again tonight."
Codric looked out the broken window, examining the metal rope system. "That's military-grade equipment."
"We'll discuss it all later," Ravel said.
The walk through the halls felt surreal. Word had spread fast, and cadets in various states of undress lined the corridors, whispering and staring as we passed. Security had cordoned off our section, but beyond that, it was chaos.
"The Hero of Elucia was nearly assassinated again, this time in her own room," someone murmured. "Are we even safe here?"
"I heard there were six of them," someone else said.
"No, eight. Maybe more."
"It was Elusitor's converts. They must be everywhere."
The rumors would only grow in proportion, and by morning, half the Citadel would believe we'd fought off an entire Shedun swarm, including their worm.
Kailin leaned heavily on my good side, with Shovia propping her on the other side. I kept my arm around her waist, partly supporting her and partly needing the contact to prove that she was still alive.
It was a miracle that we'd survived the attack. I had no idea how Kailin had managed to hold off her attacker for so long. He was bigger, stronger, and she was under the effects of the sleeping draught.
Elu must have been watching over her.
When we got to the infirmary, it was a relief to find the place bright and clean. The medic directed us to adjacent beds that were separated only by a privacy curtain. She set to work on my shoulder, while another medic examined Kailin more thoroughly.
The stitches hurt, but I'd had worse. I focused more on the sounds from the other side of the curtain than on what was being done to me.
"You did well tonight," the medic said as she tied off the last stitch. "Not many first-year cadets could have handled four attackers."
"We had help from our friends." I thought of Morek's impossible speed, Codric and Shovia's immediate action, the way they'd all rushed in without hesitation.
"Kailin is very lucky to have you." She secured the bandage. "Keep this clean and dry. Come back in a week to have the stitches removed."
When she pulled back the curtain, I found Kailin sitting on the edge of her bed, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her throat was bandaged, her wrists wrapped. She looked small and vulnerable and on the verge of collapse.
I crossed over to her bed, sat beside her, and took her hand. "How are you holding up?"
"Not so good. I feel disconnected." She looked at our joined hands. "The sleeping draught is still in my system. I can feel it pulling at me, but I'm too wired to sleep. Too much adrenaline."
