Iron Heart (The Gauntlet #2)

Chapter 46 - The Girl With An Iron Heart

When she came to, the first thing Codi felt was the searing, hammer-blunt pain that ripped through her torso. She sucked in a sharp, hissing breath, but that only made it worse as the fire spread to her lungs. For a moment she couldn't even open her eyes, reflexively screwing them shut against the pain. Seconds passed. The pain subsided into a steady ache, radiating from her ribs and outward to push agonizing tendrils into her limbs. Eventually, she managed to force her eyes open.

The white glare of the lights dazzled her momentarily and she flinched, raising a hand to shield her eyes. She blinked; held her hand in that position for a moment until her vision adjusted to the glare. When she eventually parted her fingers she found herself looking at one of the grey-overalled Gauntlet medical specialists – a dark-skinned young man with piercing sea-green eyes. A dat-pad was clasped in gentle, well-manicured fingers and he looked at it for a moment, as though unaware of her.

Then he looked up; smiled. "Welcome back, Codi." His voice floated across the space between them like a cloud. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," she murmured. "How long...?"

"Three hours."

Relief flooded through her. She hadn't missed much. She dimly remembered Thradd telling her that she'd won the match, but beyond that everything faded into an unimportant muck. She tried to sit up but the pain flared through her chest and a gasp slipped unbidden from her lips.

"Try not to move," the medical tech advised her gently. "You broke three ribs, cracked two and punctured a lung. There is a setting frame in place and nanomeds are working to repair the damaged tissue but it will work faster if you stay still."

"How long will it take?"

"For a full recovery? At least two weeks."

Codi felt ash in her mouth. "But the final..."

"That's something you'll have to discuss with your coaches," he interrupted, raising a hand. "I just work here. Now, in my professional opinion, it's theoretically possible to have you ready to fight in time for the final match, but I would strongly advise against it. Whether or not you take that advice ... well that's for you and Battlecast to decide."

She nodded, not sure what to think. There was no way she would agree to sit out of the title match, but if she was physically incapable of it, and her coaches forbade her from taking part she didn't know if there was anything she could do. The final of the singles match was scheduled five days after the second semi-final, which took place tomorrow. That gave her six days, not even half what the medic advised.

Her fingers fidgeted, rasping against the coarse fibre of the medical centre blanket. She brushed fingertips down her right side and felt the faint, unmistakable bumps of the setter rig that had been locked around her ribcage.

This couldn't be the end of her competition – not like this. Fighting back tears of helplessness that threatened to surge forth, she pressed her lips together hard; closed her eyes for a moment.

"Your coach is outside," the medic told her. "If you feel up to it, I'll show her in."

"Yes." Codi sighed, a rippled of pain passing through her lungs as she did. The medic slipped out of the room and a moment later Bronagh Llewellyn strode in, closely followed by Thradd. Both of them wore grim expressions, enough to fill Codi with worry. She tried to smile, putting on her bravest face.

"Hell of a fight," Thradd said ruefully, folding his arms and sitting down in a chair beside the bed. "How you holding up?"

"I feel like someone dropped a building on me," she laughed weakly. "Other than that, can't complain."