Ayla's POV
The packhouse infirmary smelled like antiseptic and anxiety, and I hated it immediately.
I pressed myself against the wall just inside the door, out of the way, watching Dr. Hale and the nurse move around Kael's still form with the kind of practiced urgency that made my stomach twist.
They had managed to shift him back to human—I didn't know how; I hadn't been watching; I couldn't stomach it—and now he was lying on the medical bed looking nothing like himself.
Kael always looked like he controlled every room he walked into. He didn't look like that now.
Now he was pale and still, with a long, furious gash alongside his ribs. Every time Dr. Hale pressed near it, I had to look away.
"He's strong," Tala said. "He'll pull through and give his brother an ass whooping."
"I know
