Page 22 of Broken Hearted (Cursed Fae #3)

Isolde

I burst from Elisana’s house and nearly ran right into a group of Adrien’s spies. “He’s … I …” I couldn’t speak, I was so distraught.

“We heard. Eldon is staying back to make sure the lord is safe. We will flee with you and help your sister,” the man in the black face wrap told me.

I simply nodded, on the verge of a breakdown as I clung to my sister and fought the urge to run back to Elisana and freeze her solid.

Adrien drank the tea and then looked right at me and said he loved me. That was for me, not her, right? I had to hope he could fight the powers of the potion while I sought help.

“Isolde,” my sister whimpered, nearly tripping over her feet. She’d lost a lot of blood and I felt so guilty that I’d been the one to cause it. If only I had listened to Adrien, and not lashed out at Elisana, my sister would be okay.

“We need a healer,” I said frantically to one of Adrien’s men as we ran full speed to where we’d stashed the horses. My hand was applying pressure on Seraphina’s wound but that wouldn’t last.

When we reached the horses, one of the men ripped off his black wrap and began to tear it to shreds. “I’m not a healer, but I’m trained in these situations,” he said.

He worked quickly draping the six or seven long strips of cloth over his arm. He then balled up some cloth so that it was about the size of the open hole in her shoulder. He was going to plug the wound with dirty cloth?

“Seraphina?” He approached her with a kind smile, but I could see the concern in his gaze as he looked at her left shoulder. I followed his line of sight and had to swallow a whimper. Her clothing was soaked in blood. No wonder she was so quiet. She was on the verge of losing consciousness.

My sister nodded at her name.

“I need you to lay down for a second while I dress your wound, and even though this is going to hurt, I need you not to scream. Can you do that for me?” He peered over his shoulder at the village, and I knew he feared retaliation from Elisana or the other witches that lived here.

My sister bit her lip and nodded.

I helped her lie down on the grass and then held her hand. “I’m so sorry, Seraphina,” I whispered, and my sister just looked up at me with wide terrified eyes. Adrien’s spy, whose name I had yet to learn, peeled her fingers away from the wound.

“Be strong for me, okay?” he told her.

She whimpered, and then he reached out, and he pushed the little ball of cloth into her wound.

Seraphina sucked in a breath and opened her mouth to scream but I clamped my hand over it. She moaned into my palm and my heart broke for her. The man then made quick work of wrapping the black strips of linen around her shoulder to hold the cloth plug in.

“Does she have any self-healing abilities?” he asked me.

I nodded.

“Okay, then we’ll keep an eye on it and pull out the plug so it doesn’t become embedded. It should keep her from bleeding out, though.”

“Thank you. What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Leif,” he said, and both Seraphina and I startled.

That was my father’s name. A pang of sadness entered my heart. I missed my family terribly, but it seemed that this was a sign that even from another world, my father was looking out for us.

I helped my sister up, and she swayed on her feet as we got her onto a horse with me.

“I need to get to Windreum as fast as possible and speak to Zane,” I told the men. And also Dawn and Zander who I was hoping would be with him.

He nodded. “Let’s ride west. We can pick up the train to Windreum in a small town I know of and maybe even find a healer there.”

Relief rushed through me. The train would shorten our travel and be easier on Seraphina.

Without any further discussion, we kicked our horses and galloped off into the night. It was hard because the farther we rode from Adrien, the heavier my heart got.

Would Elisana still want to marry him? Would she kiss him? Would he fall subject to her love spell again and I’d lose him for good?

The last thought horrified me and made me realize I wanted Adrien for myself. Forever. Yes, my parents’ divorce had left its mark on me, but that didn’t mean my marriage would end the same way. I had to change my thoughts about that and not let my fear stop me from having the life I wanted. And right now I wanted nothing more than to grow old with Adrien.

* * *

We rode through the night. My sister slept with her back against my chest and I kept her secure with my arms around her and on the reins of my mare. Her wound was closing and Leif said that we would need to pull the cloth plug out soon or risk it embedding in her skin and causing long-term issues or infection. But to pull the cloth out meant she would again be in danger of bleeding out.

We needed a healer, but we were in the middle of nowhere.

I looked up at the night sky and prayed to every star in it that my sister be spared. By the time we reached the town of Tarrin, where the train station was, it was almost first morning light. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw there was a large gathering of people on the platform waiting for the train to take them to Windreum. I had no idea when the train would arrive. It could be anywhere along the line between capital cities right now, but if there were people waiting, it meant it might come along sooner rather than later. Hopefully sometime today, but in the meantime, my sister’s wound needed to be dealt with.

Leif helped me get her off the horse and then he peeled back the cloth, wincing slightly.

“What is it?” I asked, looking at the wound.

I could see my sister looked better. She had color to her cheeks, but I noticed a thin layer of skin had started to form over the packed cloth.

“Just leave it in,” my sister said, her voice stronger. “I don’t mind it.”

I met Leif’s gaze before glancing back at Seraphina. “If we do, you will lose all range of motion and this arm might become unusable. Not to mention infection will form. We need to cut it out before it goes too deep.”

“Cut it out?” I yelled so loud that a few passersby turned to look at me.

Leif scanned the crowd at the train platform and then glanced back at me. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and walked away.

Seraphina peered up at me with slight fear in her eyes and I realized this was the first time we’d been truly alone since I’d found her.

“Sera, what are you doing here in Ethereum?” I tried but failed to keep the scolding tone from my voice.

