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We pushed into the small curtain-enclosed space and shifted uncomfortably while waiting for Clawdia to begin. "Zeva, twenty-six, female, titan, is experiencing pain in her throat from a sword wound. The angle of the blade has sliced downward, but the depth of the wound isn't serious. There is a lot of bruising due to the force of the weapon striking her, but otherwise, she is healthy."
I was amused at her summary and attracted to this confident side of her. I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "As much as I appreciate the information, Nurse Clawdia, I only need to know what you see in her threads."
Swallowing, she stepped away, trying to hide her flushing face. She released a shuddering breath to calm herself and concentrate. I touched her hand and pushed into her mind so I could see as she did. Threads of orange were wrapped tightly around Zeva's neck.
"Show me how you heal," I said.
Clawdia pushed out a breath before sending energy into the thread and dust seemed to fly off her body as she did. Turning the end of the thread green, the green began to erase the orange, and the wound on her neck was as healed as it had been that morning.
Zeva hand pressed against her neck, and she gasped, and she felt nothing but soft skin.
"You did it," she breathed. "You have the powers of old. You're … just a human."
Ignoring Zeva, I frowned. "Your power leaks," I told Clawdia.
CHAPTER21
BAELEN
Her head snapped toward me, offended. "What?"
"Are you doing it slowly on purpose so as not to shock the patient?" I asked more tactfully.
"Slowly?"
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Your energy is unable to concentrate on just one injured thread. It spreads out, seeking to heal as many as possible. It's a great idea in theory but leaves your patients partly healed and you more exhausted than necessary."
"Do I do that too?" Zaide asked.
"I assume so. Did you notice her energy?" He shook his head. "Then that is what we need to focus on. Direction. Power is sentient, but you are its master. Communicate your will." I paused. "Do you want to try another patient?" He nodded, and we opened the curtain to see the other patients scrambling back to their assigned beds.
Clawdia put her hands on her hips assertively, "What are you doing out of bed?"
I had a flash of her in this exact pose, saying those exact words, but in the corridor of a small home. And instead of patients, it was small children giggling and dashing up the stairs to their beds. Our children.
With a blink, it was gone, and my heart restarted with loud thuds echoing in my ears. I was already standing at the bedside of Germis, the young and thinly built titan who had a challenging opponent and bled for it, and Zaide was already pouring energy, which was spilling across the room, reaching for the other patients. I stopped him.
"You are doing it too. Focus. Control your energy. Don’t think about healing in general. Think about healing this one thread. Only this thread. Try again."
As he tried again, I didn't see the same amount of spillage, and the orange thread turned green more quickly. I stopped him again. "You'll need to work on it, but you have the right idea. Direct your energy only to that single thread." I looked at Clawdia, who had pursed her lips in concentration. "Can you see it?"
"I think I can. It looks a bit like dust in the light."
"Yes." Pride colored my voice.
"I'll finish healing the rest if you both want to work on … something else," she suggested. "Maybe outside."
I smiled. She was very clever, my sunshine. "Yes, good idea." Sweeping open the curtain, I strode out of the tent and took a deep breath of the fresh air. I didn't want to admit it, but even in the dreamscape, the smell of blood was a temptation. Even the smell of Clawdia and Zaide was getting to be too much.
Zaide stood beside me in silence, taking in the cold, crisp night air and the moonlit view.
I broke the silence first, looking over to see his pensive face under the purple glow of his scars. "I am sorry for the strangeness of the situation we find ourselves in."
He frowned at me and shook his head. "It is not strange." I raised my eyebrow in an unasked question, and he continued with a shrug. "It's exactly as it should be. There are many things we will need to discuss, both privately and as a group, to make decisions about how we go forward. Maybe some of those conversations will be awkward and tense. But standing here with you now, knowing you are our soul mate, feels as natural as it did when I found Clawdia."
I looked at my boots and said, "You are very accepting." Although my mind was full of thoughts about things that are too good to be true.
"I trust the Fates have it all in hand and that it will work out." He paused. "Don't you?"
