Page 16

Nadia

I can hear the grumble of Cole’s growl resonating through his chest as the two figures hesitantly move forward. But after only two or three seconds, it’s apparent that they’re not threats –

They’re patients.

People who need my help.

Immediately, I step to the side and then rush out ahead of Cole, striding for them. He sighs and calls my name, but I ignore him. He catches up easily and hurries at my side, not stopping me but certainly not letting me go alone.

I glance over at the larger group by the fire, some of whom have started standing, noticing that something’s up. “They need to stay back,” I say brusquely to Cole, turning my eyes back to the people at the edge of the camp. They shrink away from me in fear, and my heart seizes for them.

Cole falls back a step, giving some sort of hand signal to his men before coming back to my side.

“Hi,” I say, as warm and gentle as I can, stopping about ten feet from the pair of women, one of whom cradles her arm against her stomach. My heart drops - that stance means either her arm is hurting, or her stomach is. I hope fervently for the former. “Welcome. You’re safe here.”

“Please, come forward,” Cole says, his voice soft and friendly. “If you need any help, you’ve come to the right place.”

The two women glance at each other, and then the taller of the two – the one not curled over in pain – wraps her arm around the other’s shoulders and ushers her forward. “Yes,” she says, hesitant, looking between Cole and me. “We…we need help. We have nothing to offer or pay –“

“That doesn’t matter,” Cole says, nodding to the woman but making no move toward her, probably sensing that it might be seen as aggressive. He steps back instead, gesturing toward the nursing tent, which is still lit from within. “Please. We want to help.”

The women glance at each other and then the taller sniffs the air before stepping forward, clearly deciding to trust us. The smaller woman coughs, the sound hacking and wet as she rasps for breath.

“Hi,” I say, smiling at them as they move toward us, fighting my urge to frown interestedly at the woman’s chest. That’s one hell of a cough, but my inspection can wait.

Instead, I turn and walk at their side, placing myself between them and the group at the fire.

“My name is Nadia, I’m a trained medic. Are you hurt? ”

I hear a commotion at the fire behind me as we cross the camp, but Cole falls back and apparently quells it as the taller woman tells me that the smaller is hurt – that there was a scuffle of some kind and a lot of confusion, and that they ran – that they’ve been waiting for an opportunity to run –

But the smaller one, her sister, got hurt along the way.

“We can help you,” I say, gesturing into the clean and shiny medical tent. The two women – covered with dirt, I observe, now that I’ve got them in the light – look around in a bit of wonder. “Why don’t you pick a bed and I’ll come right over. Are you hungry?”

They both look at me in surprise and then, as one, deeply nod.

I smile at them. “I’ll be there in a second, I just need to get some supplies. We’ll bring you something to eat.”

The two women hesitate and then move toward one of the beds in the back corner. I turn back to the door, Cole’s name on my lips, ready to call him to my aid –

But he’s already there. I scowl at that, hating how precise he is. He smirks. “Orders, nurse?”

“I need Grace and Arnav, and can you tell Shayne to get my dad? I’m worried that wrist is broken and he’ll need to take a look. And then can you tell Shayne to get some sandwiches and a lot of water? They’re dehydrated.”

Cole nods to me, still smiling a little, and turns away.

“Cole?”

He turns back, expectant.

“Can you keep the others away?” I ask, pitching my voice lower. “I’m getting the sense that these two aren’t going to respond well to a swarm of twenty amateur nurses all eager to help them.”

The Prince’s smile grows and he nods to me. “Consider it done.” He turns again.

“Hey, Cole?”

He sighs, laughing a little, and again turns to me. He raises an eyebrow.

“Thanks,” I bite out, my eyes flashing at his attitude. His smile spreads across his face as he turns away, off to do my bidding.

I turn back to the patients, pleased to see that they’re sitting together on one of the beds, looking more relaxed.

The smaller woman traces her hands over the blanket folded at the bottom of the bed, her eyes wide.

I move to the corner of the tent where we have a small boiler and turn it on, beginning to fill a large basin with warm water.

Step one is getting these women cleaned up.

By the time dad arrives in the tent, taking a moment for Cole to brief him at the door, we’ve made significant progress.

The women have washed their faces and hands, murmuring a little in awe at the warm water, which breaks my heart.

Now they happily eat the sandwiches Shayne gave to them, their eyes on the food even as Grace patches up their wounds. Small cuts, mostly.

I concentrate on the big problem at hand.

As gently as I can, I turn the smaller woman’s wrist. She growls, snapping her head towards me, flashing her teeth. But it quickly turns into that hacking cough. Her sister looks at her with worry.

“Easy, Jade,” the taller woman says, putting her hand on Jade’s shoulder. “She’s helping.”

Jade hesitates but then her face falls in apology. “Sorry,” she says, working the word around her wheezing breath.

