I stood in the doorway, uncertain. Charlotte was in the center of the living room, completely engrossed in her meal. She was also surrounded by laughing, talking soldiers. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to pull her out of there without everyone asking what I was up to.
Lost in thought, I jumped when someone touched my shoulder. Eli stood behind me, his smile bright in his tanned face. The picture of pure relief. "You're back. You made it back with soldiers so I guess they obviously believed you."
It was strange seeing him dressed in fresh, clean clothing, his shaggy hair neatly combed. A few days of easy living agreed with him. He'd lost most of the lean, almost hungry look in his features, though his eyes still scanned the soldiers every now and again, as if he wasn't sure if he could trust them or not.
"Yeah, they believed me."
Eli's smile disappeared. "You don't look happy."
I didn't have time to tell him about Bolthur and Ake and Gunny. Not now. Gunny was up there. The wound in her side could be infected for all I knew. She could slip into a coma and not wake up. I needed Charlotte.
"I'll fill you in with all the details as soon as I can, promise." I gave a guilty start as Charlotte looked up from her food and locked eyes with me. She'd felt me watching her.
Desperate, I mouthed the words, I need your help.
I'd never spoken to her before now. Not so much as two words. For all I knew she'd laugh at me, or send one of the guards to ask why I was bothering her.
Instead, Charlotte smiled and inclined her head, looking away from me. She nodded at something someone was saying to her, and then placed her plate down gently on the table in front of them, placing her hand on the soldier's arm.
She smiled and nodded to him before rising to her feet, movements graceful. "Davin, entertain yourself for a few minutes, I'll be right back."
The soldier chuckled. "Find. I shall be forced to turn to Graysun for amusement."
There was a bellow of laughter, and Charlotte smiled, moving towards me. I turned quickly, grabbing Eli's arm as I went. "Come on, I'll explain upstairs."
Thankfully Eli didn't protest, and he and Charlotte both followed me upstairs and down the hallway, into the room where we found Gunny's form still in bed, a lump under the covers. She didn't move, but I could see her side rising and falling slightly under the blanket. At least she was still breathing.
"Charlotte. Hi." I turned to her, heart beating hard in my throat. There was no telling what she'd make of all this. Gunny was so obviously not meant to be here. "I'm sorry for pulling you away like this. It's just...she doesn't want anyone to know."
Charlotte levelled light blue eyes on me, and her smile was gentle. "Vee, right? You're the one that started all of this. You're exceptionally brave, you know that?"
"Thank you." I hovered over Gunny. Should I wake her up? It didn't seem wise. "But she's one of the people who helped me get to the palace, and the other one didn't survive." I turned to Eli, who had stiffened as soon as I'd said it.
"What happened?" His voice went low and ragged.
"It was Bolthur. He turned on us. Ake died so I had a chance to run, to get my message to the King and Queen. And Gunny nearly did too. Now she's bent on finding Bolthur and getting vengeance for her captain."
"But she's wounded." Charlotte swept over to the bed, robes rustling. She reached out and gently rolled Gunny over onto her back. I winced, expecting the soldier to snap awake and attack Charlotte, but Gunny rolled over limply. Her eyes didn't even flutter.
A lump formed in my throat. That reaction was somehow more alarming than if she'd leapt to her feet. "Is she not going to wake up?"
Eli's face was pale. "She doesn't look good."
Charlotte chewed on her bottom lip, face thoughtful. "The wound must be infected, the fever has taken over her body."
"Can you—fix it. You know, with magic?" The witch's grave expression made my heart sink. The answer couldn't be good.
"I'm here for one reason, Vee. To even the odds in this war. Right now I'm packed to the brim with magic, practically glowing with it, if you could see magic like I can. The problem is, I'll need all of it. And magic doesn't get a free refill like a fast food drink." She raised her hands helplessly, looking from me to Eli. "It takes weeks for me to recharge, sometimes months, if I've almost burnt myself out."
She leaned forward and drew Gunny's shirt up, revealing her bandaged side. Blood soaked through the white gauze, and when Charlotte gripped the bandage and gently lifted it I looked away quickly, gut churning.
The witch hissed in through her teeth. "Knitting flesh takes an incredible amount of my power, and this wound would drain me far more than I can allow. I need to help our soldiers survive."
"Does that means she'll die?" I blinked back tears, vision growing fuzzy.
Charlotte smiled and shook her head. "She won't die. Not if I treat this with herbs before I go. But she can't come with us. She won't get her revenge."
"She'll be crushed." I chewed my thumbnail. Gunny would be furious if she knew what was going on. I'd seen the way her eyes had burned when she'd talked about avenging Ake. She'd never said it, but something made me think he'd been more than just a commander to her. Maybe he'd never returned the affection, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn she'd loved him.
