“And how long is that going to take?” Prax said, tapping a finger against Shalise’s elbow. “I could make further attempts on my own and possibly solve it before anything happens here.”
“At the very least,” Zoe said, “we should wait for Wayne to get back with news from Ylva and Nel.”
This whole operation could have been planned better. They knew that Genoa’s group was having issues. If she hadn’t just run off, blind to all except her daughter’s safety, then they might not be in this mess.
But there was no set time-frame for Wayne returning. And Prax’s impatience was clearly growing with every passing minute.
“Finally,” Shalise’s oddly accented voice said.
Zoe blinked. It took her a moment to realize what Prax meant.
That moment ended when Eva landed in the sand nearby, sending a few grains up into the air from the impact.
A heavy thud behind Zoe almost knocked her to the ground. She turned just in time to be pelted by falling sand. Zoe flicked her dagger, catching most of the debris on a hastily erected shield.
The cause of the shower of sand was a full-sized Arachne. In her arms…
“Oh no,” Zoe said.
Arachne shrunk down to her humanoid form, laying Genoa against the ground as she did so.
Eva brushed past Zoe and elbowed Arachne out of the way, sliding on her knees the last few feet before stopping at Genoa. The black dagger
Zoe took a step forward. “Eva–”
A light thump at Zoe’s side cut her off.
Juliana lay face down in the sand, groaning lightly. Using a single hand, Juliana pushed herself up. Upon seeing Eva and her mother, Juliana rushed over without taking a second to brush herself off, half limping as she ran. She shoved Arachne to the side in order to kneel down opposite from Eva.
The demon’s growls went unnoticed by either girl.
“Mommy,” Juliana said as tears streaked down her face. “I’m so sorry.”
“She’s still alive,” Eva said, her face scrunched up in concentration. “I can keep her blood moving and keep her from bleeding out, but her heart and lungs… I need potions. At the very least.”
Almost as if by instinct, Eva reached down to grab a small satchel at her side. It was a small brown potion satchel that Zoe had seen on Eva’s person relatively often during her first year. She couldn’t quite place when Eva had stopped carrying it, but she knew one thing for certain.
That satchel had not been there before she started speaking.
If Eva noticed the same, she did not comment. Instead, Eva rummaged through it before selecting three vials. A light-blue general remedy potion, a yellow blood stimulant, and a dark purple that Zoe didn’t recognize.
Zoe’s eyes widened as Eva uncorked the light-blue potion.
“Stop.” She almost slipped in the sand in her haste to stop the vial from reaching Genoa’s lips. As soon as she took hold of Eva’s arm, Zoe said, “you just said that she is having heart problems. You could kill her with that.”
“Considering the fact that
“Just…”
Up close, Genoa looked a lot worse than she did from afar. Her wound was mostly clean–likely thanks to Eva actively controlling her blood–but the sheer size of the hole in her chest was staggering. Clean as it was, Zoe could see the sandy beach on the other side. Her breathing came out as shallow, strained wheezes.
“Just keep her alive,” Zoe said. “Wayne will be here soon. Let him pick the potions.”
As if reading her mind, Eva glanced up at Zoe. “Don’t worry about her breathing. Anywhere it touches air, I’m spreading out the blood into very fine strands. It should be getting more than enough oxygen to keep her alive and well. Her shallow breaths are more out of psychological habit than need.”
“Still worrying,” Zoe said through pursed lips.
Eva nodded. “I’d much prefer her healed sooner rather than later. I read the book I got that tidbit of knowledge from way back when I first started blood magic. Hopefully I’m not misinterpreting it or anything.”
Zoe’s lips pursed firmer as she gave a curt nod. “I hope so too.”
Devon had walked up at some point during her brief conversation with Eva. He knelt down beside Genoa.
For a moment, Zoe was going to rescind some of the disdain she felt for the man regarding his treatments for Eva. Instead, she only felt her disdain grow as he ignored the wounded mage-knight to inspect the satchel of potions.
She was curious as well, but there was a time and a place for research and this was neither.
Ignoring the despicable man, Zoe maneuvered around to kneel at Juliana’s side.
Placing one arm around her shoulders was the trigger.
The floodgates opened.
