There was too much blood, far too much blood. More than there should be. Where was it coming from? Tears blurred her vision as she stared down at him, only seeing him, not the two healers who worked feverishly to save him.
This was as much her doing as it was the worm’s, and she knew it.
A hand fell on her shoulder and she startled, badly enough that she nearly pulled steel on Phelan, who looked at her and murmured, “Get a grip, shield maiden. Fretting won’t help him.”
Jacqueline’s head jerked up and she focused on Phelan for a bare moment, her hands soaked with Thordin’s blood. “Are you in one piece?”
“No physical injuries worth mentioning,” Phelan said. “He needs your help. Do what you can.”
“Already doing it,” Jacqueline said, refocusing on Thordin. Marin dropped to her knees next to her.
“What can I do?”
“Put your hands there and press down as hard as you can,” Jacqueline said, shifting as Marin got into position. Jacqueline grabbed a needle and thread and moved to another wound, checking it before she started sewing it closed, blood welling around her fingers even as she set to work.
Sif sucked in a rasping breath. Phelan squeezed her arm. “They’re good at what they do,” he said, watching his lover and J.T. work. Sif leaned into the touch despite herself, biting down hard on her lower lip.
“This is my fault,” she whispered.
“It’s not,” Phelan said.
“It is,” she hissed, tears stinging her eyes again. “I shouldn’t have pushed him away. I should have apologized. I should have reconciled.”
Now I’m never going to have a chance to do it. Damnation!
Sif spun on her heel and stalked away, burying her face in her blood-soaked hands as she went
Love is complicated enough without romance added to it. Thordin better pull through,
Thanks for another chapter. It’s a good story.