“She saved me again,” Alaric said bleakly. “The arrow was meant for me. She stepped in front of it and gave her life for mine.”
“She is a fierce lass. She loves you.”
That Caelen spoke of love without derision in his voice was surprising. But there was only grudging admiration and truth in his tone.
Alaric buried his head in his hands. “I’ve made such a mess of things.”
“Don’t torture yourself, Alaric. You were in an impossible situation. You and Keeley handled it as best you could. Much was riding on your marriage to Rionna.”
“I’m married to Keeley,” Alaric said quietly.
“Aye, I heard it. I bore witness to the handfast.”
“It brings me no comfort when she lies dying down the hall.”
Caelen glanced at Gannon and then back to Alaric. “You sell the lass short, Alaric. She’s tough. She’s not a quitter. I confess I’ve never met another woman of her ilk. She’s earned my respect and my allegiance.”
Alaric pushed himself to his feet. “I cannot sit here not knowing what happens a few doors down. If she is brave enough to step in front of an arrow for me, the least I can do is stand at her side while she endures the worst. I know Ewan means well, but she needs me and I won’t let her down.”
Caelen sighed. “If ’Twas my woman in her position, I’d not let anyone make me leave her side either.”
Gannon nodded in agreement.
Alaric walked to the door but then paused and turned to face his brother. “I haven’t thanked you for standing by Keeley during the last days. It’s been hard for her, I know. It should have been me. It will be me from now on.”
Caelen smiled. “ ’Tis no hardship. ’Tis the truth the lass amuses me.”
The corners of Alaric’s mouth lifted in a half smile and then he left the chamber and strode down the hall. He paused at Keeley’s door, afraid to open the door. There was no sound within. No cry of pain. Nothing to signal that she breathed still.
With a whispered prayer, he eased the door open and stepped within.
Ewan was bent over the bed, his face creased in concentration. Rionna was at Keeley’s head, stroking her hair and murmuring soothing words.
Ewan cast a quick glance in Alaric’s direction but didn’t deviate from his task. When Alaric stepped closer, he could see that Ewan had cut around the shaft of the arrow to open the flesh enough for the arrowhead to be pulled free.
The cloths surrounding the arrow were soaked in her blood and it had seeped onto the bed.
“Let me hold her so you can concentrate more fully on the arrow,” Alaric said. He barely recognized his own voice.
“You must hold her still. She mustn’t move,” Ewan said.
Alaric nodded and then carefully crawled onto the bed. Keeley faced away from Ewan and was scooted to the edge so that Ewan had access to her back. Ewan waited until Alaric lined his body alongside Keeley’s and then carefully secured his arm over her hip. He slipped his arm underneath her head and carefully pulled her from Rionna’s lap.
“You can help wipe the blood so I can see what I’m doing,” Ewan said to Rionna.
Keeley’s breaths were a mere whisper against Alaric’s neck. When Ewan returned the blade to her skin, she went rigid against Alaric and a whimper escaped her lips.
“Shh, love,” Alaric murmured. “I’m with you. I have you. I know it hurts. Be brave for me. Fight as you told me to fight.”
Ewan worked diligently through the next hours. He was afraid of the loss of blood, so he worked slowly and carefully extracted the arrowhead. When he finally worked the metal blade free, he swore when she started to bleed profusely.
Keeley had long since lost consciousness and didn’t even rouse when Ewan pulled the arrow free of her flesh. Her blood seeped onto the floor while Ewan and Rionna both applied pressure to the wound.
Alaric ignored the resigned expression on his brother’s face and focused only on Keeley’s. He willed her to breathe. He willed her to live.
It took another two hours for Ewan to stitch the wound. ’Twas a difficult task because they couldn’t staunch the bleeding. Ewan worked fast to close the wound and when he set the last stitch, he sat back on the floor, his face weary with exhaustion.
“Keep pressure to it,” he directed Rionna. “The bleeding has slowed. ’Tis God’s truth I don’t know if we’ve managed to stop it, or if she’s given her life’s blood already.”
With shaking fingers, Alaric felt for the pulse at her neck. It was weak and fluttered like the wings of a butterfly but she lived still.
Rionna stood after setting a bandage to the wound and wiped the back of her arm wearily over her forehead. “I need to clean her, Alaric. The linens need to be stripped. She should have a clean gown and I must wash the dirt from her body.”
“I’ll do it,” Alaric said quietly. “I’ll not leave her. ’Tis my duty to tend her. I’ll not leave her alone.”
The woman he almost married stared back at him, grief raw and aching in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Alaric. I did not know you loved her or that she loved you.”
“Go now and rest,” Alaric said gently. “I will see to Keeley.”
After Rionna left, Ewan went to wash his hands in the basin and stood there for a long moment, his hands braced on the sides.
“I’ve done all I can, Alaric. ’Tis in God’s hands now.”
“Aye, I know it.”
“I’ll leave you. I have much to do.”