Page 123 of Gunnar

There’s a second cloth, then a third, and at long last, the bleeding slows.

The brothers sigh out long breaths.

I look at Gunnar. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Should be,” he says. He goes to the kitchen drawers, pulls out a dressing and tape and covers the wound neatly.

Torin rolls his shoulders. “Let’s get him to bed.”

Gunnar slides an arm under Orson’s shoulders. Torin takes his legs and they lift him together, careful now, keeping him level as they carry him out of the kitchen.

I follow.

They take him down the hallway and into his room.

The curtains are drawn. A narrow bed pushed against the wall, a furry rug piled on top.

They lay him down.

Orson makes a faint sound as they move him, then settles again, his breathing shallow but regular.

Torin watches him for a moment, then he steps back.

“I’ll deal with my stuff,” he says, indicating his own blood-soaked shoulder, and leaves us.

“Does he need help?”

“No, he’ll be okay,” Gunnar replies.

There’s blood on Orson’s chest and along his ribs, drying in places, still wet in others.

I go into the bathroom, grab a towel, fill up a glass of water and bring them back.

Gunnar flashes a look of gratitude as he lifts Orson’s head and I tilt the glass, letting a little water into his mouth.

Then I clean as much of the blood away as I can, working carefully around the bandage.

The room is quiet now, the urgency from before settling into something heavier. Tiredness overwhelms me and I sit down on the end of the bed.

Gunnar sits on the edge of a wooden crate and looks at me. “He wouldn’t have made it without you.”

I shake my head. “I just did what I could.”

“He’s done nothing but hurt you,” Gunnar says, his voice lower now.

I keep my eyes on Orson, watching the rise and fall of his chest. “He’s your brother. He was just trying to protect you all.”

He clicks his tongue. “You’re a really good person, Alexandria.”

I shake my head. “I killed someone today.”

“You were a warrior, Alexandria. A part of the clan.”

I startle at the admiration in his voice. “I had to, right?”

“If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t all be here right now.”

I turn that over for a long moment.