Chapter 30
The sky was lightening. Scarlet was running out of time. It was less than an hour now before the sun would break the horizon and only another hour after that it would peek over the mountains and rain fire down on the world. She scoured the battlefield, desperate to find him, her heart aching with the thought of losing him.
“Any sign?” Aradne said. She was scouring the bodies a few metres away. Everywhere there were soldiers looking for survivors. It was a race against time.
She had to find him.
Scarlet shook her head, sending the tears in her eyes tumbling down her cheeks. So far, they had assisted several survivors, some from her company, but none of them had been Milton or Troy.
She looked back at the garrison walls. Corazon was safe at least. He had returned with the generals and had been forced to go into a meeting. He hadn’t been there at the line up. He didn’t know that Troy was missing.
The rising sun made her wearier than the long battle had done. It had ended barely an hour ago. The remaining vampires from the other territory had fled. The captains had assured them that they would not return. With no humans in their territory, they had no way of rejuvenating their numbers. They were no longer a threat.
She chopped the head off a surviving enemy vampire and moved on, looking for any survivors from her side.
There was a muffled sound and she turned and reached out with her senses, trying to detect where it was coming from. Walking towards it, she frowned when she saw a dead enemy vampire and then realised the sound was coming from beneath her. She pushed the dead female vampire away with her foot and her eyes widened when she saw who was beneath her.
“Aradne!” she hollered to her friend, waving to get her attention. Aradne looked over. “It’s Milton.”
Aradne was by her side in an instant and was on her knees beside Milton, dragging him into her arms and holding him tight. Milton coughed and pulled a face at Scarlet. Scarlet smiled at him. He didn’t look too injured. There was blood on his leg.
“Can you move?” she said.
He shook his head. “I think they damaged something.”
She looked down at his leg again. With that much blood, they probably had. She gently peeled Aradne off him and held out her hand.
“Aradne, help me get him up and then get him to the infirmary,” she said in a gentle tone, trying to calm her friend so she would be able to think straight. Now wasn’t the time to sit holding Milton. They had to get him to the medics as quickly as possible and had to get out of danger from the rising sun.
Aradne nodded and stood. Together, they hauled Milton onto his feet and she placed his arm around Aradne’s shoulders.
“Got him?” she said. Aradne nodded again. She smiled, patted Milton’s shoulder, and then stepped aside. She didn’t watch them making their way back to the garrison. There wasn’t time.
A quick scan of the battlefield revealed that most soldiers had made their way back inside. The sun was close to breaking the horizon now. It was getting too dangerous but she couldn’t give up. She had to find Troy.
She followed her senses, trying to pinpoint his location by the smell of his blood. Her wandering was aimless at first but just as she feared she would have to give up, she picked up his scent. Fear pounded down on her as she approached. She couldn’t stop the tears or the thought that he might be dead. She might be too late.
The moment she found him, she was on her knees beside him. She pushed the sandy hair from his bloodstained face and furrowed her brow. It was impossible to tell whether he was dead or not. Her heart clenched.
Her fingers stroked his cheek and she leaned over him.
“It’s me,” she whispered, her other hand fluttering above his chest. There was so much blood. Tears fell, mingling with it, seeping into the long gashes in his armour and clothes. “It’s Scarlet.”
No response.
Scarlet cupped his cheek, her eyes blurring with tears. They fell freely, her sobs wracking her body. He couldn’t be dead.
“It’s Scarlet, Troy... please be alive... please wake up... please come back to me.”
Still nothing.
She leaned over him, not caring about getting blood on her as she pressed her forehead against his cheek and held him.
“Please come back to me,” she whispered through a tight throat and closed her eyes. “Don’t leave me.”
He shifted. Or was it her imagination?
She drew back and stared at his face. Her heart leapt into her throat when his lashes fluttered, opening slowly to reveal tired eyes. She smiled at him, trying to remain calm and positive, even when she was petrified. He was so badly injured. There were cuts all over him, long gashes that were bleeding badly. He was so pale and drawn. His lips were as ashen as his face.
