The Scot went to the side and tapped around a certain area on the wall until a panel clicked. He slid it open and cursed. "There should be someone on the other side of this door. This doesn't look good, lass."
A loud creak emanated from the next room. Not good. It could burst at any moment. "Do you have any medical experience?"
"Afraid not. I'm an architect by trade."
"Damn." She glanced at Asher's pale face. "Let's try to clean him up and wrap a tight bandage around his torso, to help keep it from bleeding even more."
Fraser motioned toward a derelict metal cabinet in one corner. "There are a few things in here." He went to the cabinet and opened the drawer. "A small first-aid kit, some water, and some high-energy snacks."
"Bring the kit and water. Hell, bring the snacks too. I don't think Ash is waking up anytime soon, but in case he does, he'll need the calories to heal faster."
Dragon-shifters healed quickly, but they didn't possess magic, nor were they miracle workers. Asher could still die.
Her beast spoke up. He's too stubborn to die. Especially since the sex score is still in our favor. He'll wake up to make a comeback, I'm sure.
Grateful for her dragon's attempt to lighten the mood a little, Honoria banished her fears and went to work cleaning Asher's injuries as best she could.
Once done, she went over to the open door between the room next to the cave-in and their location, closed it and locked it. "At least that should be another barrier to hopefully protect us." Turning to Fraser, she added, "Now, we need to find help. How long is that tunnel? And what's on the other side?"
"It's quite long, I'm afraid. And if that crazy bastard didn't harm the others down here, then protocols say they should be in one of the three meeting rooms dotted along the length of the tunnel."
Honoria nodded. "We need to go and hopefully find them."
Her glance drifted to Asher's still form. It would be better if she and Fraser went looking for the others together, but that meant leaving him behind.
And Honoria didn't want to do it. He could die, and he didn't deserve to die alone.
Her beast spoke up. Stop with the dying nonsense. He's strong. After surviving five years as a prisoner, he's not going to give up now.
Just because you say it doesn't make it so.
We have to believe. Otherwise, if we split up from the Scottish dragonman and he runs into Shane's partner, who knows what will happen to the male. And if he doesn't reach the meeting rooms, then it'd spell all of our doom.
Her dragon was correct.
Leaning down to Asher's ear, she said, "I won't be gone long, I promise. And you'd better be fine when I get back. I have a thing or two to say to you." Her voice softened. "One of them is thank you, by the way."
Kissing his forehead gave her the courage to stand and look at Fraser. She ordered, "Lead the way and let's find help."
~~~
Twenty minutes later, Honoria clenched her fingers as they exited the second meeting room. They hadn't found another soul yet, and each minute that ticked by was another that could take Asher's life.
However, she knew yelling at Fraser wouldn't accomplish anything, so they quickly kept moving along the tunnel, keeping all of their senses on alert for the slightest change.
Her beast spoke up. Can't we use the emergency button yet to call for help?
I think we're still too far underground, and I haven't seen anything to boost or transmit the signal, not even in the meeting rooms. I didn't even see a blasted telephone in one of the rooms.
If we get close enough to use the button or make a call, will you do it?
Yes. The leadership isn't worth Asher's life.
Her beast hummed. I agree. Maybe once he's healed and healthy again, you'll consider taking him as our mate.
She liked how her beast didn't say if Asher pulled through. While it was always a possibility he wouldn't, she believed positive thoughts helped in some way.
A tapping suddenly echoed through the tunnel. She and Fraser both stilled. There was a pattern to the sound, but even with the little Morse code she'd learned as a child, she recognized it as something different.