Page 55 of Journey to the Elderoak (Daughter of the Earth #2)

O ne moment Ava thought her throat was about to be slit, the next, she was in Casimir’s arms as he knelt to check her over.

“Are you okay?” he gasped, inspecting her cheek.

“I’m fine. But…Raine,” she said, voice breaking as she pushed out of Casimir’s arms and rushed over to her friend.

Collapsing to her knees beside him, vision blurry with tears, she checked him for wounds. Nothing. There was no blood, no visible injuries. Casimir joined her, performing his own assessment, brow pinched with worry. He was breathing. Barely.

A sob burst from Ava, unable to hold it in any longer.

“Wake up,” she cried, shaking Raine’s shoulders. “Wake up, you idiot! Wake up, wake up!”

Monterre’s soldiers filtered into the town square, the rush of boots announcing their arrival. Ava looked up, meeting her brother’s panic-stricken eyes as he carried Quinn in his arms, her leg covered in blood.

“What happened?” she and Thorne said in unison as he saw Raine’s unconscious body on the ground .

“We need the healers. Now,” ordered Casimir as he stood.

“Are there any daemon soldiers left?” asked Thorne.

“No,” said Casimir. “They’ve all either fled or have been cut down.”

Casimir sent out two teams, one to check for their own survivors, and the other to ensure any last enemies who may be hanging on to life were truly dead.

Within minutes, Skye arrived carrying Kai and two other healers. The rest were on their way on horseback and would join soon. Ava had pulled Raine’s head into her lap, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stroked his hair.

“Please don’t die,” she whispered. “You were the first friend I had here. Don’t leave me. Don’t leave Cas. We need you.”

They established the healing quarters in the center of the decimated square, using a large open-air tent they’d brought for this purpose, and stationed the remaining soldiers around the perimeter to guard their space.

Kai approached, trying to hide the strain on his face at Raine’s condition.

“Ava,” he said quietly. “Why don’t you let us move him to a bedroll so he can be comfortable while I work?”

She nodded, shoulders shaking from her sobs as she backed away and allowed soldiers to carry him to the tent. They laid him next to Quinn, who was moaning through gritted teeth as Thorne hovered over her.

Ava sat on the ground between the two of them, holding Raine’s hand as tears continued to fall. Thorne’s face was a picture of rage and worry, eyeing the healers with irritation.

“If you don’t hurry your ass up, I will have you strung up in the dungeons when we return,” he growled.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the healer replied, rushing over with supplies.

A deep laceration ran from the top of Quinn’s thigh to above her knee, muscle and fat visible among her blood-soaked leathers. Ava turned back to Kai as he was laying his hands on Raine, eyes closed, searching for whatever was keeping him unconscious.

He opened his eyes. “What happened?”

She sniffled, wiping her face. “Andras appeared and Raine tried to stop him. Then Andras shot shadows at him and he dropped to the ground. It’s my fault. He was trying to protect me.”

Kai shook his head. “It’s not your fault. And he’s going to be fine.”

“He is?” she asked, voice hopeful. “Why won’t he wake up?”

“I’ve heard of Andras’ power but never seen it in action. His shadows can cause invisible injuries, such as internal bleeding. He has a laceration in his spleen, but I can heal it with help,” he answered as he waved over another healer.

She blew out a breath, her pulse finally slowing. “Okay.”

“You’ll need to let go of his hand while I do this,” he said.

She did as he instructed. Kai and the other healer laid their hands on his chest and closed their eyes, remaining that way for several minutes. Raine let out a cough and opened his eyes.

“Please don’t tell me I’ve stained my leathers with that horrific daemon blood,” he whispered hoarsely.

Ava laughed through her tears.

Raine turned and looked at her, a weak smile on his face. “Good thing you survived. Otherwise, Cas would have killed me anyway.”

She smiled. “Welcome back.”

Raine evaluated her face. “Were you crying over me, little frog?”

“Of course I was. I thought you were dead.” She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

He gave her a weak roguish grin. “Not this time.”

Ava turned to Quinn who was squirming in pain as the healer prepped her leg to be sutured .

“Can’t you give her something for the pain?” seethed Thorne. “You’re hurting her!”

“She’s going to be fine. Let him work,” said Kai.

Quinn looked at Thorne and said through clenched teeth, “Go have your hissy fit somewhere else. You’re distracting me.”

Ava stood and walked to her brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, let’s walk.” He glared at her. “Now,” she insisted.

He rose and glanced at Quinn one last time before following Ava out from under the canopy. She sat on what appeared to have been the edge of a fountain and patted the seat next to her.

“She’s fine. Raine’s fine. We’re all okay.”

He sighed as he sat beside her and leaned over, placing his elbows on his knees.

“What’s going on? I’ve never seen you act like this,” she said.

“I watched a daemon soldier slice her open like she was nothing. I thought she was going to die.” His voice was tight.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Oh.

“You love her.”

He looked at her with conviction, but didn’t answer, turning away again.

