The Sand Wielder—Sendor—strode out the second Aegir’s head touched the pillow, to inform King Belzari, I presumed.
The healer, a grey-haired woman half the size of Aegir, cut what was left of his shirt with scissors, exposing his broad chest. I gasped, struggling to keep my feet steady. His right side, the whole length of his ribs…oh gods. My hands went to my mouth.
The healer opened a small glass vial and fearlessly slapped Aegir on the face. “Here, drink this. It’s for the pain.” Aegir tried to open his eyes, but they were so heavily lidded, his head lolled. I steadied his head, tilting his face upwards. Eldric poured the bluish tincture into his mouth, forcing him to swallow.
I winced when I saw the healer approaching the bed with tweezers and other terrifying tools. I tried to look away but couldn’t. I helplessly watched as she removed pieces of clothing and necrotic skin. The sight and smell of it almost had me emptying my stomach.
Then I nearly fainted. When she washed his wound, I could see the severity of it. Yellowish-white ribs peeked from beneath pink-red skin, like a bony ivory ladder sinking into molten lava. Aegir, half unconscious, grunted as she washed the debris away—and with reason. He was burned to the fucking bone.
The healer drenched a clean cloth in a transparent gel-like liquid. Aegir hissed and flinched as she carefully placed the cloth on top of his wound. “I know, I know. But it will help with the healing and to stop it from getting infected,” she explained. The healer looked at Eldric. “Lift him to a seated position.” Then she turned towards me and said, “Here, hold this.” I helped her apply the bandages around his torso.
Eldric and I did not leave his sight.
He slept for hours and I sat there, watching his chest rising and falling. I hadn’t realised I was biting my nails and tapping my feet until Eldric pointed it out. “Eating your fingers and hammering the floor will not improve his condition.”
“He could have died. He—he burned to the bone.”
“He’ll be all right,” Eldric reassured me. He placed his palm on my shaking knee. “When he comes to his senses, he’ll heal himself, but for now, he needs rest. His powers are drained.”
My head shook. “No, he won’t. Not completely.” Not when it was Elemental Fire that ate away his skin.
“He made his decision. All we can do now is wait.”
And so we waited and waited.
I gasped when I glimpsed his eyes slightly crack open. I rushed to him but Eldric had the speed of Fae.
“It will hurt like hell, brother, but we can take you to your bathing chamber. Do you think you can manage that? Or do you want to sleep some more?”
“Yes,” Aegir rasped.
“Yes, what?”
“My room,” he choked.
Eldric carried Aegir all the way to the east wing and up two flights of stairs.
“Fill the bath. Water only,” Eldric ordered, easing Aegir into the bath.
I quickly obeyed. I turned off the valve only when the water reached up to Aegir’s waist. I watched as pieces of ice formed, bobbing at the water’s surface, courtesy of Eldric.
Aegir seemed to have regained some shred of consciousness in the frigid water—his eyes were half open now. He rested his back against the tiles, his breaths long and heavy. Eldric held his torso upright while I removed his bandages. The bigger the crumpled ball of fabric became, the more I felt like I was doing something wrong. I made to move my hands towards the gel-drenched cloth, but I couldn’t keep them from trembling.
“It’s all right,” Aegir choked, removing it himself. My throat burned as I beheld the scorched, bony wound once more. Aegir placed his palms on top of his ribs and squeezed his eyes shut. His breaths turned shallow, but he kept pushing himself. I cringed at the sound of Aegir’s teeth grinding together. It gave me the urge to clench my own jaw.
“Stop,” Eldric ordered. “Aegir, stop!”
Eldric grabbed him by his wrists and moved his palms away. I gaped. The bone was no longer visible. Fresh pink skin was knitted over it. It was still deep and nasty, but the ivory was hidden; it was just melted lava now, with hues of pink and red and brown.
Aegir’s head lolled and I could tell his body went limp.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, a rush of panic taking over my body.
“Idiot. He drained himself again. He’ll sleep like a bear in hibernation.” Eldric shook his head at him. “Fucking idiot,” he murmured. “Come on, let’s get him to bed.”
Eldric carefully laid him on the bed and removed his wet trousers, undershorts and all. I took out a thin blanket and handed it to Eldric.
“I need to write to King Ryvar and scout the castle’s perimeter. I need to make sure there aren’t any more of them coming,” Eldric mumbled.
