Cool fingers pressed gently to my wrist, then to my temple. “You’ve had a minor dislocation to your fifth metacarpal and a superficial laceration,” he murmured. “There’s some fracturing to your vertebrosternal ribs and a few muscular contusions. Nothing serious.”
Nothing serious? It hurt when I fuckingbreathed.
“I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Midius,” Syrina said, backing away. “If you ever need to chat or things become too much – more than it already is, I mean – I’m here.”
“Thank you,” I said, and genuinely meant it.
Midius’ fingers softly scraped along my wrist and an icy menthol sensation licked at my bones. It was a foreign feeling but not an uncomfortable one.
“Is this upper magic?” I asked the healer, curious.
“Of course,” Midius answered. “Upper magic and a lot of experience. It takes a certain skill to reset bones and repair muscles.”
“How long have you been practicing for? I would have thought the magic would make it easier.”
“Oh, decades, my dear. Decades. The magic only gives you the ability. It’s how you hone it that distinguishes you.”
When he was done, I rotated the joint carefully, marveling at the instant relief. If I had dislocated a bone in Serila, it would have taken months to heal.
The icy sensation slowly leeched out of my body, leaving me with no physical pain. Only the blistering ire in my heart that seemed to never wane.
I doubted even Midius would be able to fix that.
CHAPTER 6
Calendula did not reappear that night, nor was she there the next morning when I woke. I made it my mission at breakfast to pocket as many of the fat, red strawberries that appeared on my plate as I could, unsure how many it would take to curry her favor.
Lana, Moric and Anama came to the table just as I was stuffing the last fruit into my already bulging pocket.
“You’re up early this morning.” Lana’s cornsilk hair was tied up today, only the front strands of lilac curling gently against her cheeks. She looked better rested, the dark circles beneath her eyes fading to be near imperceptible. Her skin was less pale too, her cheeks tinted a rosy pink.
“What?” she asked, catching my stare. “Do I have something on my face?”
I shook my head. “No. You look nice this morning.”
“Have I looked like shit the other days?”
Moric hid a grin behind a piece of buttered toast and Lana chucked a grape at his head.
“You’d be amazed at what a good night’s sleep and solid meals can do for my well-being,” she grumbled.
“I didn’t think you were getting much sleep with all the fantasizing you’ve been doing about a certain golden-eyed–”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Lana shot him a glare that could have cracked ice. “Don’t start with me.”
Moric swatted a hand at the invisible threat like it was an annoying gnat. “Relax, he’s not here.”
Anama gave a rare chuckle as Lana upped the stakes of her next threat.
“What are they on about?” I whispered to her as Moric lobbied another retort at Lana that made her cheeks turn beet red.
“He’s teasing her about Septimus,” Anama whispered back. “He thinks she’s got a crush on him.”
“I donot.” Lana scowled at us. “Anyway, enough about me. Let’s talk about Lirah and the fiasco that was yesterday’s sparring session.”
Lana was clearly trying to take the heat off herself, but it worked. Moric took the bait. “Whatwasthat about, Lirah? We came to get you before dinner last night, but you didn’t answer.”
“After Midius healed me, I was so exhausted I slept straight through dinner. I didn’t even hear you knock.”