She looked ashamed. “Trust me, sister, I don’t want to be here. But when you didn’t return, Queen Liliana panicked. She threw me into the portal against my will.”

That wench! How dare she?

Anger toward the Summer queen rose up inside of me, but I forcefully tapped it down, softening my voice so Sera didn’t think it was her I was upset with. “It’s okay.” I reached out and took her hand. “I’ve got you now.”

She squeezed my hand. “Things are bad back home, Izzy. Our people had to flee to the Spring Court and some got trapped in the ice mountains and … succumbed.”

No .

“Mother, Father, our sisters?” I asked in a panic.

“All okay. But the Winter Court is …” Tears lined her eyes and she blinked them back. “… pretty much gone.”

Gone? What did she mean gone ?

Leif ran over with an elderly woman who carried a black leather bag in her hands. Her silver hair was tied into a bun at the nape of her neck and her pointed ears stuck straight up.

“I found someone who can help,” Leif said.

The woman looked at Seraphina with concern. “Can I have a look, dear?” she asked and reached for her shoulder.

“I packed it with cloth, but I’m worried if it’s removed …” Leif said, not finishing. We all knew what he meant. That my sister might bleed out.

“Are you a healer?” I asked desperately.

The woman smiled kindly at me. “No, honey, I’m not. But I have delivered over three hundred healthy babies and sewn their mothers back up after tearing.”

My stomach dropped. “You’re a midwife?”

No. My sister was going to die.

She ignored my shock and probed the wound gently with her wrinkled fingers.

“I’m the best thing you got, hun. Let’s go to my office.” With that she ushered all of us across the street to a small brick shop that said Healthy Child Midwifery by Hannah in gold paint over the top of the black door.

She unlocked the shop and we stepped inside. It was clean with dust-free wood floors and white walls. It smelled of antiseptic and lavender. She rushed us back to one of the treatment rooms where there was a wooden table next to a desk filled with sterile instruments and bottles.

Seraphina went to lay down on the bed and winced.

“Are you in a lot of pain, dear?” the woman, who I assumed was Hannah, asked.

Sera nodded.

The woman soaked a rag with a yellowish liquid and peered at me. “Sisters?”

“Yes.” I grabbed Seraphina’s hand.

“The resemblance is uncanny,” she told me.

We’ve always been told we looked alike. “What is that?” I gestured to the yellow fluid.

Hannah smiled. “Something to make her rest comfortably while I operate.”

Operate? My heart picked up speed.

The woman walked over to my sister and looked down at her with a bright smile. “My name is Hannah, and I’m going to put this over your mouth and nose. Then you’re going to take a little nap while I fix your shoulder, okay?”

Sera nodded but whimpered, “I’m scared.”

“Don’t worry. I haven’t lost a patient yet and I don’t intend to start now.” Those were the last words my sister heard before Hannah put the rag to her mouth and nose. Seraphina inhaled deeply and then her eyes drooped and eventually closed. When her hand went slack in mine I had to swallow a sob.

“Please help her,” I begged the woman.

Hannah pulled a small blade from her desk and I took one look at it and swayed on my feet. Thinking of her cutting my sister open made me sick. “Do you think you’d be more comfortable in the waiting room?” she asked.

I would but … I didn’t want to leave her.

“I’ll stay and assist,” Leif told me and I sagged in relief.

“Okay … thank you.”

With that I walked numbly out of the office and went to wait in the room with my head held in my hands.

Please let her be okay. I just need her to be okay .

* * *

Thirty agonizing minutes later Hannah stepped out of the treatment room wearing an apron with blood on it. I bolted into a standing position. “Is she okay?”

Hannah smiled. “She did great. I was able to remove the cloth and stop the bleeding. It will probably leave a nasty puckered scar, but with her self-healing ability her range of motion should be fine within a few weeks.”

Oh, thank the stars!

“Thank you.” I rushed over and hugged her.

She patted my back. “You’re welcome. You can go in and see her now. She’s just waking up.”

I didn’t want to be insensitive to my sister’s healing but I couldn’t help but think of Adrien being stuck with Elisana. I really needed to get to Windreum. “Can she travel? We are needed urgently in Windreum.”

Hannah nodded. “Your friend told me. I’ve given him a pain tincture for her with instructions, and another one for infection, just in case.”

Appreciation for this fae rose within me. “I don’t know what we would have done if you weren’t here.” Emotion was tightening my throat and making the words hard to get out.

She smiled kindly at me. “It was my honor, my lady.”

Just as I turned to head in and see my sister, the train whistle blew somewhere in the distance. It was here, and not a moment too soon.

I glanced over my shoulder toward the platform and could see the northern refugees starting to collect their belongings through the window. A few of Adrien’s men jogged across the street to Hannah’s shop, and I gave them instructions to help me get Seraphina on the train. I also made sure to pay Hannah some coins for her service.

Less than ten minutes later we were settled into the packed train. A kind fae saw the condition my sister was in and offered her their sleeping compartment. I was overcome with gratitude. Seraphina had been through an ordeal and needed as much rest as possible to heal over the next week or so.

I sat on the floor beside Sera’s bed, holding her hand as the train moved along the track, taking me closer to Windreum and farther from Adrien every minute that passed. And with each moment that ticked by, worry for him grew until he was all I could think about.

By the time the train rolled into Windreum later in the day, I knew one thing for sure. I never wanted to be parted from Adrien again.