“Here, darling,” Grace says, taking the blanket from the bottom of the bed and wrapping it around Jade’s shoulders. “Let’s get you cozy warm while we work.”

Jade gives Grace a small smile and lets me continue to probe at her wrist.

I smile at Jade, trying my best to be friendly – which doesn’t always come naturally to me. I work the wrist as gently as I can, stopping when she flinches. “It hurts a lot, yeah?”

She nods and we go through a few experiments to see how much mobility she has, stopping when it hurts too much.

A tall woman with red hair streaked with grey comes into the tent in a white coat, looking around before she walks over.

Jade again cradles her arm against her chest, her lashes lined with tears.

I stand straight, my eyes moving to this woman’s badge, figuring by the white coat that she’s the doctor I’m supposed to report to, though I haven’t met her yet.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Arbroth,” she says, giving her patients a curt nod before moving her eyes to me. “I just arrived in camp – and just in time, apparently. Nurse? Assessment?”

“The wrist is broken, I believe,” I say, nodding to it. “She doesn’t have full range of motion and the pain is severe.”

“Well, that’s bad luck,” the doctor says, reaching for Jade’s arm. The woman hesitates, looking up at the doctor with fear in her eyes. “I’ll be very gentle,” she promises, leaning forward a little, her palm extended. “I’m here to help.”

Jade sighs and extends her arm. True to her word, the doctor gently investigates her wrist, making her call.

“Yes, broken,” Dr. Arbroth says, nodding seriously to Jade, who sighs. The woman next to her wraps her in a hug. “We can treat it, though, if you’re willing.”

“We can’t pay you,” the taller woman says, looking between me and the doctor, an innate stubbornness making itself known in her expression.

“I didn’t ask you to pay,” the doctor says, half curt, half casual. “It’s my job to help you, my dear, no matter what. I promise no one will ask you for a thing. Do you accept care? You can stop at any time – you have complete freedom here.”

The women look at each other for a moment and then both nod.

“Good,” the doctor says, turning away. She signals to Shayne as she comes in the door.

“Nurse,” she calls. “Please bring these women more water and as much food as they’d like.

And you,” she says, glancing down at me before striding towards Arnav in our office area, “will come with me, please.”

I scurry after the doctor, giving the women a warm smile as Grace continues to treat their small cuts. They stare after us, I think a bit shocked, but I’m more used to doctors tending to have abrupt natures.

I follow in silence, watching the doctor carefully as we cross to the other side of the tent.

She ignores me for the time being, looking around at the office area that I set up.

“Good work, nurse,” she says to Arnav, not looking at him.

Arnav’s hands still on the keyboard mid-note as he looks up at our new boss.

“Please ask the guard at the door to come here. Then, if no one’s manning the pharmacy, you’re needed there. ”

“Ma’am?” Arnav asks, a bit stunned.

Dr. Arbroth looks at him for the first time. “Doctor, not ma’am. Which of my orders did you not understand?”

Arnav blinks in surprise and then hops to his feet, murmuring, “Yes, doctor,” as he walks to the tent’s entrance.

I bite my lip against a laugh, thinking that this is abrupt even for someone used to command. Arbroth moves behind the desk and begins to scroll through Arnav’s notes. “You’re Nurse Amir, yes?”

“Yes,” I say, knowing she means me. I’m the only one here, after all.

“Good,” she says. “I was told you were in charge of the nurses. Your assessment?”

I straighten my shoulders, “I think that cough is an infection. She’s going to need medicine for it – even treatment if it’s as persistent as I think it is.”

“Good,” Arbroth murmurs, his eyes still on the notes. “And can we provide that kind of treatment here?”

I blink at her because…I mean. She should know the answer to that question if she took this post. So why is she asking me?

“Doctor?” I turn when I hear Cole’s voice just on the other side of the desk. He looks between Arbroth and me. “Do you have orders?”

I glance down at the doctor, waiting for her to give Cole his orders, but she doesn’t say a thing – instead keeping his eyes fixed on the computer.

After a second of waiting, I realize what’s happening and lift my chin, hiding a smile as I look Cole in the eye. He stands straighter with surprise as he turns his attention to me.

“The smaller of the two patients is going to need transport,” I say, soft but assured.

Cole’s eyebrows raise. “She needs to go to a major medical facility. There’s a broken wrist and a chest infection that are both beyond our capacity.

And I doubt she’ll go without her sister, so you may as well arrange for two. ”

Cole blinks at me for a second, just staring. Then he shakes himself out of it, glancing at the doctor for a second. She keeps her eyes fixed on the computer, starting to type something else.

Cole smirks, looking me up and down with a satisfied expression that makes me set my shoulders back. “All right, Nadia. How fast?”

I smirk right back, quite liking this whole command thing. “How fast can you make it happen?”