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A loud groan from overhead was all the warning they had before a large beam crashed down. The end clipped Lenore’s leg. Pain burned but otherwise barely registered. Dust and tiny particles swept toward the portal. With her eyes closed, she tucked her face down, trying to avoid being blinded by dust or worse.
The pull was constant. She felt herself being dragged backward into the collapsing portal. Hair whipped around in the wind, lashing against her face.
Baris’ grip slipped. She jerked back abruptly, the distance between them doubling before he caught her again.
Lenore twisted to find her foot brushing against the aura of the portal. Her foot elongated like it was made of rubber, which had to be a trick of the light because that was not possible. At the very least, being pulled like taffy should hurt, and she was dissociating too badly to feel it. This was a losing battle. She was going in and dragging Baris with her.
“Let me go!” she shouted, the portal wind ripping her words away.
Vekele appeared behind his brother, grabbing onto his waist and anchoring him in place. Feathery black wings as dark as ink unfurled, shielding them from the flying debris.
The bubble burst. The portal collapsed, vanishing with an audible pop.
Lenore fell to the floor, flat on her stomach, and knocked the air out of her lungs. Sound rushed in, like water flooding a dry riverbed. It overwhelmed and threatened to drown her. She hurt all over, and her heart raced. Alarms wailed. People shouted for medics and cried for help. Smoke and the scent of burning electronics hung in the air.
She had to help. The station had medics, but they weren’t trained in human medicine.
Lenore pushed herself upright, but her arms were distressingly weak. Baris helped her to her feet and pulled her into an embrace, wrapping one arm around her. The other hung limply at his side.
“You didn’t let go,” Lenore said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“Never.”
With the emergency passed and adrenaline fading, delayed fear made her hands shake. She nearly…she didn’t have the words. The portal was self-destructing, and it was determined to take her along with it. It nearly had her, too. Her foot felt stretchy and weird, like it was still caught in the portal.
“Are you well?” Baris asked.
Lenore couldn’t tell. Adrenaline pumped through her, and the world felt hyper-focused. She scanned the room, noting the injuries and ranking them in severity. Training kicked in. Triage. Treat the critical. She could do this.
A touch on her arm snapped her attention back to the king.
“Forget about me. Your shoulder is dislocated,” she said.
“It is nothing.”
“No. I’m the authority in medical matters. You’ll have to listen to me,” she said, giving him her best doctor stare. Then added, “Your Majesty.”
He huffed with amusement. “Do your worst, medic.”
Gently, Lenore ran her hands up his arms and over his shoulder. She pressed gently on the shoulder joint, causing Baris to hiss.
“Okay, it’s out of joint, but we can pop it back in. Lift your arm over your head,” she said, gently guiding his arm up. “Now touch the back of your neck, and move that hand to touch your other shoulder.”
Baris hissed as his shoulder popped back into the joint. He flexed his hand, trying to shake away any lingering pain. “My thanks.”
“Oh, it’ll hurt like a bitch tomorrow. Use an ice compress. Take an anti-inflammatory med. Rest. Get checked out for possible tendon and ligament damage as soon as you can.”
He rubbed his shoulder. “Tomorrow.”
This stubborn alien was going to do permanent damage to himself. “You need to rest. Real rest,” she said.
“There is much to do?—”
Lenore put her hand on his chest. “You have people to handle that.”
He glanced down at her hand and raised two eyebrows, as if amused by such an impertinent action.
She snatched her hand back and said, “You injured yourself being quite heroic. No one will question if you take a nap.”