Rolling her sleeve up, she offered her wrist to him, the opposite one to the wrist that Corazon had bitten. She placed it against his lips. His eyes met hers for a moment, affection and gratitude filling them, and then he bit her. She flinched, closed her eyes a moment to savour the feeling, and then looked at him, watching him drink from her. It was slow but deep. His eyes were closed, his arms laying limp at his sides. She kept her wrist against his mouth for him, helping him the only way she could. He was so hurt. She feared that even though she had found him, he wouldn’t survive. He must have lost so much blood. She braced herself against the memory of being tortured and feeling the pain in him. They had survived so much together. He couldn’t die on her now.
He stopped drinking and opened his eyes. There was so much love in them as he cleaned the wound on her wrist, carefully and tenderly. His hand came up to hold hers.
When he looked ready, she helped him into a sitting position. She could feel the pain in him, even if he was masking it with an emotionless expression. He couldn’t fool her. He flinched the barest amount as she stood and brought him up with her. He wobbled on his feet and she placed his arm around his shoulder. Her own arm went around his waist and she grabbed his hand with her free one, holding it tight.
“We must return to the garrison. The sun is coming,” she said and looked up at him. Clear blue eyes met hers. He nodded.
The walk was slow and long. She kept her senses locked on the horizon, fearing the sun, and dismissed any soldiers who tried to take her place and help Troy. She ushered them off to find those that needed help before it was too late and the sun reached them.
Troy stumbled a few times and she slowed the pace to one he could manage more easily. She didn’t want to rush him. They had time yet.
When they neared the garrison, Scarlet tightened her grip on his hand and struggled to get a hold on her emotions. She had to be strong when she walked through those gates. She couldn’t let them see her tears.
“You’re a bastard for worrying me,” she whispered. “I’ve spent hours looking for you.”
“I’m glad you’re alright too,” he whispered back at her, voice hoarse. It felt so good to hear him speak. “I am glad that you were safe.”
She smiled at him when she realised he was watching her. His eyes reflected her worry.
“Corazon is safe too.”
“I had no doubt that he would be,” Troy said.
She sighed. “I did.”
Troy squeezed her shoulder and then grimaced. She stopped a moment to let him recover.
“Don’t over exert yourself,” Scarlet said, releasing his hand and placing hers against his chest to steady him and stop him from walking. “You’re weak and need rest.”
He laughed but it became a cough. Blood touched his lips. She hoped it was what he had taken from her and not his own.
“I spend too much time in sick bay.”
She frowned, took hold of his hand and began walking with him again.
“I’ll have the medics attend to you in your quarters,” she said in a sure voice. “You’ll be safe there.”
He smiled at her strangely and she didn’t understand why at first and then dropped her gaze when she realised it was because she was worried about him and was protecting him.
The moment they walked through the gates, Corazon was walking up to them.
“I was looking everywhere for you,” he said in a voice laden with emotion and she realised that she had worried him by disappearing.
“I had to find Troy before the sun rose,” she said and Corazon immediately looked at Troy.
His eyes darkened with anger and fear.
“Medics!” he shouted and grabbed the nearest one. Several more came running. She wished she commanded that kind of power. If she had shouted for a medic, she would have been lucky if one had bothered coming. Corazon had called five in an instant.
“Take him to his quarters,” she said, wanting to make sure that they did. Troy’s arm slipped free of her shoulders and she watched as they placed him onto a stretcher.
She felt strange inside—light but heavy at the same time. Would Troy be alright? Her heart clung to the thought that he would.
Corazon touched her arm, startling her.
“Come, Scarlet.” He took her hand and led her towards the buildings that separated the smaller square from the main courtyard. She was going to ask him where they were going but when she looked at him and saw the worry in his eyes, she knew their destination. He was following Troy. She knew it wasn’t just because he was worried about his child and first lieutenant. It was because she was worried too and he knew she had to see Troy was going to be alright.
She followed the medics into Troy’s quarters and watched them removing his armour and shirt. The extent of damage to his chest was horrendous. Her fingers rubbed her wrist. Would her blood do any good?
“What happened?” Corazon said, gentle fingers lifting her wrist and inspecting. She trembled inside, a mixture of fear and of the pleasure of his touch.
“I gave him blood. Was it the right thing to do?” She was scared that he had taken her offer of blood to Troy the wrong way. Corazon had shown he could be a jealous man, as had Troy. She didn’t want to damage the relationship between them.
Corazon kissed her wrist and looked up at her. “It was, Scarlet. It was a kind thing to do for Troy. Your blood will assist him and help his body start the healing process.”
She was glad that he wasn’t angry with her.
