Chapter 47 Her Plan

Chapter 47 Her Plan
Zeno snapped his head to the source of the voices. His vision longed to the farther back, ignoring the wincing woman beside him. Through the darkness of the woods, Zeno made out her figure. He could tell it was his wife.

“Alaister,” Bianca called him gruffly. Her hand was covering her neck after the impact of the misfired arrow. She dropped to the ground, legs weakened, and she was in shock. She looked at him, asking for help; she almost looked pitiful for his attention. But she still managed to keep her calmness in a façade.

“What’s wrong?” he asked flatly. His eyes dropped to where her hand was covering her neck. A drizzle of blood leaked through her finger. Zeno kept standing still, staring at her neck. He didn’t have the urge to help Bianca or call his men to do the good. “How deep is it?” The way he asked was cold and careless.

“Your wife… She shot me,” her voice trembled as she spoke. Logically, there were only two people who used a bow and arrow, which were Bianca and Lyla. If Bianca got injured, that meant the archer was Lyla, the culprit.

“I can see that. She must have missed her target. She’s new to this.” It was not an apology, just casually stating facts.

“Oops! I slipped,” Lyla laughed, too forcedly. She winced in between those laughs as she felt her head vibrating hard and started to spin. She went too far, sacrificed herself to duel the bitch who tried to steal her man. She knew it at first glance, those thieves’ act.

Blec sighed, and he quickly grabbed the bow out of her hand. He threw the bow harshly and caught her body when it swayed, losing her balance. It was not an instant pain; it came slowly, and the longer the body registered, the more painful it got, and it would definitely last longer.

“Are you going to pass out?” Blec asked like it was a ‘how are you?’ question. He squinted his face, wincing as he saw the wound. He knew it would be bad, worst even, when he heard the snap of the bow.

“Yes,” she whispered out as her eyes slowly closed by themselves.

Blec held her closer, preventing her body from falling. The gush on her forehead dripped blood down to her temple and melted into her hair. Blec didn’t realize he was watching her face too long until a cleared throat was heard.

Blec snapped his head stiffly like he was caught red-handedly staring at the forbidden privacy. “Don,” he greeted Zeno, who had magically come over.

Wordlessly, Zeno took over her body and carried her bridal style back to the car. He panicked when he noticed the gush on her forehead. What did she do? He wondered. Even though his feet walked towards their car, his eyes stared at her face. His steps were solid and tough, but his heart was panicked. Andrew would have interrogated him later once he found out about this, and then he would have questioned the person he met.

Blec opened the backseat door for Zeno, so he could rest and treat her wound. Without having to be asked, Blec had pulled out the first aid box and handed it to Zeno.

When Zeno focused on treating her forehead, Blec’s attention went to her hand.

“Something you want to say, Blec?” Zeno spoke without averting his eyes from her. Blec hesitated for a second. But for the good sake of her, he would have to tell him whatever he witnessed.

“Her fingers, Don. She didn’t wear finger pads,” Blec told him, then he looked away. He couldn’t look at her in this state. It looked harmless, but it was actually worse than he imagined.

Zeno stopped his movement immediately, and his eyes dropped to her hand. The scratches were bloody. The string was made of iron, so the farther she pulled, the harder it got. And if her fingers weren’t protected, it could cause a split, just like her condition right now.

“Lyla,” Zeno tried to call her, to wake her up. But seeing her passed out form, he was uneasy. “Oh, check on Bianca. She’s bleeding too,” he ordered Blec as the thought came to his mind as it fell to the bottom of his core.

“I’m sure she’s fine. Your wife has made sure it only leaves a scratch,” Blec answered, making Zeno turn to him. Now, he had a few questions to ask. Zeno quickly finished cleaning her wound, whether it was on the forehead or fingers.

Then, Zeno hopped out of the backseat and stood next to Blec. He leaned on the car, and he held his hand out, asking for the cigarette he smoked. Blec gave him the box along with the lighter. He was not a smoker, but he did smoke once in a while.

“So, that was her plan? To grace her?” Zeno asked, inhaling the cigarette and blowing the smoke off. White clouds formed in front of his face, he blew them off, so it fade faster.

“Yes, Don.”

“So, she knew how to handle the bow?”

“It looks like it. She didn’t say much; she shut me up after the first warning. I warned her about the broken bow and said she noticed that too. That’s why she kept persistent on using the bow. She didn’t let you check it, right? She knew all along and had plans.” Blec straightened his back and watched the other woman walk up to them.

Zeno glanced back to where Lyla was resting, and then back to the front. He watched as Bianca took careful steps, weakly and painfully.

"Do you have to leave me like that? I am injured, Alaister, and it's because of your wife," Bianca came to play the victim card and to let out her anger to Zeno, who left him without giving her a hand first; she was only a few feet away from him, rather than his wife. He should have helped her first! The injured person in front of him and the urgent one.