And now all that drove her was her revenge.
If I allowed them to leave her here, she'd never forgive me. But there was no other option. "So that's it. Bolthur will be felled by someone else, or he'll run and she'll never find him."
Charlotte frowned, brows drawn down in thought. "There is something I could do. But...it could be potentially dangerous if she isn't careful."
Eli and I both waited for her to continue. Charlotte shifted, tucking her hands into her wide sleeves. "If I was to put a block in place, a sort of magical shield to protect her from feeling the effects of that wound, she would be able to operate as she normally does."
My eyes widened. "So...she wouldn't feel pain?"
Charlotte nodded slowly. "Correct. But...I don't suggest she actually fights in that case. Only that she tracks down Bolthur and sends the word along when she finds him. It's too dangerous for a soldier who doesn't feel pain. She could literally keep fighting until she dropped dead."
I scrubbed my hands through my hair, anxious, the decision was like a physical weight on my shoulders. There was no doubt in my mind what Gunny would have me do. She'd be yelling at Charlotte to do it right now, if she was awake.
"So it will wipe out her fever too?"
Charlotte nodded.
"Okay, do it."
"Vee, are you sure?" Eli stared at Charlotte, and when she moved closer to Gunny he stumbled backwards a step. He'd never seen a witch before, that made sense. Humans didn't believe in magic, though their science was near enough like it. I don't see why the thought bothered him.
"It's what she'd want if she could speak for herself right now." The fear of Gunny never waking up was also motivating my decision right now, I'd admit that. I needed Charlotte to do something, anything at all.
"All right, I'll need a minute or two. Go keep watch in the hall and make sure no one comes up. Once we do this she'll have to keep under wraps until we get there still. They'll still try to make her stay if they see her."
I only had to look at Eli and he agreed in a hurry, moving out of the bedroom before I even asked him to. He didn't want to stick around to see the process. Even through my anxiety, I made a mental note to tease him about it later.
Charlotte wasted no time, putting her hands directly over the bloody bandages on Gunny's side. She shut her eyes tightly and went utterly silent. The only sound in the room was the rasping whistle of Gunny's breathing. From downstairs we could hear laughter and the banging of plates and the clatter of cutlery. Hopefully whatever Charlotte was doing would be done before we started to head out.
I couldn't help watching. I'd never seen magic done before, even though the jotun lived with the daily fact of it, it was rare to see someone actually perform, since it was used sparingly, and only when we absolutely needed it. For the most part, witches were rare, so they weren't called upon very much.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but there was no yellow glow from Charlotte's palms, no sparkles, no noises. She just moved her hands up and down over the wound, fingers hovering just above it but never touching, eyes still tightly closed.
Nothing was happening. I had to suppress the urge to start pacing up and down the length of the room. Maybe it wasn't working. Maybe the wound was too bad to block the pain.
Charlotte's eyes snapped open, and she moved backwards quickly.
I was opening my mouth to ask if it hadn't worked, if the pain was too great to block, when Gunny sat straight up in bed with a yelp, hands moving towards her side. Charlotte darted in and caught her hands, and there was a brief struggle as Gunny fought her.
"Gunny, stop." Charlotte's voice was soft and commanding, and Gunny froze, wide eyes scanning the witch's face. "Your wound isn't healed, so don't touch it."
"What did you do? Why can't I feel it?" Gunny's dark eyes found mine, and they widened. "Vee, what's happening?"
I blinked back tears. Maybe she would hate me now, for letting someone magick her. I didn't even think about that. "I'm sorry. You—you weren't waking up. You wouldn't have been able to find Bolthur, like you wanted to. Charlotte blocked the pain so you can still go. You just have to be careful."
Charlotte nodded. "This will wear off in about two days, and then the pain will be back, so you have to keep treating the wound, and don't overexert yourself even though it doesn't hurt. I just blocked your pain receptors to trick your body into thinking you're fine. You'll be able to track your man down, and then you have to rest."
Slowly, very slowly, the shocked expression vanished from Gunny's face, replaced by a smile. "Gods, you're good. I can't feel anything." She glanced down at her bandages and winced at the spreading blood. "Looks like I broke open the stitches though."
"Let's get you patched up before you go." Charlotte stood up straight, one hand still on Gunny's shoulder. "You need herbs for that, and new bandages, and don't forget to stay hidden until we get there." She turned and made for the door, saying over her shoulder, "Injured or not, Megan will still kick your ass if she finds you smuggled yourself into battle with a wound like that."