Page 82 of Winter Unleashed
“He’s going to be okay,” he replied, knowing right away where my mind had gone. “Astrid and Belial are taking care of him. I thought it better for you to stay away until they were done.”
“No. I want to be there with him. Please.”
He tightened his grip when I tried to pull out of his embrace. “Ineed to make sureyou’reokay first.”
“I’m fine. Please take me.”
He cradled my face in his hands. “Red, you’ll hear things… he’ll be in pain.”
“I know. That doesn’t change anything. I want to be near him.” I pleaded with my eyes.
His jaw clenched, but he nodded. “Okay.”
We drove to his house in silence. The possibility of what I’d see and hear scared me too much to even think about talking. I could feel Liam’s fear too, but I knew he was more scared of my reaction than the pain my friend would feel.
We pulled into his garage, and I sat staring at the door. He took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze to get my attention.
“Red, the only thing that matters is his survival. What you’ll hear is part of the process to get him there. If you can’t handle it, you tell me. No judgement.” I stared at him frozen with fear. “He’ll live. That’s what matters.”
I nodded. He slipped his hand from mine and came around to the passenger door to take my hand again and lead me inside. We stepped one foot into the house and Isaac’s screams filled my ears.
Chapter Twenty-One
The horrible, gut-wrenching wails didn’t stop the entire time we walked to the room where they’d put Isaac. But when we were only steps away, the house fell silent. I thought maybe he was better, and the pain had stopped.
Then we entered the room, and my heart broke. Isaac’s mouth still opened in silent screams. The pain hadn’t stopped, he’d just lost his voice.
They’d laid him on his stomach with his face turned toward the door. Sweat and blood-stained bandages covered his body. Ciara sat beside the bed, holding his hand. That’s when I noticed they had his hands and feet in shackles.
“Why is he chained up like a prisoner? And shouldn’t someone change his bandages?” I asked, as I stood frozen in the doorway.
Belial’s eyes roamed over my body, and I remembered I was still in the tiny lingerie. I didn’t give a shit. If he saved Isaac’s life, Belial could look at me all he wanted.
“It’s protecting him from hurting himself, and we just changed them,” he said from the corner. He and Astrid sat watching their so-called patient from across the room.
I cringed. Isaac was still bleeding too much. “Why can’t you take his pain away? Why does it hurt so much?”
“We’ve done all we can for him,” Belial assured me. “You know healing is painful. It’s the only downside of being immortal, and with the amount of damage he sustained, the pain is extraordinary.”
“Is he going to… Will he…” I couldn’t get the words out. The fear of how they’d answer stopped me from asking the questions.
“Come inside, my child. Come see your friend,” Astrid said with a warm smile. “He’ll make it through, it will just take some time. Your Isaac heals like an Alpha. He improves each day. He’s much better than he was yesterday and even more so than the night before.”
“Yesterday? Night before?” I turned to Liam. “How long was I out?”
“Roughly thirty-six hours,” he said with an apologetic look.
My eyebrows shot up, and I nibbled my lip. “It took me a day and a half to recover from using my power? Is that normal?”
“Some of that was from healing your wounds caused by the goblins and pixies.” He grimaced as I assumed he thought about how those wounds had looked. “But yes, it is normal to be wiped out for a day or two the first time you use the Vinura power.”
“Ember?” Ciara whispered. “Come here, please.”
When I moved to stand beside her, she took my hand and pulled me closer to the bed. “Talk more. Every time you speak, he stops struggling and rests a little.”
“Really?” I asked. She nodded and motioned toward Isaac. “Um…” I suddenly didn’t know what to say.
“C, why don’t you and I go for a walk?” Liam held out a hand to his sister. “You could use some fresh air. You two as well,” he added to Astrid and Belial.