Journey of Flame

Chapter forty-seven

We walked for hours before we found a suitable place to rest, and by this point, the wound on Zai's leg had reopened and was bleeding steadily.

The wound on her abdomen was dripping blood too, but with the knife still inside, it wasn't as bad.

I frowned at her leg. "I didn't bring any bandages with me. I wasn't exactly expecting to have to deal with two major injuries."

"Your shirt," she said. "Or pants." At my raised brows, she added, "You can cut strips off of them to wrap the wounds with."

I blinked. "Right. Yes. I'll do that," I said, my cheeks heating.

She huffed a laugh. "As much as I would like to see you shirtless, it's not nearly as practical, considering we're in the middle of a forest."

I turned to her as I grabbed the dagger from its place at my waist and cut a long strip from the bottom of my shirt. She was smiling, despite the color that had drained from her face. Despite how weak she looked and sounded, she was smiling.

I wrapped the cloth around the wound on her leg and tied it tight, making her wince. But she didn't complain. Just closed her eyes and breathed in slowly, then released the breath. And then again, and again.

I cut a strip off of each of my pant legs before saying, "I need to remove that knife now. We can't keep it in while you sleep; otherwise, the wound will likely get worse. Hell, walking this far might've even made it worse."

"Just do what you have to," she said.

I knelt before her, taking the knife in my hand. "Alright. On three," I said.

She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut.

We counted together, "One. Two-" I pulled the knife free before we said three, and Zai screamed through her teeth at the pain.

"That wasn't three," she hissed.

"It's better if you don't know it's coming," I said and set the bloodied dagger aside, pressing both pieces of cloth to the wound. "Hold these here. I'm going to see what food I have left."

She did as I said, and I rummaged through the sack, wincing when I found only an apple and a chunk of bread. I grabbed up the apple and handed it to Zai. "Here, eat this."

"I'm not exactly hungry right now," she said.

"Eat," I pushed. "You'll need the strength for tomorrow."

She sighed but took the apple from me and bit into it. "There, happy?" she asked, her mouth still full.

"Yes," I said. "Keep eating. It'll help in the long run."

She rolled her eyes but took another bite, and I knelt beside her. "Here, I got this," I said, placing my hands over the wound.

She groaned as I pressed down. "I know, I'm sorry," I murmured. "Just... concentrate on your breathing."

She nodded and did just that. And with nothing but the sounds of the forest and her deep breaths, I sat there, watching the sun sink into the horizon.

"I'll keep watch," I said, realizing that we'd need to sleep soon.

"I'll take second watch," she said, but I shook my head.

"No. You need to rest," I argued. "I can handle one night without sleep."

She ultimately sighed and gave in, saying, "Fine. Just promise me you'll be careful. And wake me if anything happens."

"Of course," I murmured, rubbing a gentle hand over her side.