Heir of Dust and Wind

Chapter 22 - The Sacrifice

Whipping his head in the direction that the smell had come from, Trygve scanned the landscape closely, all his senses alert, taking in every detail. 

He flared his nostrils again. Although the coppery tang of her blood was still evident, it wasn't strong enough for leading him directly to the evidently hurt sorceress.

"What is it?" Gainor asked, having realised his tense state. Flaring his nostrils too, he suddenly snapped to the same attention Trygve had before him.

"Shit, " he said with feeling, coming up next to him and shading his eyes against the sun.

When he couldn't make out her form on the ground, Trygve started walking towards the forest. It was the direction the wind came from,  so it had to bring them closer to her. His heart thundering in his chest. He could only hope that the white dress she wore would give her away sooner rather than later before she was beyond their help.

"Ava?" he shouted, his voice loud and clear even against the wind, praying to the stars for her to reply. Maybe she was awake and would let them know where to look.

He listened intently, but there was no answer. Both of them now walked across the stream, scenting the air and scanning the ground at the same time.

"Ava?" he called out through their mental bond this time. Why hadn't he thought of this right away?

"There," Gainor pointed towards a group of large rocks a little bit further upstream.

Behind them, he could indeed spy a speck of white among all the green and he started running towards it, Gainor closely at his heels.

When they finally reached the big stones and  Trygve saw her lying on the ground and his stomach churned.

Ava was so pale that the colour of her skin nearly matched the fabric of her white dress. Somehow, she was still clothed, but just as his and Gainor's skin had been cleansed of all the dust, dirt and filth from their quest, her dress was just as pristine as it had been when she had first put it on. 

Being on her side, Ava's arms fell to the ground limply, her hair tousled hair fell into her face and partially covered it. Her eyes were closed, and she lay so impossibly still that he feared the worst when he sank to his knees beside her. 

Gainor gasped as he was coming to stand next to him, staring down at Ava's lifeless body helplessly. "At least she's still breathing," he said, words laced with relief and worry at the same time, mirroring Trygve's feelings.

While there were no visible injuries, the smaller of blood was stronger now that they standing right next to her. Trygve scanned her body frantically, trying to make out any wounds, but couldn't find any. However, that didn't mean she couldn't bleed internally, which would be worse since it was nearly impossible for him or Gainor to help with that. 

Touching her shoulder, he shook it gently, saying her name aloud and in her mind, over and over again desperately begging the stars for her to wake up. If necessary he would disrobe and check for injuries beneath her c dress while unconscious, but he would feel much more comfortable with her being awake. Although Ava knew from what she'd seen inside his mind that his interest would be of a purely medical nature, he wasn't sure whether she would be okay with it anyway.

To his immense relief, she finally started to stir under his touch and groaned softly. Next to him Gainor audibly released the breath he had been holding.

Slowly, Ava's eyelids began to flutter, then blink. When she finally opened them, her gaze was confused, but after he quickly saw recognition light up her features. Trygve would have swept her up in his arms and hugged her tightly if he hadn't been afraid of whatever bleed that he still perceived with every breath.