Chapter 438: Lessons Written in Blood and Breath

Chapter 437: Lessons Written in Blood and Breath

The medical facility never truly slept.

Even at this hour—long after the compound had fallen into uneasy silence—the front ward glowed with low lantern light. It was always open in the case of any emergency.

Lysander entered through the wide front doors with Orion at his side.

Cold followed them in.

Snow clung to the hem of Lysander’s boots, already melting into dark patches on the stone floor.

He did not slow.

The moment they crossed the threshold, a young nurse hurried toward them from the front space, her hands still stained faintly green from crushed leaves.

"She’s been moved to a spare room," she said quickly, falling into step beside Lysander. "Her pulse is fast and uneven. Her temperature is still elevated. Not rising—but it hasn’t broken yet."

Lysander gave a brief nod.

"Any obvious trauma?" he asked without looking at her.

"No deep wounds. Her ankle is twisted—moderate swelling. Small cuts along both hands. A few shallow lacerations on her side and shoulder. They were dressed already."

"Bite marks?" he asked.

The nurse shook her head. "None that we could find."

"Claw patterns? Punctures?"

"No, sir."

They reached the inner corridor where the private rooms were.

Lysander slowed only when they reached the door.

"She’s here," the nurse said, already pushing it open.

Orion didn’t follow them to the room, he stopped at the entrance because even he knew that he wouldn’t be any help.

His nose scrunched up. He really hated being in the medical facility, the smell of herbs was so overpowering.

Jeffrey lay sprawled on one of the spare beds they kept there. He was still breathing hard but he had been able to drink water now.

He wondered how Orion was still standing upright when he had run like a mad man. Jeffrey shook his head and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t understand after all or rather than that, he didn’t care at the point.

Lysander stepped into the room with the nurse following in.

Another stood stationed at the bedside.

Sophia lay motionless beneath thick wool blankets, her dark hair fanned over the pillow, her skin faintly flushed beneath the candle lights. There were also lanterns lit around the room. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven rhythms.

The nurse who had brought him in moved to the foot of the bed and continued her report.

"Her pulse is still fast," she repeated. "She reacted to pain stimulus during cleaning. No vomiting. No seizures. No visible spasms."

Lysander set his satchel down and leaned over the bed.

He took Sophia’s wrist gently between his fingers.

It was fast just like the nurse had said.

He lowered his head closer, listening to her breathing.

Shallow.

He pressed lightly against the swollen ankle, already bandaged.

The swelling was fresh.

He moved his gaze to her hands, lifting one carefully.

The small cuts were clean, shallow and already stitched or closed with healing salve.

Nothing here explained the burning heat beneath her skin.

Nothing explained the faint, almost metallic tang in the air around her.

"Did anyone check her mouth?" Lysander asked quietly.

The nurse froze.

Then shook her head.

"No, sir."

Lysander nodded once.

"Bring a lantern closer."

The nurse immediately lifted one and stepped nearer.

Lysander slid a hand beneath Sophia’s jaw and tilted her head gently to the side.

Her lips parted with only the faintest resistance.

Her breath fluttered against his knuckles.

"Open her mouth," he said.

The other nurse did as he asked. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Thank you," lysander said before taking over.

Her teeth were faintly stained. They were not fully black but it was darkened and almost black.

Lysander inhaled slowly.

He reached into his satchel and pulled on a thin, treated glove.

Then he pressed a single finger against the inside of her lower teeth and rubbed carefully along the back edge of her gums.

When he withdrew his hand, the glove bore a faint smear—thin, oily, almost translucent in the lantern light.

He lifted his hand to his nose.

Breathed in once. He didn’t even need to be told to know this as as a result of a Trihydra.

It was a small amount but she had Trihydra venom residue in her mouth.

Too small to leave the usual marks yet—but enough to turn lethal if left to circulate.

He exhaled slowly through his nose.

"Call every trainee healer available," he said.

The nurse blinked. "All of them?"

"Yes. And the nurses too, all but the minimum at the front," Lysander said calmly. "Leave only enough to receive emergencies. Bring the rest here."

The nurse hesitated, clearly startled.

The room was large enough to have about fifteen people in without even crowding the patient.

Then, without raising his voice, "Move Mirabella."

The nurse nodded then turned ad left the room.

Lysander straightened.

"i need two assistants," he added to the second nurse. "Immediately."

She nodded and followed the first.

The room fell quiet again.

Only the soft crackle of the lantern, the hearth, and Sophia’s uneven breathing filled the space.

Lysander returned to her side and adjusted the blanket higher across her shoulders.

Within minutes, the sound of hurried footsteps returned to the corridor.

The door opened.

One by one, they filtered in.

Five trainee healers.

Six nurses.

Two senior assistants.

They filled the wide room carefully, lining the walls and standing near the shelves and empty cots without crowding the bed itself.

The tension in the air shifted immediately.

This was not routine.

Not at this hour.

Lysander turned slowly to face them.

His shoulders were heavy with exhaustion.

Dark circles framed his eyes from sleepless nights with Raina.

But his voice, when he spoke, was steady.

"Starting today," he said quietly, "the path to becoming a full healer will become less forgiving."

Several of the trainees straightened instinctively.

"We all live in Nirvana," Lysander continued. "Not in a safe settlement. Not in a sheltered valley. We live in territory shared with beasts that do not care how skilled you are, how prepared you think you are, or how quickly help can arrive."

No one spoke.