Blood Purple (Blood Series) by Ashley Nemer
CHAPTER TWELVE
She hadn’t moved, not a finger, a toe, nothing. It’d been over twenty-four hours; she should have shown some signs of consciousness. Walking over to the bed, he ran his fingers down her arm, looking for any sign of response. Nothing. He picked up her wrist and checked for a pulse, the faintest of beats being detected. He set her arm back down and went back to the storage room. Opening the storage cooler, he pulled out two pints of blood --and brought them back into the house. Gathering up the IV drip supplies as well, he headed back to the bedroom.
He looked over her arms for a vein large enough for the needle to safely stay in. Not seeing one on her left arm he moved to the right. On the inside of her bicep he felt a good vein, one that was large enough to handle the needle. Hanging the bag of blood on the headboard he hooked the line up to it. He then sterilized her skin. and put the tourniquet in place. Gently slapping the area a few times to get the vein to show, he carefully inserted the needle into her arm, The blood coming back into the syringe assured him it was a good vein. He took the IV line, attached it to the needle and the blood began flowing in. He taped the line down to her arm and put it back next to her side.
Looking down at her he noticed tears had dried on her cheeks. Wetting a wash cloth with warm water, he applied it to her face, softy cleaning away her tears. He noticed her eyes had started to open slightly. He could see the light violet shade sparkling though. He thought to himself, “What are the odds that she also controls fire?” He reached his hand down and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Wake up my sleeping Algula; it’s time to join the rest of the world.”
While Nikole was in her comatose state, she couldn’t communicate with anyone. All she was left with were her thoughts. She could hear a voice off in the distance, one she didn’t recognize. Why couldn’t she wake up? She opened her mouth to make a noise but nothing happened. This person didn’t act like he heard anything she was trying to say. She tried to concentrate on Zayn, seeing if she could establish a mental connection to him, calling out, “Zayn, please hear me. I don’t know where I am. Please come save me. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. Zayn, please…” She knew it was useless; he wouldn’t hear her. She knew the chance he was within 10 miles of here, wherever here was, was one in a million. She hadn’t thought about her abb in a long time, after seeing him gutted when they fled their home, but right now, right now, all she wanted was her abb to hold her and tell her everything was going to be ok.
She ran out of the castle and through the field, laughing and pretending to soar though the air. King Tamman watched from a distance. The sight of his little girl carefree and full of life brought a smile to his face. Nikole ran to the tree on the outskirts of the castle walls. She started circling around it. Tamman wasn’t sure what she was looking for. He slowly started walking in her direction to see if he could help her with whatever she was doing. He stopped when he saw her put her foot on the trunk of a tree.
Her little hands gripped for something to grab onto. Her arms wrapping around the trunk as she pulled herself up, trying to climb up the tall tree. Tamman could hear her grunting and growling, forcing herself to move inch by inch up the large tree trunk. He laughed to himself, proud that she wormed her way up. She got about twenty feet off the ground when all of a sudden he saw a squirrel coming down the trunk, headed right for Nikole. Tamman heard her scream and watched her start to fall. Her little arms flailed as she fell flat on her back.
Tamman’s heart shattered when her cry broke the tranquility of the day. He jogged over to her side and picked her up in his arms. Her little head tucked into his chest, her tears flowing down her cheeks. “It’s okay, Princess. Don’t worry, we all fall and hurt ourselves.”
Her tiny little face looked up at him, the violet in her eyes sparkling. “Abb, I got scared. I should be strong and tough like you, but I fell.” Her little world was shattered. Tamman engulfed her in his big arms. Holding her tight, he cooed at her, calming her, soothing her worries.
“Nikole, baby, everyone falls; everyone gets scared. Even I get scared. I’m scared that one day I won’t come home to you, Zayn, and your omm, scared that one day I will fall and not be able to stand, but you have to push through that. You are only eight; you will have many times in your life that you fall. You have to just believe in yourself. Promise me you will always believe in yourself. Never fall and lay there. Always fight. We are Kadins, fighters. We never give up. We never give in, Nikole.”
She batted her eyes, wiping her tears, and looking up at her abb. “Do you understand baby girl? It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, as long as you stand back up and fight.”
She nodded her head and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes Abb, I get it. I always stand up.” He set her back on the ground and pointed to the tree. “Let’s go climb that tree. You can ask for help, but never quit. Come, we will climb it together.”
He saw more tears running down her cheeks. He checked to make sure the IV was still secure and no bruising had started. He took the washcloth and slowly cleaned her face again. He didn’t understand why she was crying. The pain should be better now that she was receiving blood. He looked at his watch; four hours had passed since he started the IV. “Come on, wake up. Please.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek and he noticed that she twitched. “That’s it, come on, respond. Wake up.”
Slowly she started moving her eyelids. Blinking away the tears, she looked up into the stranger’s eyes. Turning her head, she looked around the room, trying to understand what and where she was. Nothing looked familiar. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Her throat hurt from the screaming she’d done. When she began to panic, the stranger placed his hands softly on her shoulders, making sure to touch the spots that did not have any skin damage.
“Shh, calm down. You are safe. No one is going to get you here. No one knows where you are. My name is Alec and you are staying in my home.
