“I assure you, she’s in the best hands,” Akhran said.
She looked at me questioningly, and I nodded to let her know that I was fine with it. “Would you like to take Albus?” I asked. He’d keep her safe if she felt insecure.
She shook her head. “Keep him with you.” And it told me where her concern was.
“Enjoy yourself,” I told her, nodding to the door where the king was already retreating. “I’ll be with you again in no time.”
Ava disappeared hesitantly, and once she was gone, the physician, Sevedi, let out a laugh. “She’s worried about your injuries?”
I followed the woman’s silent prompt and hopped up to sit on the stone table. “More or less.”
“I’m guessing more,” Sevedi chuckled. She pushed the neck of my shirt over my shoulder so she could examine the wounds, noticing the one in my chin as well. “Any others?”
I pulled up the back of my tunic so she could see the bruise across my spine. Her hands felt around it for a minute before setting flat against the injury. I couldn’t see what she was doing, but then it was like something cool touched against my heated flesh, and after being in pain all day, it was such a relief that I sighed loudly.
“Wait till I get to your shoulder,” Sevedi said.
“What substance is it?” I asked, trying to glance behind me and see what she was using. If it was a brew of herbs that grew in Valens then I’d have loved to make a concoction like it.
“None,” she laughed. “It’s magic.” It was such an unexpected answer that it took me a moment to realize she meant literally. She finished on my back and returned to the front of me, catching the look of surprise on my face. “Where are you from?” When I told her Valens, she made a noise of understanding at my disbelief. “Lie down.”
I lowered myself onto the table, asking as I did, “Were you born with your magic?”
“Many are born with magic,” she answered, setting her palm against my chin. At the same time as the cooling sensation started, her hand began to glow a soft orange. “It’s only a matter of pursuing a specialty.” I made a hum of comprehension. “Few are born with magic like yours though.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “How do you know I have magic?”
She huffed with amusement, as though the question was absurd. “Are you joking?” But at the look on my face, she sobered. “You’re rippling with it. Right powerful too. How long have you been practicing?”
“Well, I, um,” I stammered as her hand moved to my shoulder. “I just got it yesterday.”
Sevedi blinked at me like she didn’t believe it, and laughed, “Like hell you did.” I couldn’t help but chuckle, nodding my assurance that I was telling the truth. “Show me,” she requested.
I held my hand above me and built up a soft orb of sparks, saying self-consciously, “I can’t really control it yet.” And she snorted her entertainment for lack of a better response. “Can everyone with magic feel someone else’s?”
“To an extent,” she answered. “My specialties are detection and restoration. I sense that if you learn to control your abilities, you’ll be unmatched by—” For a reason I couldn’t understand, Sevedi stopped short and her eyes narrowed with focus. I thought there might be something more wrong with my shoulder, until she slipped a finger under the chain around my neck, pulling the medallion up so she could look at it. It was one of the necklaces Kingston had given Ava and me. “Interesting piece of jewelry,” she mused.
Though we weren’t in Valens, and I doubted a Ronan would care that I associated with Valenian rebels, Kingston had said he had spies everywhere. I was sure King Ironwood wouldn’t be pleased to learn if he had spies in his castle, and there was no way of telling if Sevedi knew what it was without revealing that information.
“Gift from a friend…” I said.
Before I could say anything else, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone small run past the doorway, their footsteps echoing after them. They stopped before getting too far though, and the soft patter returned until a little boy stuck his head in the door.
“Who are you?” he asked. He looked about seven or eight years old, and had tanned olive skin with ear-length black curls and dark green eyes.
“Kiena,” I answered, watching as he strode past Albus and right up to the table to watch what Sevedi was doing.
He pushed onto his tiptoes to try and see, though it did little to help because the table was at his nose. “I’m Akamar.” Being unable to catch a glimpse, he settled for resting the tip of his chin on the table beside my head. He certainly wasn’t shy. “What happened to you?”
“I got attacked by some men,” I said.
His eyebrows rose high up into his hairline. “Were they frightening?”
“Aye,” I chuckled. “They were.”
“You sound funny,” he pointed out.
Though that could have been rude or offensive, he was rightfully adorable, and all I could do was laugh. “I’m not from around here.”
Sevedi clicked her tongue. “Excuse the young prince.” And to him, she said, “Where are your manners?”
“I do apologize,” the boy told me, dropping his chin sheepishly. “I always speak out of turn.”
I blinked away my surprise at him being the king’s son. Truly, I should’ve known by the lavish way he was dressed. “It’s quite alright, Sir,” I said, and he grinned a smile full of missing teeth.
“Is this your dog?” he asked, pointing at Albus.
Sevedi removed her hand from my shoulder and helped me sit back up. Before answering Akamar, I took a moment to look at what her magic was capable of, and my jaw nearly dropped. She hadn’t just eased my pain. The wound was gone completely, and all that was left was an old-looking scar.
“Thank you, Sevedi,” I said, rotating my shoulder to test it. There wasn’t so much as an ache. She nodded at me, and so I pushed off the table and said to Akamar, “That’s Albus.”
“Will he bite me?” he asked.
Since he seemed afraid of how large Albus was, I wanted to put him at ease. “Where I’m from, we bow to royalty.” And at the statement, I also gave Albus the hand command to ‘bow.’ He stretched his front paws out before him, lowering his chest to the ground while the back half of him remained in the air. I normally used that trick to woo a pretty girl, but Akamar jumped merrily. “Sit,” I said next. Albus got up and then sat down. I squatted next to the prince, demonstrating sticking my hand out while I told him, “Hold out your hand.” Akamar extended his hand before Albus, and I told the dog, “Be polite, shake with the small prince.”
Albus put his paw in Akamar’s palm, and it was bigger than the boy’s hand, but Akamar shook it and giggled, “Pleasure to meet you, Albus.”
Sevedi strode to the door to look out it, but she didn’t see what she wanted. “The king said he’d send someone for you.”
“I’ll help you find Father!” Akamar volunteered. I glanced at Sevedi to make sure that was allowed, because the last thing I’d want is to get caught with the prince and have someone think I was a threat. Especially since even the young prince could tell I wasn’t Ronan. But Sevedi shrugged with lack of concern, and so I followed the boy out the door. “Are you friends with my father?” he asked as he led the way down the corridor.
“My friend is,” I answered, unsure of whether or not he was even aware he had a half sister. “I’m looking for her.”
He gave a serious nod in acceptance of our mission, but the serious expression lasted only a second. “He’s as big as a horse!” he mused, pointing at Albus again. I laughed and nodded my agreement at the exaggeration. “Can I ride on his back?”