Page 56 of Blue Arrow Island
“Nova, get me a bridge.” The first voice that spoke to me is back, and it belongs to a female.
“Don’t, Nova.” A man’s deep voice. “She’s beyond saving, and she’s not coming to our camp.”
There’s a scoff, and the first woman’s voice returns. “Who put you in charge of medical decisions, Marcus?”
“You make medical decisions for our people, but she’s a Tider. We don’t save those assholes.”
“That’s not fair,” Amira says. “How is it her fault they grabbed her instead of you guys?”
“This is my call,” Marcus’s tone is decisive. “We’re not bringing a Tider into our camp.”
“Nova, the bridge, please,” the first woman says.
“I said no, Ellison,” Marcus’s voice is low and ominous.
After a few seconds, he speaks again. “Nova, don’t give her that fucking bridge. Don’t you—damn it!”
I feel a tiny prick in my arm. I think I just got a shot.
“She’s lost a lot of blood. I don’t know if this will be enough to get her back, but I have to try.”
“Thank you, Ellison,” Amira says.
“You can treat her here, but she’s not coming into our camp.”
I manage to open my eyes, and Marcus’s face is the first one that comes into focus. His brows are drawn down and he’s holding a bow, an arrow nocked. He’s looking in every direction, prepared to shoot if he needs to.
Whatever was in that shot is powerful. Pure energy is flowing through my body. I glance at the spot where I felt the poke and then at the woman kneeling next to me.
She has long, light-brown hair with a few silver pieces woven in. Her brown eyes are crinkled at the corners in an expression that’s both worrying and reassuring at the same time.
“Briar, I’m Ellison. I gave you a bridge, which is a shot we use to get people from the field into our camp after serious injuries. You’ve lost a lot of blood. Do you know where you are?”
I glance around, half expecting to see Virginia running at us with a spear. “Blue Arrow Island.”
“That’s right.”
“We’re not doing this,” Marcus says hotly. “It’s too risky.”
Ellison ignores him, her gaze still focused on me. “We don’t have much time. When you were brought here on the boat, you were injected with a very small device. The device contains a compound called blue aromium. A flower that grows on this island is the base of that compound, and the flower is bright blue. That’s why this is called Blue Arrow Island. Soren Whitman has a team of scientists who created it.”
My heart races as I look at Amira. I hardly know her, but she saved my life when she didn’t have to, so I trust her.
“It’s true,” she says softly.
Marcus speaks in a low tone, still checking in every direction and ready to fire an arrow if needed. “They’ve got a bunch of fours out here looking for her, you guys. We can’t stay here.”
Concern floods Ellison’s eyes. “You have a decision to make, Briar, and you have to make it quickly. Your injuries are serious, and the aromium will help you heal faster. We can leave you here, or you can come back to our camp, where I can treat you and you’ll be safe from Virginia. But I’ll have to deactivate your implant before we go there. Our camp is protected against aromium and you’d die if you tried to come in with the implant activated.”
Marcus hums his disapproval, shaking his head. They all look at me for a long second, waiting. Amira, Marcus, Ellison and Nova. I recognize Nova from the waterfall. A sheen of sweat shines on her dark, defined muscles.
“I can’t go back there,” I murmur.
“What were those vines that wrapped around Virginia?” Amira asks. “Are they alive?”
Marcus’s scowl turns even darker. “We can’t do this right now. If those Tiders find us, we’re dead.”
I shoot him a wary look as I sit up, cringing from the aches all over my body. “You’re the ones who kill them.”
