Chapter 19

Xander was walking fast through the familiar corridors. I understood he was taking me back to his floor. My breathing had increased as the pain in my hand became more and more intense. The adrenaline was most likely leaving my body, allowing entrance to the complete agony of my injury.

I examined my bent fingers. They were disgusting to look at. Bile rose in my mouth, and I had to swallow it back down. I didn’t know how to fix this; however, I knew that going to his room would not help. I needed this fixed now before the damage became irreparable.

“Go to the kitchens. I know someone that fixes injured workers.”

“The physician works in the kitchens?” Xander asked, surprised.

“No, but the butcher does.” I retorted.

He gritted his teeth at my answer, took a left to the stairs, and hurried down into the kitchens.

After dinner, most of the cooks left, and the kitchen maids were cleaning and prepping the area for the following morning.

I hoped Saul was still there. I knew he stayed a bit later most nights to sharpen the blades of his knives and cleavers. When it came to rearranging bones and fixing an open wound, Saul was the guy that patched people up. He was better than a physician. The human anatomy was not so different from the animals. Meat was meat, and bones were bones.

I gestured Xander toward the butcher’s block, and he gently set me down while the maids eyed us suspiciously.

“Josette, is Saul still here?” I asked one maid I recognized. She mainly worked in the kitchens and would always sneak some biscuits or pieces of bread to the maids.

“Ida?” she asked tentatively.

I tried my best to smile at her, but the burning pain I felt made it impossible to do that. So, I simply nodded.

“Faiths! I didn’t recognize you; I’ve never seen you without a bonnet! We thought you had left us for another household! Let me check if he’s still around.”

She ushered the other maids out of the kitchen for privacy and quickly left in search of Saul. Xander was pacing near one of the wood stoves. I could tell he was getting impatient. He felt responsible for what had happened. It was plain to see.

A few minutes later, a big burly man came into the kitchens. Saul still had his bloody apron on, a small knife tucked in one string that went around his enormous belly, holding the cloth in place. His eyes lighted up as he saw me. However, his expression changed when he noticed Xander brooding beside me. Lords never came into the kitchens.

“Ida! It’s good to see ya, lass. When Josette told me you were ‘ere, I thought she was pullin’ my leg! Ain’t seen you in weeks.” He said with smiling eyes. I had always hit it off with him. He was a good man and helped me out with my lash wounds.

I unfolded my injured hand and showed it to him. His face contorted in a grimace.

“I need you to fix me up, Saul.”

“Arg, what ‘appened!” He replied in his thick country accent. He had brought his hand up to his mouth and was examining my three broken fingers. He was about to take my hand when Xander growled at him in a warning. I snapped my head at him and glared. This was not the time to go all alpha on the poor man.

“It’s a long story, but can you reset them?”

He scrutinized them and rubbed his thick finger under his nose.

“I can, but the healin’ will be ugly,” Saul said while feeling my finger bones. I winced at his touch but tried to keep a collected face in front of Xander. “I don’t think you’ll be able to flex yer fingers correctly once everythin’s mended. They’ll most likely be stiff and awkward because of ‘ow yer ligaments will set. Maybe even lose some sensitivity to touch in em three fingers. Yer metacarpals look good, at least. It’s really just em upper parts.” He finished sorrowfully.

“I can live with that. Just do what you can.” I simply answered.

“I’ll need to open em up to put em back. Lemme go get my things, and I’ll be right back.”

Xander paled considerably at the thought of me being butchered under his eyes. The anxiousness and fear that was seeping through our bond almost made me want to gag again.

“If you need to say something, say it. Otherwise, stop making me feel your tornado of emotions. It’s making me dizzy.” I asked Xander dryly.

His face curled, and he quickly placed a knee to the ground, lowering himself to eye level with me.

“It’s just that, when I sensed you, your pain, your shock, I just… went wild. I couldn’t find you anywhere. Then I followed your fading scent to my father’s meeting room and my blood just curdled when I heard you scream. I broke the damn door and saw you there, lying on the floor. I–I couldn’t control myself anymore. Now, you’re asking me to see you suffer one more time. Can’t we call a surgeon or a bonesetter? Wouldn’t they be able to do a better job? Or better yet, can’t you use your powers to heal this up?”

I placed my good hand on his and sighed. Saul was great at doing this, and I really just wanted someone I could trust, someone familiar. As for using my magic, I did not have the gift of healing, unfortunately. Some wielders did, but I didn’t. I had failed that aptitude test when Otis examined me. I understood Xander’s uneasiness regarding this whole dreadful process, but I needed him to trust me on this too, and I needed him to support me.

“I can’t. I do not have that ability—it’s quite rare, in fact. I just need you to stay with me and hold me. Everything will be alright after. Before Saul returns, you mind opening that cabinet door over there and bringing me one of the bottles?” I tried to say a little more cheerfully.

Xander retrieved the bottle I had asked for, and he opened it for me. He smelled its content and crinkled his nose. “Faiths, what’s that?”

I chuckled. It was one of the cooks’ homemade and hand-bottled whisky. It was potent stuff, but it had a very nice taste once all the alcohol evaporated in the food.

I brought it to my lips and took a few big gulps. My face contorted when the liquid burned my throat. I’d need a lot in my system if I was to get through this surgery.

“I’ll need your belt as well.” I pointed to his midsection.

Saul came back with a set of small, delicate knives. He had also brought some alcohol, clean water, bandages, and a sewing kit.

I took two more swigs of whisky and tried to mentally prepare myself for what was about to come.

Saul looked me up and took a deep breath. “You ready darlin’? Better take a couple more shots before I start.”

I happily obliged, and once I had a pleasant buzz going, I placed Xander’s belt between my teeth and gave my broken hand to Saul.

He cleaned the small blades with alcohol, then he made vertical incisions the length of each finger to reset the bones. After, he tried to stitch back the ligaments and tendons that had ripped from the force of the break.

At one point, the pain was so sharp, and the powerful odour of blood and alcohol made me lose the content of my stomach in a basin that Xander had given to me just in time.

I must have passed out because Saul was bandaging my hand and fingers with makeshift splinters when I half-opened my eyes. I was leaning against Xander’s warm chest. His hands were holding me delicately in place.

Xander was whispering with Saul, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. When Xander felt me waking up, he placed a soft kiss on my forehead and thanked the butcher for his services.

“I’ll ask Dee to come see ya in the morn. She’s good with healin’ and herbs and such. Just try and get some rest, lass.”

Xander took me in his arms and made his way to his quarters. I didn’t know if they were now also mine. Later, I would have to remember to ask if I should start calling them “our” quarters. The thought of having a private apartment again seemed so foreign to me.

He gently placed me on the bed and tried to help me remove my dress. My hair was sticking to my neck from the sweat of the day. He pulled the pins out of my hair, and they tumbled down. Once I was under the covers, he closed the drapes in front of the window and climbed into bed.

He placed his chest to my back, holding me softly, and inhaled the scent of my skin after he put his head near my shoulder where the scar of his mark rested. His presence and warmth were all I needed after the miserable day I had endured. I finally felt safe with him.

My mind was still sluggish from the whiskey I had consumed, so with Xander’s steady heartbeat, I quickly fell asleep, dreaming of butchers and bones and blood.