Abyss - Book Five of the Alpha Series - MxM

Chapter 36

Helen checks over my splint as my warlord stands as close as he dares; it's as if he were guarding me from them. His eyes never leave my hand, making me squirm uncomfortably under the weight of such an intense stare. 

"She did a good job. You might not have full use of your hand without a proper doctor to set the bones, but this is as good as it would get without surgery. There are exercises you can do to help with mobility, but it shouldn't hold back your magic."

 Helen carefully helps me remove my shirt, and I hear his breath catch in his throat. My body is mangled, road rash litters my side and shoulder, as well as my forearm. Darkened and bruised, one of my ribs is clearly broken. 

The side of my face has remained swollen, dried blood rolled down my temple despite our best efforts to clean me up when I was with Zsofia. Helen takes me in, trying not to look appalled. 

"This isn't the first time I got my ass kicked, it won't be the last." I sigh, excusing the way they stare as if they'd never seen someone take a beating.

Verando turns away to collect himself for a moment, wounding me. I wish to put my shirt back on rather than have him analyze me. Helen begins the slow process of picking gravel out of my shoulder and side, which didn't even hurt until she decided to start dissecting it. 

"Can you hand me that box?" 

He's impossibly quick, opening it for me as I rummage through. 

I open the vile and take a small sip. Verando carefully removes it from my hand, looking it over with an almost unreadable expression. "Opium?"

Helen snatches it from him, taking a sniff. "Wow. Where did you get that?" She puts the lid back on, replacing it in the box as if it was precious gold. "You can become addicted to that so stop taking so much if you can. It can also give you really weird dreams." 

"How do you know?" I pry, suspiciously. 

"I've spent time with medics who use such things." She takes the bandage and instructs me to lift my arms. "Hold very still, without a picture, I can't see what's inside, but I can feel the rib pretty well. I want to put a bandage around you for support." 

A picture?

"Like a drawing?" Verando pulls his eyebrows together. 

"Oh.. I meant, I wish we could see inside, you know? So I could visualize?" She carefully wraps a couple of layers of bandages around me, and it nearly takes my breath away with the pain. As soon as she's done, I hop off the table. 

"Alright, no more. That's enough treatment for today."

"Nic." Verando's voice is insistent, to my relief, Helen comes to my rescue. As she steps toward me, he blocks her with his arm.

Her hands lift, yielding, she wouldn't dare touch me, and she had intended to let me go anyway. "He can be done, I've done all I can do. A sponge bath would help with the blood and the dirt if you can stomach it." She glances back and forth between the two of us, and much to my disappointment, he looks quite insistent.

______________________________________________

Obediently, I return to our room, and he helps me remove the remainder of my clothes. Even my ass is scalded, making me flinch at the clothes touching it as they slide off. Verando's so painfully quiet as he takes me in, pointing for me to sit on the small bench as he turns the water on and waits for it to warm. 

 Verando carefully dips the sponge, starting at my forehead. While his hand supports my jaw, he carefully wipes at the bloody stain on the side of my face and in my hair. The warmth of his hands is welcomed on my chilled body; it never ceased to surprise me just how gentle he could be.