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Jasmine
BRIGID’S EYESIGHT IMPROVEDeven more in the next few days. She was fascinated with the changes, and although she still had some trouble during the day, she couldn’t stop talking about the new things she could do as we rode our horses into the depths of the in-between forests.
“I can always wear something to keep the sun away,” she said. “I tried putting my shirt over my head, and I can even see through it during the day. I wouldn’t mind wearing it when the sun is up if it means I can see as well as a creature of the night.”
“Yeah,” I replied.
“We can get you sunglasses,” Kieran suggested.
“How do you know about sunglasses?” I asked jokingly.
Kieran met my gaze over his shoulder. His lips curled with a little smile, and I realized it was the first smile he had offered me in a while. He cocked his head meaningfully.
A chill went through me as I remembered seeing his warm hazel eyes back in the human world for the first time. Of course. That’s how he would know.
“What are sunglasses?” Brigid asked excitedly, unaware of the exchange between Kieran and me since her eyes were closed. It pained her to keep her eyes open when the sun was up in the sky, so Dearen was pulling the reins of her horse to guide it.
“Humans wear them,” Kieran replied. “To protect their eyes from the sunlight.”
“That sounds perfect!” Brigid said, smiling wide enough to show teeth.
We kept riding in silence for a while. It was always like that; we would talk and say things to each other, but then, all of us would focus on the road and what awaited us. Our long journey had taken away the need to talk to each other whenever we were together; now, we could share silence too.
The forest was thick, but it seemed there was always a path to be found, leading to where we needed it to lead. Dearen had suggested that some of these paths could have been created by beasts passing through.
“If Brigid is seeing even better than before,” Dearen said, his tone suggesting he was thinking out loud as he broke the silence. “Does that mean your healing skill is different?”
“Different, how?” I asked.
He was riding his horse in front of Brigid. This part of the trail was narrow, so we were in a line, and I was right behind her. He did not look back at me to respond, but he raised his voice to make sure I heard him.
“I mean,” he said. “Healers can’t improve their patients. They can mend muscles and reshape bones. They can push away sickness and get rid of other conditions threatening someone’s health. But I’ve never heard of a healer changing a fae.”
“You’re right!” Fiona said. “What else can you do? Can you make someone taller? Faster?”
“Can you make someone fly?” Brigid asked excitedly.
“No,” I replied. “I mean, I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” Dearen asked. “What is healing if it’s not changing someone’s body? Some animals can fly. We have wings, and yet we cannot.”
“I don’t have wings,” I replied.
“Can you give yourself wings?” Fiona asked.
I stared at her to make sure she was not teasing me. There was a joyful twinkle in her eyes, but she seemed serious otherwise.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I mean, I don’t know how I changed Brigid’s eyesight. The dark-eyed girl was with me. I asked her to take away my fear. She made me believe that I could do everything.”
“That sounds dangerous,” Kieran said behind me.
“I know,” I admitted. “But I trusted her. She’s been helping since she found a way to be inside my mind. I felt her sincerity and knew that she would help. And...”
I hesitated.
“And what?” Kieran pushed.
“Toward the end,” I started. “Brigid woke up and said something about her eyes hurting. I didn’t hesitate at all. I was ready to touch her eyes again, using my power to correct whatever I had done to her. But the girl stopped me before I could.”
