The Order of Dragonfire

Chapter 31

The agony that shot through Alex's head was almost as awful as the burning in her chest. Alex blinked through the blinding light to find several troubled looking mages looking down upon her. The searing pain made her wish that they had just let her sleep. She couldn't move but could just about look around the room, noticing with relief that it was a room in the Spire. At least she had made it back home.

"Can you speak?" One asked.

She tried to open her mouth but her body defied her. She barely managed to shake her head, although even exhausted her.

"Do not worry. Your friends are safe, all of them." One said. "Most made it through with minor wounds, if any at all, and the others are healing well. It is only you..." she trailed off as the others cast the healer a deadly glare. Even so, there was no need for tact. Despite her groggy state Alex understood the dangers of her position all too well. She knew she had been shot through the heart, it was a sensation she was all too familiar with. It had first happened when she was much younger whilst defending the city from raiders, and once again when she faced the attacking tribe on the bridge in the Northern Expanse. She was faring worse each time, and as everyone knew there was only so many times you could heal the same spot. When Rose has healed her Alex had barely survived, so she didn't expect to do any better this time. She felt her consciousness slipping away, knowing that she wouldn't be able to fight it even if she had the will or strength to. As black fog crept back across her vision she was vaguely aware that the heavy wooden doors were flung open and slammed against the stone walls, although to her it sounded like little more than gentle tapping. Gareth rushed over to the bedside with some sort of satchel in hand. Alex suddenly wished that she had more time, time to apologise for betraying Serpensbane and, most importantly, him. Hopefully he would be just as apologetic. There was little to do at this point besides make amends, but alas it seemed that even that was beyond her power now.

"You'll be fine." One of her attendants smiled as the other mages hurried to meet Gareth, although the expression in his eyes told a very different story. Gareth himself quickly appeared over her, placing a hand on her shoulder and frantically gesticulating to something behind him. Alex could no longer hear him and, although her sight was fading too, she knew he didn't look angry. He was panicking, pained; he wanted her to recover. That would have to do, under the circumstances. She closed her eyes for one final time, sighed gently and smiled, safe in the knowledge that her mission was complete.