The Wisdom of Madness by C. J. Archer

Author:C. J. Archer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C.J. Archer

Chapter 11

Seth

Seth fought to breathe, to stay focused and watch as Alice's lifeless body was pulled from the moat. Two soldiers had finally dived into the water and rescued her, despite not being ordered to do so.

Quellery watched from the bank, his nostrils flared, his hands at his back. He did not chastise the two soldiers but Seth wouldn't want to be in their shoes later. Quellery hadn't wanted her to live. Seth felt sick.

Alice lay on the ground, a wet bundle of awkwardly placed limbs and mass of hair. Her chest didn't move.

"She's not breathing!" Markell cried. "You murderer, Quellery!"

"She fell in," Quellery said with a shrug. "It was nothing to do with me. You all saw."

Eva ran to the body, almost tripping into the moat herself in her haste. Soldiers trailed after her, but none stopped her. She wasn't deemed a threat.

She crouched and bent Alice's head to the side, brushing damp hair off her face. Water drained from Alice's mouth then Eva centered her head again and tilted it back. She pinched Alice's nose and breathed into her mouth.

"What's she doing?" asked Lady Oxana. Seth hadn't noticed her arrival.

Nobody answered, but Seth knew. Lincoln had taught him the technique of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as part of their training. Seth had never used it, and had even doubted it would work, but he had faith in Eva's abilities. She was the closest thing to a doctor they had, and if she thought it would work, then it was worth trying. Seth only hoped Quellery wouldn't force the soldiers to stop her.

"She's not breathing," Markell said again as he strained against the men holding him. He looked like a man whose world had fallen apart.

Eva placed her hands over Alice's chest and pushed down hard several times. This hadn't been part of Seth's training in resuscitating drowning victims. What was she doing?

"This is absurd," Quellery spat. "She's dead. Take the prisoners away."

Eva, once again breathing into Alice's mouth, put up her hand to keep the soldiers at bay. They hovered nearby, fascinated yet unsure.

"Stay away from her," Markell growled at them. "Or the queen will be told how her prisoner could have been saved but wasn't. She wouldn't like it if her revenge ended here and not in the courtroom as she planned."

Quellery's neck jiggled with his indignation. He did not give orders again, however, and he too stood by and watched Eva.

Suddenly Alice drew in a breath and coughed up water.

"Alice!" Markell struggled but the soldiers held him. "Alice, are you all right?"

Alice did not get up. She lay on her back and stared at the sky, but her chest rose and fell with her breaths. She lived. Seth had never seen anything like it. She'd stopped breathing for more than a minute. She should be dead. Eva had done that. She'd performed a miracle.

Seth couldn't stop his tears.

Eva spoke quietly to Alice as some of the soldiers crowded closer. Even Quellery and Lady Oxana moved in.

Lady Oxana patted her heart.

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