II - Sigh of Smoke

Chapter 56 - Trapped

-Dareon Hallow-

Lucan's howl of pain smothered the resounding crash of the floor closing up behind them, and when Dareon turned around, he saw the blurry silhouette of the older man with his arms spread out wide, filling the narrow space of the hall with his entire form.

Dareon blinked, lips falling apart.

Lucan had protected him.

"What happened?" Aleksandra bellowed from the front of the group, momentarily stopped by their knight's outburst of pain.

"Lucan?" Dareon tried to see Lucan in the darkness, and as his eyes adjusted to the soft light of Aleksandra's glowing hands and eyes, he saw the knight's face contorted in agony. One of his arms was latched to his right shoulder, where at the back of it an odd, thin shape protruded almost mockingly. Blood started to spill into the front of his shirt as well. A twisting feeling settled in Dareon's stomach, joining almost jokingly with the adrenaline rush from having just escaped an army of warriors.

He protected me, Dareon realized with a sickly swallow. His heart raced and shook him with every beat, but he was overwhelmed with the sensation of guilt as well.

"Keep going," Lucan forced through his teeth, taking a step down the stairs. "We have to get out of here. Now."

Dareon's eyes widened, stepping forward to stop Lucan in his tracks. "Woah, you can't just go running around with an arrow in your back. You'll just bleed out."

Lucan's brows furrowed deeper in his face. "I'll bleed out if I take it out, Dareon."

Dareon's jaw worked, thoughts racing as he tried to think up a solution. "Can't Aleksandra-"

"-she can't," Lucan nearly snapped, sweat dripping down his face as he closed his eyes against the pain that only he felt. "She can't heal me."

For a mere second, his words settled in. The ears around Lucan twitched, uncertain if they were hearing right. Then Dareon and Atlanta turned to Aleksandra, who was staring at the floor, green eyes ablaze with frustration. Her fists curled at her sides while a frown set itself cruelly in her cheeks. Atlanta and Dareon suddenly realized that there was some truth to Lucan's statement. That, and the fact that Aleksandra did not protest. In fact, she said-

"He's right."

For a few seconds too long, the silence stretched. The first one to break the thickening quiet was Atlanta.

"Why?" She asked, almost a whisper. Aleksandra looked away, glowing eyes downcast.

When Lucan shifted and groaned, they all spun to him, alert and hanging on his words. "Because if she does, she will lose the life that was traded in for hers."

"Woah, wait," Dareon raised his hands, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Lucan turned to him, revealing his paling skin. He forced his next words from his mouth, as if the effort alone strained him. "Remember when Aleksandra was taken to the crone to be cured of her curse? She wasn't. A boy's life was traded in for the curse, and if she heals anyone, that means the life she is using to replace my wounds, wouldn't be hers. It would be the boy's. In this way, she'd be giving up what is keeping her alive. She, herself, still does not have long left."

Aleksandra, hearing this, spoke up. She sounded rushed, insistent, and mayhaps even guilty. "I can do it! It's not that much. You're not that badly wounded. I'd survive it I bet-"

"-M'lady," Lucan grunted, "You wouldn't. I swore to Yomam not to let you heal another."

The girl's expression froze for a second, then gave way to such a shattered look of defeat, that Dareon's lips fell apart in surprise. He wasn't sure what to feel exactly-he was overcome with worry for Lucan, but there was a stirring concern for Aleksandra settling in his chest.