Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,83
“Eclipsa?”
I must sound terrified because Eclipsa snarls, “How bad is he hurt?”
“I don’t know, I think—I think pretty bad. He’s struggling to breathe, and I can’t stop his bleeding.”
“Is his blood darkening?”
“Yes.” I look over the dark steel-colored liquid pouring from seemingly everywhere on his body. “Help me, please.”
“Iron poisoning. Listen carefully. There is a piece of iron somewhere in his flesh. Either a blade broke off in his skin or something else, but you need to find it. Understand?”
I nod even though she can’t see and start working on his jacket. He tries to help, but he’s barely conscious. The jacket slips away to reveal a shirt drenched in silver. He slides to the floor, his chest rocking up and down with every ragged breath.
My fingers slip uselessly over the buttons of his shirt until I give up any semblance of normality and rip it open. The buttons clatter over the marble, and his full lips curl into a grin.
“If you wanted to see me naked,” he drawls, the bastard, “you should have asked.”
“Shut up.” I’m so mad right now that I could kill him myself.
“Such a dirty mouth,” he whispers, eyes fully closed as he dutifully lifts his arms for me. “I can think of better ways to use it right now.”
“He’s hallucinating,” Eclipsa warns. “Do you see anything yet?”
His drenched shirt slaps against the tile where I drop it, and I start examining his upper body. Blood covers nearly every square inch of his muscular abdomen and chest. Darkening red and purple bruises bloom on the few untouched areas. His rib cage jerks up and down with every ragged breath, but the movements are growing more shallow by the second.
“There’s too much blood,” I murmur, tears blurring my vision. I brush the back of my hand over my eyes. “I can’t see anything.”
“Take off the rest of his clothes and then wash the blood off. Can you do that?”
“Yeah. There’s a giant pool of water right next to me,” I say, “but if you don’t get here soon he might end up drowning in it.”
A dark laugh comes over the speaker. “I don’t blame you.”
I fumble with his pants. He helps as much as possible, and somehow I manage to get those off. His legs aren’t as bad—they must have focused most of their blows to his head and torso. “Can you get in the bath?”
“Yeah.” He grins and then falls over onto his side. “This feels nice.”
Rolling my eyes, I grab his wrist and try to drag him into the pool. It’s literally three feet away, but he’s too heavy, and my feet can’t get traction on the bloody floor. I maneuver around him on the other side and push, using my foot against the counter for leverage.
All that for maybe a few inches.
Magic. Lifting my silver-coated fingers, I concentrate on the icy wind Valerian used earlier. I focus on the wintry pine scent, the way that specific magic felt as it brushed my bare skin. Even the metallic and evergreen taste it left in my mouth afterward.
A dull, cold ache grows behind my sternum. Thin electric-blue threads of magic dance between my fingertips.
When the pressure in my chest feels ready to burst, I release the energy. The howl that follows is so loud I have to clap my fingers over my ears. The few items on the countertop crash to the floor around us. I grab onto the edge of the countertop to keep from being thrown across the room.
The howling wind stops all at once. I look over at Valerian—
He’s in the water, facedown.
“Crap!”
I lunge to the pool and slide in, wrapping my arms around him. I flip him over.
He coughs out water. “Trying to . . . kill me, Princess?”
“Thought about it.” I drag him to the edge. There’s a shallow ledge, and I settle him on it. Dark gray blood clouds the water. Grabbing one of the towels from earlier, I scrub his body while he lays back, eyes shut, smiling.
Bastard. “Enjoying this?”
“You’re not . . . rubbing in the right place.”
I splash water into his face. “I haven’t ruled out drowning you yet.”
“You would miss me too much.”
Ignoring him, I work the blood from his torso, his arms, then his legs. At some point, he goes quiet, and I start checking his chest for movement. I pour myself into my actions to deflect from my panic.
Scrub. Look for embedded object. Check breathing. New towel. Repeat.