The boy lifted his hand from Ben’s face. “He will sleep now, and when he wakes he will be well.”
I released the breath I was holding, and we moved on to Seamus and Niall where the boy repeated whatever he had done to Ben. Soon all three were sleeping peacefully. After my work to heal Desmund, it was hard to believe how easily the boy reversed the damage he had done.
Two guards stepped forward to take the boy who looked at me fearfully. I gave him a reassuring nod, and he let them lead him away. Tomorrow, I’d talk to Tristan about helping the young witch’s family. No matter what he was, he was still just a scared kid and a victim in all of this, too.
After the boy left, a healer told me they’d found Michael. He was suffering from head trauma and internal injuries, but they believed he’d make it. Part of me wondered if it would not be more of a kindness for him to die. He would never be the warrior he dreamed of being; he’d be lucky not to end up in a cell for the rest of his life. He would have to live with the stigma of being a traitor and the knowledge that he had betrayed his people for a brother who had died a long time ago.
Tristan assigned a guard to watch over Michael, even though the healers had heavily sedated him. I watched Tristan look down at the unconscious boy and shake his head sorrowfully. His troubled expression told me he was wondering how they had gone wrong with Michael.
It looked like all the injured had been treated when Terrence and Josh arrived carrying a gravely injured Sahir. I hovered outside the room while the healers went to work on him. Josh told me they had found him in the menagerie and it looked like he had been attacked as he was setting the creatures free. “We found two vamps fried to a crisp beside him. Looks like the wyvern took care of them.”
Another agonizing hour passed before the healers announced Sahir was going to make it. I sagged against the wall from relief and exhaustion, and I was still there when Nikolas came looking for me a few minutes later.
“You should be in bed.”
“I’m fine,” I argued weakly.
“You’re practically asleep on your feet,” he said firmly. “There is nothing else you can do here tonight. If you don’t rest, you’ll end up in here yourself.”
“Okay,” I relented and pushed away from the wall somewhat unsteadily. He moved in to pick me up, and I put up a hand to stop him. “I can walk.” I scowled at his dubious expression. “I’m tired, Nikolas, not weak.”
He laughed softly. “Sara, no one who knew you would ever accuse you of being weak. Come on, I’ll walk you to your room.”
It was barely ten o’clock, yet the building was quiet as we made our way to my room. “They’re outside, cleaning up,” Nikolas explained when I commented on the empty halls. I shuddered at the grisly job the warriors had ahead of them, disposing of all those bodies and collecting our dead. In addition to Olivia and Mark, we had lost three warriors tonight, and their friends were out there right now clearing the battlefield instead of mourning their loss. God, I just wanted this horrible night to be over.
“You’re sure you would not feel better staying with Nate tonight?” Nikolas asked as we climbed the stairs to my floor.
I want to stay with you. I wished I could say the words, but I didn’t want to sound needy or for him to take it the wrong way. Besides, he was probably going to be busy tonight and he didn’t need to be distracted by me.
I shook my head. “I’m sure.”
At my door, I turned to face him. I swallowed and raised my eyes to meet his, hoping he wouldn’t see how close I was to coming apart.
“You were amazing tonight.”
“Really?” I searched his face for some sign he was patronizing me, but I saw only pride.
“The whole time I was out there, all I could think about was getting to you. And then I find you standing in the middle of it all, surrounded by bodies. I heard what you did. Don’t ever tell me again that you’re not a warrior.”
“I did have a lot of help,” I said, flushed with pleasure at his praise. It was the first time he had acknowledged my ability to take care of myself, and I was going to remember this moment for a long time. “I was worried about you, too.”
His expression was impossible to read and my breath caught when he took a step toward me. He opened his mouth as to say something but changed his mind. Tenderly, he brushed my hair back from my face, his fingers grazing my cheek. “Try to get some sleep.”
“I will,” I breathed. I entered my room and closed the door behind me, then leaned against it, wondering if he was still out there. After a few minutes, I realized I would have sensed him if he was that close. Shaking my head at my own foolishness, I went to shower off all the battle grime clinging to me.