Chapter 114

Chapter 114
But what of the others still captive? The pendant cooled slightly, a subtle reminder of the work that remained. Through their bond, Ioannis felt Nickolas's thoughts turning toward the same concern, the children still held captive in that terrible place.

"We need to accelerate the extraction plan," she whispered, careful not to wake the sleeping children. "Now that we have firsthand accounts of conditions inside."

Nickolas nodded, his storm-grey eyes darkening with determination. "The strategy council will reconvene once the children are settled. With Lucas, Ellie, and Micha's information combined, we can refine our approach significantly."

The transport slowed as it approached the compound entrance, passing through security checkpoints with efficient precision. Ioannis noticed how Ellie stirred at the change in momentum, her body tensing even in sleep. The pendant pulsed once against her skin, a gentle reminder of the responsibility they now carried.

"Should we wake them?" Emma asked softly, glancing at the sleeping children.

Ioannis shook her head, reluctant to disturb their hard-won rest. "Let's wait until the last possible moment. They need every minute of sleep they can get."

As the transport came to a gentle stop outside the healing centre, Ioannis saw Luna Harvey waiting on the steps, flanked by healers prepared to receive the children. The pendant warmed against her skin as Nickolas's mother approached, her elegant features composed despite the concern evident in her storm-grey eyes.

Ellie woke the instant the transport door slid open, her body going rigid with alertness. Her dark eyes darted around the interior, momentary panic giving way to wary recollection as she registered her surroundings. Her arm tightened protectively around Micha, who continued to sleep against her side.

"We've arrived," Ioannis told her gently. "This is the healing centre I told you about. Lucas has been staying here."

Lucas stirred at the sound of his name, blinking sleepily as he clutched Shadow closer to his chest. "We're back," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "This is where the soft beds are, Ellie."

Micha remained deeply asleep, his small body limp with exhaustion. The green wolf in his arms continued emitting occasional soft, soothing sounds that seemed to deepen his slumber.

"He's very tired," Ellie said, her voice caught between statement and question as she looked at the healers waiting outside. "Does he have to wake up?"

"No," Nickolas assured her, his voice pitched low and gentle. "He can be carried inside. You can stay with him the whole time."

Ellie's dark eyes assessed him with that unsettling tactical precision before she nodded once, her decision made. "I'll carry him."

Before anyone could offer assistance, she had gathered the smaller boy into her arms, adjusting him against her chest with practised ease despite her own obvious exhaustion. Micha stirred slightly, his eyelids fluttering, but didn't wake. The green wolf, nestled against his chest, emitted another soft sound, helping him remain asleep despite the movement.

Ioannis stepped from the transport first, the pendant warm against her skin as she offered her hand to help Ellie navigate the steps while carrying Micha. The girl hesitated only briefly before accepting the assistance, her thin shoulders straining beneath the weight of the younger boy.

Luna Harvey approached with measured steps, her elegant features arranged in a welcoming smile that carefully avoided showing teeth, a subtle consideration that Ioannis appreciated. Through their bond, she felt Nickolas's pride in his mother's intuitive understanding of traumatised children.

"Welcome to Storm Striders territory," Luna Harvey said softly, addressing Ellie directly. "We've prepared rooms for you and Micha together, as Ioannis promised. Lucas has told us how brave you both have been."

Ellie's dark eyes assessed Luna with that same tactical precision she'd applied to everyone she'd encountered. Whatever she saw in Nickolas's mother's face must have reassured her, because her rigid posture relaxed slightly.

"Micha needs help with his feet," she said, her voice steady despite her obvious exhaustion. "He cut them on rocks during the crossing."

"We have healers ready to tend to him," Luna assured her, gesturing toward the healing centre's entrance, where two female healers waited at a respectful distance. "You can stay with him the entire time."

Lucas scrambled from the transport, and Shadow clutched against his chest as he moved to stand beside Ellie. "The healers are nice," he told her, his voice stronger than Ioannis had heard it before. "They don't hurt you, even when they're fixing things."

Ellie nodded once, her decision visibly made as she shifted Micha's weight in her arms. "I'll take him inside."

Ioannis walked beside her as they entered the healing centre, noting how the girl's dark eyes darted around the airy interior with that same tactical assessment, noting exits, assessing potential threats, cataloguing escape routes. The pendant warmed against her skin as they moved through corridors lined with healing herbs and softly glowing lanterns.

"This way," Luna Harvey directed, leading them toward a private healing chamber larger than the one Lucas had occupied. "We've prepared connected rooms for both of you, with a door between that can remain open."

Ellie's suspicion visibly lessened at this confirmation that they wouldn't be separated. She followed Luna into the healing chamber, where a large bed with soft blankets awaited. With careful movements, she placed Micha on the bed, adjusting his small body with gentle hands that belied her wary expression.

"The healers will want to examine him," Luna explained softly. "Just to make sure he's not injured beyond his feet. Would you like to be present for that, or would you prefer to rest first?"

"I'm staying with him," Ellie said firmly, her thin fingers adjusting the green wolf that remained clutched in Micha's arms even in sleep. "I need to see everything they do."

Ioannis nodded, understanding the girl's protectiveness. The pendant pulsed with gentle warmth as she watched Ellie position herself at the head of the bed, one hand resting on Micha's shoulder in a gesture that seemed as much to reassure herself as the sleeping boy.

The female healers entered with careful movements, their expressions calm and non-threatening as they introduced themselves. Ellie watched their every move with hawk-like intensity, her dark eyes tracking each instrument they used, each gesture they made toward Micha.

"His feet first," she instructed, her voice carrying a surprising authority despite her youth. "They're bleeding again. He tried not to complain, but I could tell they hurt."

The head healer nodded, her movements deliberate as she gently examined Micha's injured feet. "Several deep lacerations," she observed, her voice clinical but kind. "And the beginnings of infection in two of them. We can treat this easily with a healing salve and clean bandages."

Ellie's shoulders relaxed marginally at the straightforward explanation. "Will it hurt him?" she asked, her voice dropping to a near whisper.

"The salve has a mild numbing agent," the healer explained, showing Ellie the container before opening it. "He may feel a cooling sensation, but no pain."