Chapter 36
"Is that necessary?" Nora asked the first responder who wrapped her ankle tightly and secured it to make sure no further damage could be done.
"Yes, ma'am," the woman said, sighing under her breath. "Your ankles are both broken and your legs show signs of severe trauma."
"Nora, don't fight it," Birdie said from where she sat beside the girl in the medical tenth.
"I agree," the doctor said. "And please stop talking. You've hurt your throat too. You'll lose your voice if you keep talking."
"Maybe I should call Hayden," Birdie said, her eyes flickering outside of the tent. "He can heal yo-"
"No," Nora reached out and took Birdie's hand.
Her eyes caught sight of Hayden standing outside of the tent along with Ares and Clare as the jinns from the Tyveer court rounded up all the elderly feys on the island who had stood with Afet. They were taken into whatever was left of the woods and quickly taken care of so that no one ever had to worry about them betraying someone who came to help.
And then there were the jinns who had followed Maaz's commands....
Nora shuddered thinking about what Heyder, Ali and some of the other jinns were doing on the other side of the island by the water. The air on the island reeked of death and destruction. Nora looked at Birdie and recognized the uneasy look in her eyes.
"Where's Noor?" She asked, her voice strained and raspy.
"Mom is evacuating some of the children," Birdie pulled at her long sleeves. "He ran off after her."
"Where are they going?" Nora asked, her heart contracting painfully in her chest. "What's going to happen to them?"
"I don't know," Birdie shook her head. "For now, Clare will hold them at the school until everyone decides what to do with them."
"They're just kids..." Nora's eyes watered. "They're innocent..."
"I know," Birdie nodded, pushing back her silver hair. "Baba is letting Clare and Ares decide what to do with them..."
"How many are there?" Nora asked.
"Not many," Birdie sighed. "Just the few that were healed."
"Birdie, please find Noor for me," Nora's heart twisted thinking about the hell they all had just lived through.
"He's fine, Nora," the silver haired girl assured her. "Baba won't let anything happen to him....especially not after today."
"Why did you bring him back to the island?" Nora couldn't help the way her eyes watered. "You should have stayed away with him."
"We couldn't...." Birdie said quietly. "Baba and Hayden told me not to tell you yet but..."
Nora didn't think it was possible for her shrinking heart to hurt anymore. But as she stared at Birdie and the way the girl's eyes shifted, Nora felt her ache in her chest rise up into her throat.
"What....what happened?" She asked, her voice cracking and losing sound.
"Maaz....he...." Birdie's eyes watered and the tips of her ears turned red.
Nora leaned forward and took the girl's hand, "Tell me."
"Maaz was after Noor," Birdie's words were a whisper. "If baba wasn't there...."
"Where's Noor?" Nora's bottom lip trembled.
"Ma'am, you have to stay still," the nurse nearby looked down at Nora with disapproval as she tried to lean over the cot and catch a glimpse of the little boy.
