Page 89 of Storm to Victory
“Let’s take a look.” Prince Edmund stepped out of her way and motioned her to sit at the edge of the bed.
Pip’s head felt kind of light. She sank onto the edge of the bed and, shakily, pulled up her sleeve. It was so sticky with blood that her fumbling fingers struggled to grasp it.
“May I?” Prince Edmund reached for her sleeve but stopped short before touching it.
Pip nodded and dropped her hand, far too tired to wrestle with the fabric.
Despite the bruises swelling his fingers, Prince Edmund’s touch was gentle as he rolled up her sleeve and peeled off the handkerchiefs.
Pip peeked down at her arm. A deep gash cut across the top of her arm, blood welling, flesh gaping.
Her stomach churned, black spots dancing before her eyes, and she had to look away before she threw up or fainted.
“You’ll need stitches.” Prince Edmund grimaced and glanced down at his hands. “Jayna, I’m afraid you’ll have to do it. My fingers are in no shape for such delicate work.”
Stitches. In her arm. Pip’s head swirled even more. She’d been hurt before. One couldn’t work in mechanics without getting a few nasty gashes. But there had always been an elf healer on hand to patch her up quickly afterward.
“There’s a suture kit in there. I just need a moment.” Jayna gave a halfhearted twitch of her hand in the direction of the bag of medical supplies on the floor. Her face was still far too pale, her voice slightly breathy as she still gasped for air.
“Are you all right?” Prince Edmund tensed, as if he wasn’t sure if Pip or Jayna needed him more.
“I’m fine. I just used a lot of my magic tonight.” Jayna gripped the satchel, her jaw working and her eyes pained. “I’m sure they saw my plant magic. They’ll know an elf broke into their War Office.”
Prince Edmund went still for a moment, his eyes going distant as he absorbed that. “They’ll blame me. I’m the only one they know of here with ties to the elves.”
“I’m sorry, Dacha. They’ll…they’ll…” Jayna’s voice broke as tears welled up in her deep brown eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
Prince Edmund crossed the room and pulled Jayna into a hug. “It will be all right, sena.”
“No, it won’t. They’ll torture you even worse. All because I messed up.” Jayna pressed her face against her father’s shoulder.
“You didn’t mess up.” Pip forced herself to pick up one of the handkerchiefs again and pressed it to her wound. Her head was swirling, but she tried to concentrate. “That man just opened the door at the wrong moment and saw us.”
“I should have been more cautious. I should have heard his footsteps. Something.” Jayna’s voice was a broken murmur between semi-silent tears.
“Shh, sena.” Prince Edmund rubbed a hand up and down her back. “That could have happened to anyone. Even me. Don’t blame yourself. We’ll just adjust our plan and go from here.”
After a moment, Jayna sniffed her way into conquering her tears, and she lifted her head.
Prince Edmund took a step back, although he still gripped her shoulders in the elven-style hug. “Whatever happens in the next couple of days, don’t react. Don’t come to check on me. Understand? You need to stay away so that they don’t suspect you. Take the papers we’ve stashed here and hide them elsewhere. Not in your room. Don’t tell me where you’ve hidden them, got it?” He glanced over his shoulder at Pip. “Did they see your magic?”
“No. I didn’t use it. I didn’t want to give away that I had it.” That seemed rather foolish now that she was clutching ahandkerchief to a bullet wound while blood dripped through her fingers.
Prince Edmund nodded. “That’s one surprise we still have up our sleeve, at least.”
“But they might know they hit one of us. I cried out.” Pip couldn’t help the tremble that traveled down her spine and into her fingers.
“Not ideal, but not something to worry about.” Prince Edmund tottered back to the bed and sank onto it next to Pip. “We’ll stitch your wound, and you’ll have to do your best to pretend you aren’t hurt. Hopefully they won’t suspect you. We only need to hold out a couple more days.”
Pip swallowed and hunched more on the bed. Those handful of days until whatever big plan went down seemed so far away. How badly would Prince Edmund be tortured? Would the Mongavarians torture her too? She’d never hold up. She’d tell them everything.
And what if Fieran and Prince Farrendel didn’t arrive like they were supposed to? Would Prince Edmund’s big plan work then?
After a few more minutes, Jayna pushed to her feet and dug out the suture kit.
Prince Edmund glanced at Pip, his gaze searching her face. “I would offer to let you hold my hand, but I fear my fingers would never hold up. But you are welcome to lean against my shoulder, if you wish.”
Pip nodded, scooted a little closer, and leaned against his shoulder. He wasn’t her dacha, but he was doing a good job of stepping in as an uncle.
