“No breath sounds on the left.Pneumothorax.”She glanced at him with her voice low.“We need to decompress her chest, or she’ll die before we get her out.”
Noah’s heart thudded.“What do you need to do?”
“We need to put a hole in her chest between two ribs.”She blew out a breath, and her eyes flicked to his—wide and glassy.
“Meg?”Something didn’t feel right.
“You’re going to cut her open in the cave?”Jeremy said.
Noah just about grabbed the kid up and dragged him away.But the last thing they needed was more drama.Especially since something still didn’t feel right with Meg.Her hand trembled again ever so slightly as she reached for supplies.But Noah caught it—he’d learned to read her tells.She was on the edge of freezing up.
Just like when she’d had a panic attack when Nimue was hurt.But he’d talked her through that.
He could talk her through this too.
He met her gaze.“Trust me.You’ve got this.”
“Why are you guys taking so long?”Jeremy paced around them.“Can she help her or not?”
“Just let them do their job,” one of the other girls snapped.
“I’m not convinced they even know how to do their job,” Jeremy shot back.
One of the girls began crying—high, keening sounds.The whole group started talking, their voices echoing and layering over each other.
Meg’s breathing sped up.Her hands fumbled with the pack of different-gauge needles, her fingers clumsy.
“What is wrong with your doctor?”Jeremy’s biting words nearly made Noah come undone.
“Liam, get him out of here.Now,” Noah snapped.“All four out before another aftershock hits.”
He turned back to Meg and moved to kneel directly in front of her.“Breathe.You’re a good doctor.Lydia needs you.You’ve done this before.You can do it again.”
“I can’t—” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“You can.”He placed his hands on either side of her face.His forehead rested against hers.He tuned out Liam’s commanding voice.The world narrowed to the two of them.
“Let my voice anchor you.I’m not going anywhere.You’ve.Got.This.”
She shuddered as her breath caught.Then slowly—slowly—her breathing evened out and matched his.
She nodded just once, then selected one of the needles and peeled back the top of the plastic seal, her hands steady now.Noah adjusted the light as she fingered along Lydia’s ribs then cleaned the area.
At Meg’s nod, Noah held Lydia’s shoulders, his own hands growing shaky now.
The hiss of air the moment Meg inserted the needle was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.Just like that, Lydia’s chest began to rise and fall more evenly.Color crept back into her lips.
Meg pulled out the needle and pressed gauze to the wound.She didn’t move—still frozen in that moment.
Noah squeezed her hand.“I am so proud of you.I?—”
A deep rumble rolled through the passage and vibrated the stone beneath his knees.A cloud of dust burst from the narrow opening and swallowed the last shaft of natural light.The air clogged.
“Noah.”Teague’s frantic voice crackled through the radio.
Noah snatched it up.“We’re fine.Are you guys okay?”
“We made it clear.”The faint arguing of Liam and Jeremy echoed behind Teague’s words.“But the way out is blocked.”