She hadn’t moved, not a finger, a toe, nothing. It’d been over twenty-four hours; she should have shown some signs of consciousness. Walking over to the bed, he ran his fingers down her arm, looking for any sign of response. Nothing. He picked up her wrist and checked for a pulse, the faintest of beats being detected. He set her arm back down and went back to the storage room. Opening the storage cooler, he pulled out two pints of blood --and brought them back into the house. Gathering up the IV drip supplies as well, he headed back to the bedroom.
He looked over her arms for a vein large enough for the needle to safely stay in. Not seeing one on her left arm he moved to the right. On the inside of her bicep he felt a good vein, one that was large enough to handle the needle. Hanging the bag of blood on the headboard he hooked the line up to it. He then sterilized her skin. and put the tourniquet in place. Gently slapping the area a few times to get the vein to show, he carefully inserted the needle into her arm, The blood coming back into the syringe assured him it was a good vein. He took the IV line, attached it to the needle and the blood began flowing in. He taped the line down to her arm and put it back next to her side.
Looking down at her he noticed tears had dried on her cheeks. Wetting a wash cloth with warm water, he applied it to her face, softy cleaning away her tears. He noticed her eyes had started to open slightly. He could see the light violet shade sparkling though. He thought to himself, “What are the odds that she also controls fire?” He reached his hand down and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Wake up my sleeping Algula; it’s time to join the rest of the world.”
While Nikole was in her comatose state, she couldn’t communicate with anyone. All she was left with were her thoughts. She could hear a voice off in the distance, one she didn’t recognize. Why couldn’t she wake up? She opened her mouth to make a noise but nothing happened. This person didn’t act like he heard anything she was trying to say. She tried to concentrate on Zayn, seeing if she could establish a mental connection to him, calling out, “Zayn, please hear me. I don’t know where I am. Please come save me. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. Zayn, please…” She knew it was useless; he wouldn’t hear her. She knew the chance he was within 10 miles of here, wherever here was, was one in a million. She hadn’t thought about her abb in a long time, after seeing him gutted when they fled their home, but right now, right now, all she wanted was her abb to hold her and tell her everything was going to be ok.
She ran out of the castle and through the field, laughing and pretending to soar though the air. King Tamman watched from a distance. The sight of his little girl carefree and full of life brought a smile to his face. Nikole ran to the tree on the outskirts of the castle walls. She started circling around it. Tamman wasn’t sure what she was looking for. He slowly started walking in her direction to see if he could help her with whatever she was doing. He stopped when he saw her put her foot on the trunk of a tree.
Her little hands gripped for something to grab onto. Her arms wrapping around the trunk as she pulled herself up, trying to climb up the tall tree. Tamman could hear her grunting and growling, forcing herself to move inch by inch up the large tree trunk. He laughed to himself, proud that she wormed her way up. She got about twenty feet off the ground when all of a sudden he saw a squirrel coming down the trunk, headed right for Nikole. Tamman heard her scream and watched her start to fall. Her little arms flailed as she fell flat on her back.
Tamman’s heart shattered when her cry broke the tranquility of the day. He jogged over to her side and picked her up in his arms. Her little head tucked into his chest, her tears flowing down her cheeks. “It’s okay, Princess. Don’t worry, we all fall and hurt ourselves.”
Her tiny little face looked up at him, the violet in her eyes sparkling. “Abb, I got scared. I should be strong and tough like you, but I fell.” Her little world was shattered. Tamman engulfed her in his big arms. Holding her tight, he cooed at her, calming her, soothing her worries.
“Nikole, baby, everyone falls; everyone gets scared. Even I get scared. I’m scared that one day I won’t come home to you, Zayn, and your omm, scared that one day I will fall and not be able to stand, but you have to push through that. You are only eight; you will have many times in your life that you fall. You have to just believe in yourself. Promise me you will always believe in yourself. Never fall and lay there. Always fight. We are Kadins, fighters. We never give up. We never give in, Nikole.”
She batted her eyes, wiping her tears, and looking up at her abb. “Do you understand baby girl? It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, as long as you stand back up and fight.”
She nodded her head and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes Abb, I get it. I always stand up.” He set her back on the ground and pointed to the tree. “Let’s go climb that tree. You can ask for help, but never quit. Come, we will climb it together.”
He saw more tears running down her cheeks. He checked to make sure the IV was still secure and no bruising had started. He took the washcloth and slowly cleaned her face again. He didn’t understand why she was crying. The pain should be better now that she was receiving blood. He looked at his watch; four hours had passed since he started the IV. “Come on, wake up. Please.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek and he noticed that she twitched. “That’s it, come on, respond. Wake up.”
Slowly she started moving her eyelids. Blinking away the tears, she looked up into the stranger’s eyes. Turning her head, she looked around the room, trying to understand what and where she was. Nothing looked familiar. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Her throat hurt from the screaming she’d done. When she began to panic, the stranger placed his hands softly on her shoulders, making sure to touch the spots that did not have any skin damage.
“Shh, calm down. You are safe. No one is going to get you here. No one knows where you are. My name is Alec and you are staying in my home.