Page 2 of Infala: The Priest's Temptation
Ella felt a surge of despair knot in her stomach. She tried to push up to her elbow, but her body absolutely refused.
“Do not try to move. You were severely injured in the crash. Many broken bones. Most, to be honest. And you received burns across nearly all of your body.”
“Burns? But I don’t feel?—”
“That’s good. It means the healing gel applied to your burns is working, as is the mending field projected onto your person. It will take time to see which runes might have survived, of course, but your skin needs to mend first. Our healers are unfamiliar with your race, and as such they were forced to employ a bit of guesswork.”
Flashes of memory struggled to make themselves known, but Ella had been seriously concussed and barely aware of what was happening when they crashed. All she had was a blur ofimages and horrible sounds. Now, only fragments cut through the dizziness, pain, and nausea.
“I remember a smell. Strong. Acrid.”
“Your ship managed to come down in the most inhospitable location in the entire realm. The fire swamps of Orzigar, in fact.”
“Fire swamp?”
“More of an acid and molten lava, to be precise.”
“No unusually large rodents?”
“What? I don’t think that translated correctly.”
Ella laughed, her body suddenly screaming in pain, her broken ribs reminding her what a bad idea that was. But the pain sparked something. An image flashed in her mind’s eye. A worried man, streaked with ash and sweat, frantically pulling her from the wreckage, ignoring the flames burning his skin with his fierce intensity focused on the human in his arms. His tunic was torn, tattoos visible on his broad chest, an ornate white one standing out, occupying the center. And his eyes. So silver. So beautiful.
“It was you.Yousaved me.”
“I happened to be first to the crash site. Frankly, it is a miracle you survived, Gods be praised.”
Ella’s head was swimming. So many jumbled thoughts. Memories. Information. It was all too much for her concussed brain to take in. Her stomach flipped once, then twice.
Oh, no. Please, no.
“I’m going to be—” she managed to say just as she turned her head to the side and vomited, her body shrieking in protest.
The man didn’t flinch. In fact, he immediately wiped her lips and cheek, then placed an absorbent cloth on the small puddle beside her head before putting another damp one on her forehead.
“You need to rest.”
Ella realized she was looking not at her compartment, but at a ceiling. She was in a building, not a spaceship. Confused panic welled up. “Where am I?” she asked, her eyes widening with fear.
“You are safe. You have my word.”
“I was abducted by aliens, so pardon me if I don’t take your word for it.”
An amused chuckle escaped the man’s lips. “Fair enough. But nevertheless, you have my word. I am Draikis, by the way, and you are in the healing chambers of the Novarian Brotherhood of the High Dotharian Sect. My order. And you?”
“Me? I’m not part of any sect.”
He chuckled, flashing that dazzlingly bright smile. “I meant your name.”
“Oh.” Ella felt butterflies in her stomach. Or was it pain? Maybe a bit of both; she couldn’t be sure. “Ella. My name is Ella.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled with his warm grin. He placed his hand on his chest and gave her a little bow. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ella. Though I wish it were under better circumstances.”
This guy is quite the charmer, I’ll give him that.
“I—whoa…” Ella’s words trailed off, her head spinning into a whirlpool of darkness.
She fought back as hard as she could. She had so many questions. So much she wanted to ask. But her battered and healing body had other ideas, and no matter what she wanted, Ella slipped into a deep but restless slumber.
