Page 76 of Reaper's Quest

I screamed and jerked forward.

How could I have allowed this to happen? I had acted too impulsively.

Chace was right—I was not ruthless but utterly reckless.

Pressing a shaky hand to the pain at my waist, I slowly, so insufferably slowly, slid down the wall until my weight rested upon my bent knees. Only the press of my lower backside supported me against the building. My body arched forward, holding my wounds away from a repeat of pressure pain.

Unable to see the damage to my shoulder, I explored the wound by touch. Razor blades and fire. Ragged skin slick with blood. I hissed, gritted my teeth, and ripped my hand back as black bled into the corners of my vision.

Maybe if I cleaned the wound, it wouldn’t hurtsomuch, and I wouldn’t have to let Chace know what I’d done. Or had allowed to happen.

The cuts of skin across my arm and thigh were nothing, comparatively speaking, and so I ignored them for now. My shoulder and waist were the areas that left my muscles weak and consciousness questionable.

Adjusting the press of my hand to the damage on the side of my waistline, blood oozed around my fingersand seeped down my hip. I needed to add more pressure, needed to stop the bleeding.

My vision blurred, then it refocused.

Ineededto hold myself together.

Shifting my weight, I prepared to stand, and an aching quake shot through my left side. The world darkened and tilted. I whimpered. Slipped into a sit.

What am I going to do?

I had nowhere to go. And no one I could trust.

Aoes?

No.

I grimaced. Chace couldn’t possibly be the only option left for me. No. He was an absolute last resort. Oh, how he would never let me hear the end of it. But remaining rooted in my current position, bleeding out on the street, was not a viable choice.

Could the Killian, the reaper of reapers, even reach me within the magically bound citadel?

I blinked and pushed my thoughts past the pain searing through me.

Maybe I could hide outside the pub until Aldine’s healer showed up. The woman would likely assist me. Possibly even help me somewhere out of sight, making Chace none the wiser.

Yeah. That’s what I would do. Seek the healer. She’d helped Aldine, so she should know how to help me.

I pushed myself to my feet. My muscles and bones hollered with complaints. Still, I slowly turned, placing the wall at my side, and shoved myself forward, hunched with a hand against the brick for support. Each moment, a battle of will over want.

To avoid being seen by the gate guards, I headed in the opposite direction from which I had come. And not having walked the path previously, I had no clue where I was going.

Maybe I’ll end up stumbling around until I pass out.

An only slightly better choice than remaining rooted in place and bleeding out.

Up ahead, a door opened, and someone stepped into the street. Already dizzy with exhaustion…and pain…I failed to focus well enough, far enough, to identify the individual. All I discerned was that, after taking one look at me, they popped back inside and closed the door, unwilling to come to my aid or help in any way.

I groaned. Continued moving forward.

Behind me, footfalls moved on the cross street leading to the palace gate.

Were they coming for me?

Fearful a soldier had finally ventured forward to check on me, I quickened my pace—or attempted to until my body protested.

I only needed someone to patch me up. Then I should heal rather quickly. A couple of days, maybe. Depending on the extent of the damage.