Page 170 of Cerulean Truth
“That’s a double standard,” she hissed.
“Can we maybe argue about that another time?” I asked with a painful grunt, hoping her endless hunger for debate would dissipate at least a little when faced with my possible death.
She swallowed and nodded swiftly. “What do you need?”
I caught her gaze, locking eyes with hers. I barely registered Maurice coming back into the room as the darkness behind my eyes pushed my lids to close.
“You,” I mumbled while I slid further into oblivion, “only you.”
FORTY-SEVEN
EMMA
I nearly lost it when I saw his wound. How in the gods’ names had he been fighting and running while bleeding out that much? And then he’d had the audacity to pretend it was all fine. I might have just killed him myself.
Maurice was brilliant though. With some non-magical tools, he somehow managed to stabilize the wound and pack it up. James was out the entire time, probably his body shutting down from the pain.
“You need to keep an eye on him during the entire night,” Maurice instructed. “If he wakes up, get him to take these painkillers. They should knock him out again.” He rattled a bottle, setting it next to the bed.
I swallowed hard. “How’s Maria?”
Maurice’s features twisted in agony. “Not good. I hope we can get these bubbles to lift before dawn, we need to get them both home as soon as possible.”
I nodded, fervently hoping some good news was coming our way. With James so injured, I had no choice but to be strong, even though my entire being screamed at me to let my despair take over.
Maurice had cut up James’s shirt to attend to his wound. Making sure he wouldn’t be cold, I took out extra blankets from the closet and covered him with them. I kissed him softly on his forehead, and he stirred a little as I did.
Sitting next to him for the next few hours in silence, I reminded myself almost every five minutes not to go crazy with worry. I kept an eye on James and his wound, making sure he was as comfortable as possible. He was going to be fine. We simply needed to get out of there.
I had no idea what had happened to the remaining Board members, but I thanked my lucky stars that James had had the good sense to bubble in the cabin before we left.
It kept us safe from the other bubble the Board had created, but even if we did manage to lift theirs in some sort of miraculous way… If James didn’t regain consciousness, we still wouldn’t be able to portal out as he was the only one who could lift it. Unless we were willing to move out of the safety of the cabin.
Darn it, there were too many worries, too many factors to take into consideration.
A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. I slid off the bed and opened the door a little bit.
“Maurice,” I greeted, whispering softly so as not to wake James.
He handed me two bottles of water. “How is he doing?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat before answering. “He hasn’t been awake yet.”
Maurice covered my hand with his. “That’s better for him.”
I nodded. “How’s Maria?”
“Still alive. But Dennis needed attending as well, and he’s doing worse.”
I frowned. “Dale got injured? I didn’t notice.”
Maurice shook his head. “No one did. He didn’t tell me until an hour ago.”
“Shit. Is he going to be fine?” I asked, genuinely worried for his well-being. I didn’t know him well, but he’d fought by our side tonight. As far as I was concerned, he was one of us now.
Maurice sighed. “Without translation, he’s not going to make it.”
“We need to get out from under these bubbles.”
