Page 105 of Killaney Blood

Whatever this is, whoever these Morrigans are, I'm no longer facing them alone.

I reach over and take Lyra's free hand, blood and all. "I've got you," I tell her. "Always."

She squeezes back and smiles. "Always and forever."

33

LYRA

When we get home, I tell Declan to just give me a second. He agrees, and my hands shake as I lock the bathroom door behind me.

The rush of adrenaline from the shooting has left me dizzy, but I need to calm down. What do I always tell people,breathe, it helps.

I take my own advice. I need a level head to assess myself. Even if a doctor is coming, I need to feel like I understand what's going on, or know I tried to at the very least.

So, I'm bleeding.

At first, I think it's from my thigh, the place where I felt the sting during the ambush. Maybe I scratched myself, hit something, a bullet graze, I don't know.

I take off my pants and underwear to look. Yep, blood. Not a lot, but enough.

"Fuck," I say, grabbing toilet paper to clean myself. My mind races. The bullet must have grazed me after all. But as I wipe,I notice the blood isn't coming from a wound. It's coming from inside me.

It's smeared along the inside of my thigh, dark and thick and not right. I sit on the toilet, willing myself to stay calm. It's probably stress. Or adrenaline.

My period? No, it can't be that. I don't think, anyhow.

I press my palm against my lower abdomen. There's no pain, just a dull pressure.

I clean up as best I can, stuffing toilet paper in a new pair of underwear before pulling on some clean leggings from the stash of clothes I've accumulated in Declan's house. When I step out of the bathroom, I'm confronted by Declan and a woman I've never seen before. Mid-forties, brunette, no makeup, very thin. She's carrying a small medical bag.

"This is Doctor Tanner," Declan says. "She's a colleague of our family doctor. I thought, since you're bleeding, well, she should just make sure."

The doctor smiles at me, professional but warm. "Declan tells me you've been injured?"

"I'm fine," I say automatically. "Really, it's nothing."

The doctor sets her stuff down and sits in a chair as if I didn't speak.

"Please have a seat, Lyra. Tell me what's going on."

I look at Declan, who I can tell is worried, so I humor everyone.

I sit on the edge of the bed, suddenly aware of how tired I am. The excitement of Dr. Johns' revelation, the shooting, it's all crashing down on me at once.

"I..." I trail off and rub my temples. "There's blood. But it's not from a bullet. I think it's... well, I don't know what it is."

"May I examine you?" Dr. Tanner asks, already pulling on latex gloves from her bag.

I nod, and then the doctor turns to look at Declan.

"Could we have some privacy, please? Would that be alright?" Dr. Tanner asks him.

Declan hesitates, his gaze locked with mine. I can see the battle in his eyes, the need to protect warring with respect for my boundaries.

I give him a nod to reassure him it's okay.

He nods once, then steps toward the door. "I'll be right outside."