Page 12 of Where Lightning Strikes Twice
“They don’t,” she says, hissing as I tighten the binding. “Or they didn’t. Something’s changed.”
I help her into the cave, a shallow space barely large enough for both of us. Inside, cached supplies provide basic medical provisions—herbs for pain, clean bandages, water. I work methodically, cleaning her wounds as best I can with our limited resources.
“The bleeding won’t stop,” I mutter, applying pressure to her arm. The wound is too deep, too complex for field medicine. Storm Eagles heal faster than humans, but some injuries require more than time and natural recovery.
Zara watches my face, reading my concern. “How bad?”
I’ve never lied to her. I won’t start now. “Bad. The arrow severed tendons. And there seems to have been some toxin onthe arrowhead. Without proper treatment…” I don’t finish the sentence. I don’t need to.
Without proper treatment, she’ll never fly again and may very well lose her life.
“We need to get you back to the aerie,” I say, securing the last bandage. “The healers?—”
“Won’t be able to fix this,” she finishes for me. “Kael, you know as well as I do that our healers are skilled with broken bones and superficial wounds. This is beyond their capabilities.”
She’s right. Our healers work with traditional methods—herbal remedies, spiritual practices, and the occasional storm magic enhancement. They excel at treating the common injuries of our people, but the precision damage to Zara’s wing exceeds their experience.
“Then we find another way,” I say, the decision crystallizing even as I speak. “There are other healers.”
Zara’s eyes widen as she realizes what I’m suggesting. “Ground-dwellers? You can’t be serious.”
“They have medical technology we don’t. Techniques for repairing nerve and tissue damage.”
“And you think they’ll just help a Storm Eagle?” She shakes her head, then winces at the movement. “They’ll kill me on sight—or worse, capture me for study.”
“Not all of them,” I say, the image of the female healer from the raid rising unbidden in my mind. Something about her had been different. Something that might now represent Zara’s only hope.
“You’re thinking of her, aren’t you?” Zara asks, her perceptiveness undiminished by pain. “The healer you mentioned.”
I don’t deny it. “I saw her working on the wounded after our raid. She’s skilled, dedicated. Different from the others.”
“Different how?”
I struggle to articulate what I sensed. “Most ground-dwellers fear us. Hate us. She was afraid, yes, but there was curiosity too. Intelligence. And something else…”
“Something else,” Zara repeats, studying my face. A flash of understanding crosses her features. “Kael, is she…?”
“No,” I say firmly, cutting off the question before she can voice it. “It’s nothing like that. She’s just a healer who might be willing to help.”
Zara doesn’t look convinced, but pain overtakes her skepticism as a fresh wave of blood seeps through her bandages. Her face, already pale from blood loss, turns ashen.
“We need to move fast,” I say, making my decision. “The wolves will be tracking us. We can’t stay here, and you can’t make it back to the aerie in this condition.”
“What are you suggesting?” she asks, though I think she already knows.
“I’m taking you to her. To the settlement medical facility.”
“That’s insane,” she whispers, but there’s no strength behind the protest. We both know she’s running out of options. “The council will exile you for this. Viktor will use it to challenge your leadership.”
“Let him try,” I say with more confidence than I feel. “I’m still Stormwright. I make the difficult choices no one else will.”
The truth is, I’m terrified. Not of Viktor’s political maneuvering or the council’s judgment, but of losing Zara. She’s more than my sister—she’s my conscience, my advisor, my link to a time before leadership consumed my identity. I can withstand exile or challenge, but not her loss.
“If we’re doing this,” Zara says after a long moment, “we go tonight. Under cover of darkness.”
I nod, relieved she isn’t fighting me on this. “Can you hold out until then?”
“I’ll have to.” She attempts a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Just promise me one thing.”
