Page 62 of Bone Year

Ellavee shifts beside me. “Crawler cases, as in people who’ve been bitten?”

“As in people who might turn.” Malric’s smile doesn’t waver. “Don’t worry, you won’t be going up there anytime soon, unless I want to traumatize you early.”

She makes a huffing sound next to me like she’s not impressed. I smirk.

“Seven is long-term care. The ones who aren’t getting better but aren’t dying fast enough to move up.” Malric shrugs. “Eight is surgical suites. You’ll observe from the galleries but won’t touch anything unless asked. You haven’t proven capable enough for that yet.”

He looks over the board like he lost his place for a second. “Right. Nine is critical care, the ones barely hanging on. And ten is restricted. Don’t go there. Pretend it doesn’t exist.”

“What’s on the tenth floor?” I ask before I can stop myself.

Malric’s pale-yellow eyes snap to mine. Something flickers there. Amusement maybe.

“Curiosity killed the cat, Red.” He takes a step closer, rubbing his stubbled jaw as he leans toward me. “And in this place, curiosity kills a lot more than cats.”

I feel Draven shift behind me. I turn away from Malric and cross my arms, putting distance between us.

“Anyway, pay attention to the rules, because I’m only saying this once.”

He starts walking again, and we follow like reluctant ducklings. I can’t believe this guy is going to be bossing me around for hours every week.

He stops in front of an alcove set into the wall. Inside is a large stone platform surrounded by low iron railings. Faint blue light pulses up the walls, humming softly.

“This is the current lift powered by the academy itself. It’s how you move between floors when the stairs are too slow or you’re transporting a patient.” He gestures to a panel on the railing where swirls of light blue glow within the stone. “You place your palm here, focus on the floor you need, and the lift does the rest.”

“What if you don’t have current?” Ellavee asks. “I mean, what about Maelis?”

I give her a side-eye. I don’t need her asking things like this for me.

Malric looks at me, and I feel my cheeks heat.

“Like the mirror, the school will know her intention. She doesn’t have to use current. Ashwell will do that for her,” he says, looking back at Ellavee. “Now at any given time, there are usually one to two blood leads in the building as well as a healer or two, but the healers are usually doing procedures on floor eight. It’s rare a Veilguard is here. If they are, it’s usually for a complicated case. They tend to be needed in other parts of Valen. Fissure sites and hot spots. You know, all the places more likely to get you killed.”

He winks, and I turn away from him.

Ellavee chews on her bottom lip ring, and I find myself wondering how things are going in the other group. I wish I was with Jace and Lux. That would make this so much more enjoyable.

“Every floor will have a mender. They are not students or advanced healers. They’re assistants who handle basic patient care.” Malric continues walking, and we follow. “Lastly, scattered throughout you’ll find ward hands. They fetch supplies, clean exam rooms, change bandages, handle intake paperwork. The grunt work.”

This may be the largest healing ward I’ve ever heard of. My father’s clinic back home had some cots with curtains separating the rooms. This place is massive with so many people running it at once.

“Roughly how many patients are here on any given day?” I ask. The last thing I want to do is talk to Malric, but I need to know.

He glances over his shoulder at me, almost surprised I spoke.

“Depends on the day, anywhere from fifty to a hundred.” He taps his fingers against his thigh as he walks. “More after a fissure event or if something goes wrong during training. Fewer during quiet stretches, but quiet never lasts long around here.”

A hundred patients. Ten floors. Menders, ward hands, blood leads, the occasional healer or Veilguard. And now a handful of bone years who don’t exactly know what they’re doing yet.

No pressure at all.

We reach the other end of the second floor, and there’s another stairwell here. Good to know there’s a stairwell on either side of this place and the current lift in the center.

“Alright, Ellavee, this week you’ll be assigned to floor one, intake and assessment. You can do whatever the mender needs help with.” He jerks his head toward the stairwell for her to leave, and she heads down without any questions.

“Miles, I want you on floor eight for your entire shift. There are a lot of surgeries scheduled today, and you’ll be helping the ward hand clean and prep the rooms between procedures.” Miles frowns but doesn’t object. He turns away from us to head back to the lift.

“Miles, buddy.” Malric stops him. “I think you have a lot to gain by taking the stairs.”