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Well, no doubt Alric would think of a way.
They’d barely landed when Alric commanded Gunter to take Lina straight to Sora and his parents. Gunter hadn’t quite expected that, but after a second he realized what his king was up to.
The Abe Clan, out of all of them, would be able to examine Lina and possibly figure out what was wrong with her. And if they could determine that, or even reverse it, then it would be a huge step forward in gaining Lina’s trust.
Bargaining chip indeed. Assuming Sora could pull a rabbit out of the hat for them.
Which he had been pretty reliable about so far, so Gunter didn’t think this was much of a gamble.
He gave Lina a smile as he escorted her through the castle and up to Sora’s workroom floor. “I’ll take you to our resident doctor.”
Lina followed, casting uncertain glances back toward the courtyard, where the rest of the dragons and mages still stood. “Am I sick?”
“No, not for that reason. You seem well versed in lore, so do you know the name Abe?”
She blinked up at him. “Sure, Abe no Seimei. He was famous for his healing craft. Why?”
“We have one of his descendants in our clan. Sora Abe along with his parents.”
Her eyes were in danger of falling out of her head. “OMG! Seriously?!”
“Yes. It’s why Hoheit wants you to be examined by him first. Sora might well be able to tell why your magic isn’t functioning right. If nothing else, he’ll be able to report your condition home, tap into others of his family. The Abe family’s knowledge is intact; they remember far more than any other clan.”
Hope lit up in her eyes, and she bounced in place a little. “The Abe Clan. God, yes, please let me meet them. Surely if anyone can figure me out, it’ll be them.”
“This way, then. I think he’s in his workroom.” Gunter didn’t need to wonder about her reaction, her enthusiasm. To her, the withered state of her magic must be like a chronic illness, one with no cure. How much would she give to see a doctor who might be able to reverse that? To have hope, for the first time in her life?
Lina’s reaction made perfect sense to him.
Gunter texted Sora as they went down the hallway and got an immediate answer of come ahead. Someone must have talked to him already about the situation. Gunter blamed Ravi. Alric would have updated Ravi on the situation during the flight back, and Ravi would have immediately turned around and shared it with everyone else. The blabbermouth couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it, and he had absolutely no secrets from his mate.
Lina looked around her curiously as they walked. “It’s really pretty in here. Like a fairytale castle. You all really live here?”
“We do, and have for centuries.”
She looked wistful for a second. “I’ve never lived in one place for more than a few months. That must be nice, to just stay in one place.”
His eyes cut to hers. “The Jaeggi move around that much?”
“Yeah.” She sighed, then seemed to realize how much she had divulged. Her eyes watched him just as cautiously.
Gunter decided not to press the point. Trust. He had to build her trust in him first. “Do you know Nikki?”
“Yeah, why?” She perked back up again. “Oh, are they here? I haven’t seen them since that battle with you guys.”
Interesting that she’d used the right pronouns. “Yes, they’re here. Do you know them well?”
“Eh, only sorta. They didn’t really allow us to mix much with the mages they brought in. But Nikki wasn’t the type to really follow the rules, and sometimes they’d say hi. You know?”
No, he didn’t, but he’d definitely ask more questions of Nikki.
They reached the right door, and Gunter pushed it open without knocking first. “Sora. Here she is.”
Sora was indeed prepared, as he had a wide array of elements, wands, and such laid out on the table, much like an operating theater. His dark eyes swept over her with acute interest before he gave her a smile of welcome.
“Lina, I presume? I’m Sora Burkhard. Please, come in and have a seat here on the stool.”
She did as bid, although a bit nervously, her hands clutching the side of the stool. “Gunter said you’re an Abe?”
“I am indeed. A direct descendent, in fact.” Sora waved toward the assortment of tools with a graceful sweep of the hand. “My parents also want to attend and look at you, but they’re in the middle of something at the moment. They’ll join us later, if that’s alright?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You’ll have to forgive all this; I wasn’t quite sure what to prepare for you. You’re the first Jaeggi I’ll be able to examine without a battle raging over my head.”
