Age of Ice: An urban fantasy romance (Fated Book 2) by Mariah Stone

Author:Mariah Stone [Stone, Mariah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stone Publishing
Published: 2022-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Channing sat by Ella’s side in Mia’s surgery. He didn’t step away from her for a moment, even when Mia had told him to leave when she was looking at Ella’s shoulder wound.

She lay on Mia’s examination table in her suit pants and the tank top she’d had under her shirt. All her clothes were grimy, ripped in places, caked with blood and dirt, and she couldn’t wait to take a bath and put on something clean. The table, to Ella’s surprise, had four wheels and stoppers to keep them from rolling. Smart woman, Mia had clearly modeled it after the stretchers in the modern hospitals.

As Ella lay on the table, Mia stood with her back to her, arranging the tools and instruments on her preparation table. She had a neat row of shelves on the wall and four oil lamps that smelled pungently of something like bacon being burned.

“There’s not enough light,” Mia said as she moved towards the other wall and opened the shutters. Daylight and cold air poured into the room. “It’s cold outside, I know, so I’ll try to make it quick. That’s what I really miss from modern times…good, clear light to be able to see my patients.”

She took a bowl of water and a stack of clean linen cloths and put them on the table next to Ella.

“This will hurt, unfortunately,” said Mia as she undid Channing’s dressing. When she removed the layer of moss, cold air touched Ella’s inflamed skin, and pain clawed at her. “You used sphagnum moss I see, son. Well done.”

“You taught me all the right things.”

Mia smiled warmly at him, and Channing at her. Something stabbed at Ella. Envy, she realized. He had the most wonderful mother in the world who loved him, who’d fought with destiny for him.

Her mother had left her.

She’d never have a moment like that, although she was happy for Channing that he’d reunited with his family.

“Channing, sweetheart, give her the willow bark tea, please. It’ll taste awful, but it’ll help with pain. It’s pretty much what aspirin is made of. There are also other herbs that’ll help.”

As Mia soaked a clean cloth in the bowl of warm water, Channing brought a cup to Ella’s mouth and helped her hold her head. She drank the terrible, bitter tea, struggling to swallow. It did taste awful.

When she leaned back, smacking her lips, desperately trying to get rid of the taste, something warm lay on her wound and burned it. Ella hissed with pain.

“I know, honey,” Mia said. “This is to clean it. The burns are bad, but, Channing, you did a good job. Of course, I can’t say what’s inside, but for now, I don’t see any signs of pus. I have a salve to help with the burns, but I think Channing did well.”

She finished cleaning and spread something cool that smelled like a mixture of animal fat and herbs on her wounds. By that time, Ella was drowsy. Her pain had been dulled to an echo of the agony she’d been in for the past few days.

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