Scarlet looked at Troy and then turned away with wide eyes when the medics began to remove his trousers. She wasn’t ready to see Troy to that extent.
She looked back at Corazon. There was a decidedly different look in his eyes. He looked proud.
“You did wonderfully Scarlet,” he said, his voice low. “I believe you may have singlehandedly ensured the outcome of the battle. Using the poison the humans had made gave us a great advantage and meant that any of ours who were hit survived.”
She dropped her gaze and turned her head away, shrugging it off and feeling self-conscious. His hand caught her cheek and he raised her eyes back to meet his.
“General Constantine wants to see you.”
Scarlet frowned and placed her hand over his. “I have no desire to see him. I don’t need his recognition to know that I did well. I only need my captain to tell me so.”
Corazon pulled her up to him and pressed a kiss to her forehead as he held her tight in his arms. She could feel all his love in it as he rested his lips against her skin, his fingertips pressing into her.
“I am glad we made it through this together,” he whispered against her. She drew back and looked up at him. His dark eyes swam with love that she willingly drowned in, not wanting to look away, needing to see all his feelings for her. She was so tired. Too tired to be glad that the battle was over and the war between them and the humans had ended.
She tiptoed and kissed him, her lips barely touching his. He sighed against her mouth and held her tighter. She set down on her heels and looked over at Troy. The medics had covered him from the waist down now and were working hard to heal his wounds. He was unconscious, his body still and quiet. She wished he would open his eyes again and look at her so she knew that he would be alright.
“It is over,” she whispered with a sigh. “But I wish I could have protected him.”
Corazon laughed quietly and pulled her close. “Troy is tougher than you give him credit for, Scarlet. Do not start thinking that he is going to die on us.”
She looked at Corazon, tears trembling in her eyes, pleading him to reassure her as her heart began to lose hope. He cupped her cheek again, his own eyebrows furrowing into a worried look.
“He is strong, Scarlet,” he said in a low voice full of affection. “And you are beginning to sound like us, blaming yourself for something that couldn’t be avoided.”
She frowned and then managed a smile. She supposed that she was. Troy had had his duty and she’d had hers. She couldn’t have protected Corazon and Troy once they were out of range. She had found Troy far beyond the reach of her eyes and arrows. She leaned into Corazon and rested her head against the cold metal breastplate of his armour.
“Sir, you’re injured. Would you like us to attend to you?” A female medic stepped forwards.
Corazon waved her away, back towards Troy. “Attend to him. My injuries are minor and will heal without assistance. First Lieutenant Troy is of utmost importance to us. Do everything you can for him.”
He turned and looked down at her. Scarlet forced another smile that became a yawn.
“We must leave the medics to do their work and the sun will be rising soon. It is time that we found some rest of our own. The battle has been long and I am weary, and there is such fatigue in your eyes.” His fingers skimmed her cheek and he frowned as he said the last seven words. She looked over at Troy. “Troy needs his rest now... come.”
She nodded and then broke free of his arms. Her stomach fluttered with trepidation as she approached Troy where he lay on the bed. The medics moved to allow her past. She took hold of his right hand and held it a moment, her eyes fixed on his face. He looked so peaceful, even though she could sense the pain in him.
“Be strong, Troy,” Scarlet whispered and squeezed his hand before releasing it and walking back to Corazon.
He opened the door for her and, with a heavy heart, she followed him to his quarters. Now that she was looking at him, she could see the cuts on his tunic and the wounds beneath. It was kind of him to forgo treatment so the medics could focus on Troy. She would clean his wounds for him. It was her place to ensure he was well and looked after.
The sun was edging dangerously close to the top of the mountains. She hurried as quickly as her tired limbs would carry her into Corazon’s quarters.
“Come,” he said, closing the door and taking hold of her hand. “It has been a hard time for you.”
He led her to the bed and lay on it. She followed him, curling up against him with his arms around her. She pressed her cheek against his chest plate, enjoying the cool feel of it against her skin. Her armour pressed into her side but she didn’t care. She was too tired to care. The sun beckoned her to sleep and her eyelids were too heavy to keep open. She sighed out her breath and held onto Corazon.
Corazon had survived the war with her and a new era of peace was beginning. She was sure Milton and Aradne were fine, and that Troy would recover, just as Corazon had promised.
As soon as Troy could travel, they would return to the fourth garrison.
They would go home together.
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