I gave a loud wail, but Oberi shoved me with her head.Ava, now isn’t the time to fall apart. You can heal him. You have your mother’s strength inside of you. That’s how you knew he was dying. You could sense the poison in his blood, and your magic told you so.
My breath knotted in my throat. “It’s not possible. My mother has Anichi magic, but I’m only Koigni and Toaqua. I can only use Fire and Water.”
You aren’t a dual-caster, Ava. You’re atricaster,the first of your kind. You have the ability to heal inside of you, Oberi said.It will be all right. Charlie and I will help you.
“But I’ve never healed anyone!” I whimpered.
You’ve done this before. You just didn’t know it. Trust me. Put your hands on his chest, Ava. I will teach you what to do.
I wanted to panic, but Ezekiel’s breaths were getting shallower by the moment, and there wasn’t any time for hesitation. I put my hands over my brother’s chest and tried to concentrate. This felt all too familiar, and it made me sick.
Seek out the sepsis in his blood. Once you find it, destroy the bacteria that are causing it,Oberi instructed.
“But healing magic doesn’t work that way. Anichi magic makes the body recover by forcing it to do what it naturally can on its own,” I stuttered. “Ezekiel’s body doesn’t have the potential to fight off an infection like this. His immune system is too weak.”
You are no average Anichi, and can do things others cannot. Use your Anichi magic like your Fire. Find the infection, and burn it, Oberi said sharply.
Oberi nudged Charlie’s shoulder.Charlie, you need to pull magic from me and funnel it into Ava. This is powerful magic, bringing someone back from the point of death. She can’t do both at once, and this will take all our strength, all three of us.
I didn’t have any time to object. Ez was fading away by the second. I put my hands over his heart and felt its slow beat as I sought out the sepsis. It flooded through his veins, and that sour taste filled my mouth again. It made me want to gag, but I pushed past the feeling and called my Anichi magic to the surface.
I hadn’t noticed it was ever there before, but now that I knew it was real, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t recognized it. It always sat inside me, like a quiet hum waiting to be summoned and serve. It was warm, like my Fire, and needed to be directed. I flooded my healing magic through my fingers, and a white glow began to encompass my brother’s chest as my Anichi power flowed through his body. It burned like my Koigni magic, yet moved like water, washing over his systems. The combination felt familiar to me and was effortless. I felt my Anichi magic work furiously as it ate away at the infection overpowering my brother’s blood.
When my Anichi powers were summoned, something strange happened with Oberi. Her horn began to glow. The light filled the entire bathroom, bathing us in a pure white hue. It was odd, but I had no time to contemplate it now.
Nerves ate away at me as I worked. Healing magic wasn’t flawless. If someone was too far gone, not even Anichi magic could restore what was ruined. I doubted even if my mother was here, her Anichi powers could save Ez now.
But mine could. Iknewthey could. Despite never healing anyone on purpose before, I was stronger than my mother was, and her power ran through my veins, amplified by my demigod blood. I was going to heal my brother out of sheer will. Irefusedto let the ancestors have him.
This was a hard job. I could feel my strength ebbing away minute by minute, like I was running a marathon and had no energy left to make the last mile. Charlie’s face knitted in concentration, and through our bond, I felt him funnel power from Oberi into me. Even so, his body slumped, like this was anything but easy to do.
It’s working, Oberi gasped, but she sounded like she was in pain. Her knees buckled, and she hit the floor. My Anichi magic suddenly gave out.
The light died, and I gave a cry of worry. “It stopped!”
He’s healed, Ava. You removed the infection from his blood, Oberi said with a tired sigh.But it’s taken all of what’s in us, unfortunately.
I didn’t realize how tired I was until Oberi said those words. Immediately, a heaviness pressed in around my body, and I could no longer remain upright. I collapsed onto the floor just as the door burst open and Opal flooded in with a host of nurses.
The last thing I saw was Oberi’s glowing horn, dimming into shadow before I passed out.
* * *
I had a headache when I woke up, but I managed to sit. I was in a private room inside the infirmary, dressed in a thin hospital gown. It was the next morning, judging by the sunlight streaming through my window.
And standing right in front of me, with his hands clasped, was the fucking Warden. He’d been here for ancestors knew how long, watching me sleep like a weirdo and waiting for me to wake up.
Great. He was the last fucking person I wanted to see.
“You’ve been asleep for an entire day, Miss Mitoh,” the Warden said coolly. “You’ll be pleased to know your brother is doing well, thanks to your quick intervention. Atricaster. How unique.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Where’s Charlie?”
“In class, with your Familiar. The two of them were worn by helping you in your endeavor, but they did not sustain the kind of exhaustion you succumbed to.”
The Warden sat down in a chair by my bedside and leaned in. He looked like he wanted to devour me alive.
Ugh, go away.My body instinctively turned away from him, though I tried to remain as still as possible.
