Chapter 145: Marry You
Alaric dived into the water and pulled Lara’s limp body out. Her lips were tinged blue, and her skin was deathly pale. He cradled her close, feeling the faint rise and fall of her chest—a fragile flicker of life.
Scanning the area, he spotted a low-rise, smooth, flat rock formation near the east wall. He carefully spread his cloak over the surface, turning the rock into a makeshift bed. Gently, he laid Lara down in prone, her body slack like a broken marionette. Her head lolled to the side.
Alaric knelt beside her, his hands moving instinctively, rubbing slow, firm circles over her back. "Come on, Lara... breathe." His voice was hoarse, thick with urgency.
Lara let out a shallow cough, and water spilled from her lips; then, she passed out.
Alaric exhaled a shaky breath, but the relief was fleeting. His gaze swept over her—her arms, her torso —all of it battered and bruised.
His pupils constricted when he noticed how her soaked garment clung to her like a second skin, the contours of her body not hidden from his eyes.
His hands trembled as he gathered the courage to lift her shirt. Beneath the bindings that concealed her chest, dark bruises marred her flesh—angry splotches of black and blue.
Alaric forced himself to breathe evenly. Carefully, he retrieved a small tin of ointment from his pocket, scooping a thin layer onto his fingertips. As he spread the cool salve over her bruises, he massaged gently, coaxing the blood to circulate into her battered muscles.
His touch faltered when his eyes landed on the python’s carcass nearby—its thick body sliced into half. It was his doing. When he saw Lara fall into the water and the python following after her, he threw his knife into the air, and the sharp blade cut the snake into two. Blood pooled onto the jagged rocks. Crimson tendrils seeped into the water, staining the crystal-clear water of the spring.
Lara’s arms had also turned bluish purple, and Alaric applied the ointment. He hesitated, but eventually, he turned Lara over.
He blamed himself for not coming in earlier. He had already noticed something was wrong because he heard a gasp and an eerie silence. He did not know how Lara escaped from the python, but when he saw that the knife was missing from the sheath tied on her thigh, she must have managed to free her hand and stabbed at the python.