Ruby Red

Chapter Twenty-Two

As soon as the guards saw Harsha and Fallon riding in holding the Scepter, they opened the gates to the castle immediately. Storms of cheers and hurrahs followed them in and servants swarmed them trying to get them to reach the queen. Fallon had been in charge of Indigo, who was still unconscious. A set of guards tried to take them away, but Harsha ordered for them to get medical attention and to be at full health before being sent to the dungeons.

True to his word, Karis wasn't letting Alana leave his side. She clung to him like she was holding on for dear life as they rode back home, feeling shots of fire course through her body with every beat of their horse's hooves. Karis kept looking back at her, whispering words of reassurance and praise at her for holding on this long.

When they arrived at the front steps of the castle, Fallon and Harsha were already walking inside. A team of medics had gathered Indigo onto a stretcher and brought them inside under the supervision of a team of guards. The queen wasn't there, but Prince Victor was.

Karis helped Alana down from the horse and didn't let her go. Prince Victor approached them with Princess Harsha at his side. "Excellent job, General Griffin," he said with a smile. Then, he glanced toward Alana. "General Campbell, I—"

Harsha pushed their brother aside and continued. "Go back to your room, Alana. I'll send a medic up there as soon as I can. Don't worry about anything else right now but healing."

"Thank you." She nodded at the prince, the most respectful gesture she could in her current state, and let Karis bring her to her room in the guard's dorms.

With Karis waiting outside, Alana pulled off her other shoe and changed out of her bloody shirt before crawling into bed. "Okay, Kare, you can come back in!" she called out into the hallway. There was a soft knock at her door and Alana rolled her eyes with a smile. "I told you that you could come in." Karis burst into the room, followed by an older man with cropped salt-and-pepper hair and a beard.

"Are you okay? Are you comfortable?" Karis asked, pulling up a chair beside her bed. He leaned onto her mattress and grabbed her hand. Alana drew in a breath at the touch, but then relaxed. This was just Karis being Karis. Why was she getting so nervous around him?

"Good afternoon, General Campbell," the older man said. He set a large bag down beside her. "My name is Rowan. Princess Harsha sent me to attend to your injuries. Can you tell me what seems to be the problem?"

Alana showed him her foot first, flipping back the covers for him to see. After prodding around uncomfortably, he decided to set her foot in a type of cast so it wouldn't move and gave her a pair of crutches so she could move around without relying on anyone else. Once her foot was done, Alana lifted the hem of her shirt just enough so that he could see the stab wound in her abdomen.

"Oh, dear," Rowan muttered. He soaked a cloth in medical alcohol and dabbed at the area to clean it. "It should heal fine if you keep it clean, but I am going to give you a couple of stitches to close it. Is that okay?"

"Yes, sir," Alana replied.

Rowan put on a pair of gloves and grabbed a needle. Once it was threaded, he took a seat on Alana's bed to see better. "This is going to be a bit uncomfortable, General."

"I'll be fine."

She was not fine. As soon as the needle pierced her skin, Alana gritted her teeth and gripped Karis's hand tighter. He scooted closer to her, wrapping both of his hands around hers. In between stitches, Alana turned to him. "Karis, you can go. I can handle it on my own." Rowan poked the needle through again and she hissed.

He laughed and smoothed a piece of hair out of her face. "Honestly, it doesn't really look like it. I'll stay if you want me to, or I can go. Whatever you want, Alana. Just always know I'll be right here for you if you need me."