Children Of The Sky (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 2)

Chapter 21

Well into the night, Nyle left the aftermath of the fight in the throne room to the servants, prodded by Rook to see the healer. Lillian had already gone a few minutes before him, and when he walked into the broad room the healers worked in--empty at this hour save for a short man in rumpled clothing who looked less than pleased to have been awoken--their eyes met before she looked away, her arms wrapped around her where she sat on a low table. 

Whatever herb Rook had given him in the dungeons and just before they entered the castle had worn off, leaving him so weary and sore even his bones ached as he sat in the chair he was shown to. The healer set a bowl of water and a soft cloth in his lap to clean the blood off his hands with, then went back to mixing whatever he was making on the little counter lined with bottles. 

"You'll need salve for those cuts," he mumbled, reaching to take a jar off a shelf and hand it to Nyle. "Probably bandages for the worst ones. I'll examine you in a minute, but is there anything particularly pressing?"

"Bruised ribs," Nyle said, popping the lid off the jar and getting a whiff of the sharp scent of loomweed--Lillian didn't use it much, favoring lavender, but it made for a good healing salve with its antiseptic properties. Wincing with the next breath he took, he dipped his hands into the water and watched as it turned pink with blood, scrubbing his skin with the cloth. "Maybe broken, actually. Might want to check my left knee, too." 

The healer grunted and carefully poured something into what he was mixing, then pushed it to the side and gestured for Nyle to follow him. 

Setting the bowl aside, Nyle wiped his hands on his shirt before realizing there was blood there too and cursing himself. Lillian moved to a chair when the healer asked, limping lightly, and Nyle sat heavily on the table.

"Shirt off," the healer said. Nyle lifted it over his head stiffly, wincing more at the frigid temperature of the man's hands than the pain when he touched the mottled bruising from the beating. Pressing firmly, the healer felt all around, grunting when he hit particularly painful spots and Nyle grimaced. He examined the knee next, then the widespread bruising. "Cracked ribs, I'd wager, and a strained knee. Can't do much about them but a binding and something for the pain if it's bothering you enough alongside those bruises. Time and rest're the best medicine for that and your knee both."

Nyle nodded and watched as the healer fetched some bandages to wrap his chest with. When the man straightened them to start, movement in the corner of his eye caught Nyle's attention. 

Lillian put a hand on the healer's arm to stop him, and the man shot her a tired look. "Let me," she said. "I've been trained in medicine. Go back to bed, if you like. I can finish the painkiller." 

Grudgingly, the healer handed her the bandages. "Put everything away when you're done," he muttered as he took one of the lanterns and walked out, leaving the room lit only on the half where Lillian and Nyle were. 

"On your feet," she said quietly, and he obeyed without a word, ignoring the pain in his leg as she lifted his arms and wrapped his chest with a firm and careful hand. Her eyes wouldn't meet his, her face darkened in places by the low light, sharpening the curve of her jaw and cheekbone, turning her eyes to shadowed jade and her loose hair to brown gold. Gods, he'd missed looking at her. She was as beautiful as the dawn, even bruised and speckled with blood.

She only really touched him when she finished, tucking the end under a fold and hesitantly pressing her fingers over his heart, then her whole hand. Nyle watched her quietly, touching her hand, running his fingertips along the ridges of her knuckles. "Lil..."

Her fingers on his lips quieted him, her eyes still not meeting his. He furrowed his brow as she brought the bowl and cloth over and set them beside him. He caught her hands when she moved to press the cloth to his arm where a trickle of blood had strayed, her fingers and palms cold against his, and she shut her eyes.