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CHAPTER 4
Amica and I walked together towards Sana’s quarters, and I couldn’t keep my mind from drifting to my conversation with Bennett last night. I was still flustered this morning. Amica had asked what was wrong, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about what happened, so I blamed it on lack of sleep.
The High Healer’s quarters were just as regal and big as any member of the royal family, with multiple rooms, including her bedroom, office, healers training classroom, and living area. I sometimes wondered why she would ever need to leave her quarters at all.
Amica and I made our way into the classroom, setting our books and papers on the desks before us. A chalkboard was placed on the wall in the front of the room, clean and ready for use. The classroom was pretty basic and only held two desks, since no more than two students ever took up a class. The light wooden floors looked pretty abused with scratches and scuffs, which showed how many Life Crafters had trained here years prior. Sana refused to get them replaced—she thought the room was sacred. Medical supplies covered the walls to the left and right of us. Skeleton figures, muscle cut outs, and fake dummies that always weirded me out whenever we practiced on them filled the room.
As I looked at the rising sun, I silently cursed Sana for making Amica and I the ones to have class at dawn. Sana taught all the Life Crafters throughout the day, usually privately. However, since Amica and I were so close in age and friendship, we had our lessons together. And thank the stars for that, because I didn’t know how I could get through these lectures without her.
After waiting for a few minutes, I started to wonder if Sana was going to show up for today’s lesson. She was always timely and had only called off lessons a few times over the years.
Just when I started getting hopeful I would get some extra training time for my spar with Bennett, Sana walked in the room with her brows furrowed.
She wore her gray hair in a tight bun and had spectacles that rested on her long, arched nose. Her thin lips were stern, her dark eyes piercing. She gave us a once-over as we sat at our desks.
“I apologize for my delay,” she said sternly. “I just came straight from a meeting with the king.”
“What were you speaking with the king about?” I asked boldly. Sana had taught us that it was impolite to ask questions or speak up, but I thought that was quite sexist, and I rarely ever listened to her advice.
“What did I tell you about sticking your nose in places where it shouldn’t be?” She turned her head to Amica. “Or was that you who I told?”
It was hard to hold in the snicker that escaped my mouth at the image of Sana and the high priest in my head.
Sana sighed and placed her thumb and forefinger on the bridge of her nose to ease the headache that was sure to come from these lessons. “It just so happens that this conversation did have you girls involved.” Amica whipped her head to me, curiosity in her gaze which then began to show a hint of worry.
Did we do something that upset Pater? Were we not as far along in our lessons as we should be? Panic struck me then.
Oh no, Pater is going to separate Amica and I’s healing lessons. That has to be it, there is no other explanation.
“But we will discuss that after our lesson is complete,” she continued. “Let me see the work you have completed, and, since you two are already giving me a migraine, I’ll have you practice headache relief on me today. Each of you will attempt to give me relief individually so I can assess your skills separately. Let’s begin.”
Our lesson was typically about an hour. We would go through the History of Healers textbook as well as Healing of the Mind and read the stated chapters assigned.
The healing lessons were always more difficult for me than for Amica, not because I wasn’t smart, but because in my free time Pater had me study my craft for harming rather than healing. It was a constant battle in my mind that I’d accidentally cause someone pain because I got my two skills mixed up.
I studied harmful craft more than healer craft. Since there were no lessons taught on it, I had to learn everything on my own, with Pater’s permission, of course. He gave me restricted books containing information on how to perfect the darker side of my craft. It was nerve-racking teaching myself, because I had no one to practice on. I never got the chance to use the harmful side of my craft until I was on an assignment from the king. However, it hadn’t failed me once. If anything, my Golden blood was like a third arm. I knew how to use it naturally, but it was a skill that I needed to perfect and could continuously get better and faster at. When I was sixteen, it took me five seconds for my craft to snap the bones in someone’s neck. Now, after years of practice, all it took was one touch.
Sana reviewed the pages we were given to complete during our last lesson, and I received a quick slap on the wrist with a ruler for having mine crinkled.
She reviewed the techniques for headache relief, telling us where exactly to place the hands on the head so we didn’t end up causing an aneurysm.
After Sana was done with her lecture on headache relief, she asked us to practice on her. Amica went first while I waited at my desk and watched. Sana sat on a stool in the middle of the classroom and Amica stood behind her, placing one finger on either side of her temples. Amica closed her eyes and let her craft take over. I could see the instant relief wash over Sana as her headache began to disappear.
Sana lifted her hand. “Stop.” Amica removed her hands from her head. “Well done, Amica, but there still needs to be some pain for Rhia to practice on.” Amica nodded and walked back to her desk as I strode forward, taking her place.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to steady my heart from my nerves. I may have been the King’s Favorite who feared nothing and no one, but I had to admit that Sana did make me a bit nervous. I believed it had to do with the similarity in how she carried herself and spoke, reminding me of Saeva. The ruler she used was not even close to as painful as Saeva’s whip from the circus, but still eerily the same, as if I could never escape my past and his long-term effects on me.
I placed one finger on either side of her head, resting them on her temples and closing my eyes, allowing my healing craft to take over and my Golden blood to hum in my veins. I took longer than Amica, probably by about thirty seconds, before Sana ordered, “Stop.” I removed my hands and placed them at my sides. She did not tell me, “Well done,” before I walked back to my desk.
“The king has asked me to give you a long-term assignment,” Sana said as she stood from the stool and began to pace at the front of the room.
Amica and I had never been given a long-term assignment before. Usually, they were given to the older healers. Long term assignments typically included healing someone of particular importance, continuously, for a long period of time. For example: Sana had a long-term assignment with Pater after the queen passed. She would have nightly healing sessions to help him with the grief until he no longer needed it. However, Sana was typically the one who assigned these long-term practices, so it was unusual to have one come from the king himself.
Amica chimed in, “Will both of us be assigned to the same person?” If this was the case, it must be a very serious or terminal injury for the need of two healers.
Annoyance struck Sana’s face at the interruption. The sound of the ruler slapping Amica’s wrist echoed as she said, “What did I say about interrupting?”
Amica’s face turned red, and she lowered her eyes. Over the years I tried to tell her to stand her ground against Sana, and to not let the High Healer upset her, but she thought it would be easier to just comply.
