Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Sora dug grimly into his bag, yanking out yet more ingredients. The bones could wait a moment; he had to stop the bleeding. Japanese honeysuckle to promote healing, captured dragon’s flame to seal the wound, rainbow mist to cool it. He applied himself to every serious gash, letting the minor scrapes be for now. He’d tend to them when he had more time. He didn’t want Ravi to get an infection, but they weren’t the highest priority.
There, good, Ravi had stopped bleeding. Wings next.
He focused solely on the problem at hand, not giving himself room for emotions. They had no place on the treatment floor. Sora’s tears wouldn’t heal Ravi. Emotions were for after, when the crisis was over.
People started flooding in, Baldewin issuing commands in a brisk voice, mages arriving with their own bags in tow. Pounding feet on marble, gasps of horror, shaking voices of anger. The noise poured over him and then washed away. Sora was relieved more help had arrived, but he paid them little attention, as he had to get Ravi’s bones set correctly.
A hand landed on his shoulder, Lisette’s voice in his ear. “Have you got him?”
“Yes, go tend to the others,” Sora encouraged, never taking his eyes off the work in front of him.
“Alright. Yell if you need help moving him.”
“I won’t, his damaged side is up.”
Lisette grunted in acknowledgement and then raced off to help someone else. Sora threw himself back into Ravi’s treatment, carefully using magic to realign the broken bones, then reinforcing them with a multitude of spells. He’d bind the wing in a moment, make sure it couldn’t be moved, but the bones themselves needed to be surgically glued back together.
Another hand landed on his shoulder, and Sora tersely said, “He’s alright.”
“I can tell.”
Sora blinked, turning his head to see who it was. Oh. “Tori?”
“Yeah. Good work here. Really, excellent work. Need a hand?”
He almost said no. Some dark, emotional part of him didn’t want anyone near Ravi, didn’t want another soul touching him while he was hurting and vulnerable, but the logical side kicked in again and he thought better of it. “In a minute, I’ll need to bind his wing. He absolutely can’t move it until it’s healed.”
“Ravi? Not move? Shit, that’s going to be a tall order.” Tori grimaced but gave a nod. “Alright, I can help you with the binding. If he can’t move it, then I assume he can’t shift, either? He’s stuck in this form for a few days?”
“Unfortunately. He’ll be crippled for life if he tries to shift now.”
“Then we’d better make him comfortable out here. No way can he fit through the hallways.” Tori turned his head and bellowed, “Sasha! We need blankets and pillows for Ravi!”
Sasha turned out to be an incredibly well-built woman with blonde hair and as many muscles as any bodybuilder. She jogged to them, protesting and shaking her head as she moved. “No, this isn’t secure with the windows blown out like that. We need to stabilize everyone enough to move them out, clean up, and do some repair work.”
Tori immediately countered back. “Ravi can’t be moved. He’s got multiple broken bones in his wings.”
Backing this, Sora threw in, “If he shifts now, he’ll never fly again.”
“Well, shit,” Sasha growled. “Okay. I’ll update people on this and get some blankets and mounds of pillows over to you. Give me a minute. BALDEWIN!”
She jogged off, supposedly to update others on the situation and change the plans of clearing this area.
Tori left as well, to get something to bind the wing with. Sora focused on the burned skin as he did that, glad this clan knew how to work together in an emergency. Of course, it made sense that they had good teamwork. They’d only had each other to rely on for years.
He sat back on his heels for a moment, taking a breather and waiting for Tori to return. He needed a second, anyway. Sora’s emotions were battering at him, and he stole a moment to wipe the tears from his eyes with the hem of his shirt. Kami-sama, this was hard, seeing Ravi broken and bleeding like this. He wanted to gather him up, soothe the wind dragon with kisses and soft touches, try to erase it all. Even though he knew it was futile and impossible to do any of that.
Sora had suspected that Ravi was important to him. That there might be something between them. But right now, with his heart screaming at him, it couldn’t be more obvious. Ravi was everything. Everything his heart had ever wanted and more. And Sora would make sure he stood on his own feet again, that he could fly again. There was no room for error.
And when he had Ravi well and whole again, he’d do more to win this man. To confess his heart. There was a great deal that Sora needed to say, and not only to Ravi. This wasn’t the right time for it, but he’d create the right moment if he had to. There was no doubt about that.