“I thought…she said…you two just had fun sometimes,” Ava said.

He still didn’t say anything.

“You should tell her.”

“She doesn’t want to be queen,” he whispered.

“Have you actually ever asked her that?”

He grunted, confirmation enough. Stubborn fae men. They were all the same. Rolling her eyes, she rose and patted his back.

“Think about it,” she said and walked away, searching for Casimir.

She found him speaking with some soldiers, giving orders before they walked off. When he spotted her coming toward him, he limped to her and grabbed her face. “Did you get assessed by a healer? Did they look at your cheek?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s barely even a scratch. Your distraction plan worked, though you could have warned me.”

“I tried,” he said. “Sorry I had to keep him talking so Aelerion could sneak up on him.”

Ava scanned the area. “Where is he anyway?”

“He and his wife are with a group of guards looking for survivors.”

“Remind me to thank him for saving my life.”

Casimir took her hand and led them back to the tent. “Please have a healer check you over,” he repeated.

Ava searched the busy tent for Kai. Spotting him, she walked over. “Will you assess me so Cas can get off my back? Also, he’s limping.” She jerked her thumb at him.

He turned to her and frowned.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice, you brute.”

Ava stared into the flames of a small fire as it popped and crackled while the cloudy night sky promised rain.

Casimir sat beside her—along with Thorne, Jorrar, Aelerion and Thalia—while Quinn and Raine slept off their injuries.

Out of the eighty soldiers they had brought, twenty-one had been injured enough to need care and almost thirty killed. More than half their group.

Casimir had a minor slice in his calf, easily bandaged, and was already beginning to heal. Jorrar had a small cut on his forehead but was otherwise fine. The rest of them, while sore and exhausted, were injury free besides scratches and bruises.

“So Andras got away?” asked Thorne, deep in thought .

“He disappeared into shadows. Apparently, he can jump,” said Aelerion.

“We’ll need to make sure there are wards around the kingdom,” said Thorne. “Who knows how far he can travel.”

“Thorne,” said Thalia. “Jumping is not a magic we’ve seen before. Even in daemons.”

Everyone’s attention turned to Thalia as shock and confusion made their way through the group.

“Are you sure?” asked Thorne. “Is this new information? Did he use that magic in the old wars?”

“I never heard about him using it, but it’s possible.

Maybe the information was lost? There aren’t many of us left who fought back then and most of you were children or not even born yet,” she said.

“Aelerion and I never battled against Andras. We were too busy attempting to stop Deidamia’s commander from taking over our home. ”

“What does that mean?” asked Jorrar.

Thalia shook her head, her yellow eyes full of concern. “I’m not sure. We must research it.”

“Our archives have hardly any information,” said Thorne. “King Vardan destroyed most of our texts.”

“You’ve said that before,” Ava interjected. “But do you know why our father destroyed them? Are you sure it was just because he went mad?”

“I’m not certain. I was young when it happened. And honestly, I avoided him as much as I could.”

Ava sighed, but something still nagged at her. Something of great importance, just out of reach. She couldn’t stop thinking about why her father would have done that. They were missing a vital piece of information.

“Our libraries are inaccessible at the moment due to those daemon bastards,” Aelerion said.

“We can ask Astrid and Soren if they will search for information,” said Jorrar .

“Good idea,” Thorne replied. “We must also venture to Caelestia soon.”

Casimir grumbled something inaudible.

“They have the most extensive archives in all of Eorhan,” said Thorne, looking pointedly at him. “Besides, we need to approach them for help in the war anyway. We’ll discuss a plan for this when we return.”

“Fine,” Casimir said. “There’s one more thing.”

They waited, Aelerion and Ava knowing what he was about to reveal.

“Andras said they’ve translated the book. This was another attempt to take Ava back,” said Casimir.

“Capture me…kill me…their indecisiveness is exhausting,” Ava said.

Casimir gave her a flat look, unimpressed with her attempted humor.

“We need to get the book as soon as possible,” said Jorrar.

“And we’ll rescue your daughter while we’re at it,” Ava reassured him.

“You aren’t coming,” said her brother.

“Of course I am. I have to help.”

“As your king, I’m ordering you. You cannot come. If they get a hold of you, you’re dead. We’re all dead.”

“He’s right, Ava,” said Jorrar.

“I’m sorry, but I agree with Thorne,” Thalia added. “It’s too risky to bring the one they seek most into the depths of their camp.”

“When will you all be going on this suicide mission?” she asked, worried they would risk their lives and not even let her do the same.

“As soon as possible,” said Thorne. “Once we’re back, we need to ensure Quinn and Raine are recovered. Then we’ll leave. Hopefully a couple of weeks at most.”

Though she understood the reasoning, Ava’s stomach churned at the notion of her friends going into that camp. Didn’t want to even imagine the possibility of them suffering the way she had.

Picking at a loose thread on her pants, Ava tried to ignore the dread as she listened to the plans being made.