Death Wind (Elven Alliance #3) - Tara Grayce Page 0,93
than simply doing as the nurse demanded. Essie stepped to the buckets of hot water and the soap at the washing station just inside the tent and scrubbed her hands, then waited while Edmund did the same. As much as she wanted to hurry on without him, she also didn’t want to face whatever lay ahead without one of her family members by her side.
When they were both clean, Essie led the way between the cots to the back of the tent where six surgical rooms were cordoned off with canvas. She heard Weylind’s voice in the nearest one, and pushed her way inside.
Farrendel was laid out on the wooden surgical table in the center of the space with two nurses bustling around him, cleaning the blood and grime from his skin. A white sheet draped over his middle and legs, and Essie guessed the nurses had stripped him of the remains of the filthy clothes he’d been wearing.
The head surgeon and healer that Essie had met back in Tarenhiel were huddled next to the table, their heads together as they discussed something between them. Weylind stood next to the table with a hand on Farrendel’s shoulder.
Farrendel’s breathing was ragged, his eyes squeezed shut, his fists clenched. He was conscious now, if the amount of pain tightening his face was any indication.
While Edmund stayed by the door, Essie crept closer. She didn’t want to get in the way, but she didn’t want to stand on the outskirts either. She halted next to Farrendel’s head at the end of the table. “I’m here.”
“Essie.” He gasped her name between ragged breaths. Farrendel’s eyes remained squeezed shut, as if to block out the pain.
The elven healer reached out a hand, a glow of magic around his fingers, and pressed his palm to Farrendel’s chest.
Farrendel cried out, and the healer snatched his hand away, gripping it as if he had been burned. The healer turned to the Escarlish surgeon and began another discussion in rapid, hushed tones.
Essie should have felt satisfaction that the surgeon and healer were getting along so well, considering this teamwork on the part of the medical staff had been her idea. But her stomach was churning, and she had to grip the edge of the table to keep herself from reaching for Farrendel’s hand.
At the door, Jalissa rushed inside, though she halted only a few feet past the entrance, her mouth and eyes wide with a stricken look. Edmund stepped forward and put an arm around her, steering her toward his place by the wall.
After a moment, Nylian, the elven healer, turned to Weylind, his whole body braced as if prepared to be shot for delivering his news. “Weylind Daresheni, I am sorry. But your brother is dying.”
Weylind’s shoulders sagged, his head bowing as if to hide his emotion from those present. Jalissa gasped, pressing a hand over her mouth. Edmund wrapped both arms around her.
Essie’s knees sagged, and she gripped the edge of the table with both hands. No, he couldn’t be dying. They’d rescued him. He was supposed to be fine now. “No. No, there must be something you can do.”
The healer swung sad, dark brown eyes in her direction. “I am truly sorry. But whoever put that stone into him did not intend for him to survive his rescue. The stone has pierced him deeply, curling around his bones and puncturing organs. There is too much troll magic still inside him for me to keep him alive through the surgery that it would take to remove it. On top of that, I suspect his own magic reacted against the stone, doing even more damage.”
The surgeon glanced at the healer before he too turned to Essie. “I’m not sure we could even remove it with surgery. Not if the stone is as embedded into him as Nylian has described. If this stone were a bullet or shrapnel, the normal procedure would be to leave it in. Most people can live a normal life under such cases.”
“But he would be in constant pain. The stone would slowly kill him.” The elven healer shook his head. “I am sorry. But there is nothing we can do.”
Weylind’s head remained bowed, his hands braced against the table.
“No. No, there must be something. The heart bond...I can keep him alive during a surgery. It’s strong enough. I’m strong enough.” Essie reached for Farrendel. She could help him. She refused to let him die. Not like this. Not when she’d just gotten him back.