But then, with a tired sigh, Serafina stepped aside. “Of course,” she said. “Come in.”
Serafinapouredthe tea as Araya unpacked the basket in silence, placing a honey-glazed pastry on each of the two chipped plates.
The clinic was quiet at this hour—only a handful of cots in the back held resting patients, all of them asleep under thin woolen blankets. A low shelf against the far wall overflowed with neatly labeled glass jars and cloth-wrapped bandages, the scent of dried herbs mixing with the sharp tang of antiseptic.
Finally, Serafina took the seat across from her, just as she had hundreds of times before, folding her hands neatly on the scarred workbench that doubled as both a workspace and a kitchen table.
“Now,” she said, pinning Araya with a searching look. “Why are you really here?”
Araya looked down at her pastry, twisting the linen towel from the pastry basket between her fingers. She’d had a whole speech prepared—but her gaze snagged on a rust-colored smear beneath one of her nails, and her stomach turned.
She’d always known Jaxon was ambitious—even ruthless. But it had always been bloodless, contained to academics and politics. What he’d done to Loren….it was a cruelty she hadn’t expected from him.
And Loren’s blood was on her hands too. Literally. She had cleaned his wounds. Cared for him like she wasn’t the whole reason Jaxon had tortured him.
But it was necessary, wasn’t it? The Arcanum needed to know how to break the Shadowed Veil. Someone had to figure it out—and if it wasn’t Jaxon, it would be someone worse. Hale—or someone like him. Wasn’t this better?
“Araya?” Serafina’s voice cut gently through her thoughts. The Healer watched her, brows drawn and her face pinched with concern. “Is everything alright?”
“Not really.” Araya dropped the towel and wrapped her hands around her mug, trying to soak in some comfort from the warmth. “I need some supplies. Bandages, suture kits, antiseptics… and anything you have to treat iron burns.”
“Iron burns?” Serafina’s spoon clattered against her mug. Her sharp green eyes swept over Araya, searching for injuries. “Are you hurt? Did Jaxon?—”
“No,” Araya said, too quickly. She took a deep breath, trying to smooth out the edges of her voice. “It’s not for me.”
“Well whoever it is for needs to see a Healer.” Serafina was already on her feet, rummaging through the storage cabinet where they kept the stronger medicines. “Iron burns need proper treatment—not just whatever scraps I can give you. If they can’t come here I can come to them?—”
“You can’t,” Araya bit her lip, silently begging Serafina not to ask too many questions. “It’s for Jaxon—he doesn’t even know I’m here.”
Serafina turned slowly, setting the supplies she’d been gathering down on the table. “I’m going to need more than that if you want my help, Araya. What are you doing—are you helping the Arcanum torture someone? Patching them up so they can be hurt again?”
Araya didn’t answer. She couldn’t. The silence stretched between them—thick and damning.
“Gods, Araya.” Serafina closed her eyes. “How could you?”
“I don’t have a choice,” Araya protested. “I’m just doing what I have to do to survive?—”
“Survive at what cost, Araya?” Serafina folded her arms, scowling. “Do you think you’re the only one they’ve asked to patch up a prisoner for them? They’ve asked other Healers—they even came to me. But none of us ever do it. Healers don’t treat wounds just to see them reopened. That’s not medicine—that’s complicity."
Her voice softened, but the disappointment remained. "I thought you believed in that, too. But instead you’re letting Jaxon turn you into a tool he can wield.”
Araya’s breath hitched. “That’s not fair,” she said. “He’s not perfect—but he’s trying to fix things. To make things better for the fae. And he actually has the power to do it. He’s trying to stop the shadows?—”
“He's trying to control the shadows?” Serafina asked sharply.
Araya winced. “Ishouldn’t have said that—but yes. We think—Jaxon thinks—there’s a way to direct them. To harness them. If we can just figure it out, we could keep the shadows off the slums, maybe even lift them entirely.”
To her surprise, Serafina’s face paled. “And you think that’s a good thing?”
“Of course I do.” Araya frowned, confused by Serafina’s reaction. “Don’t you? You’re always doing everything you can to help the fae in the districts.”
Serafina shook her head, her lips pressed into a thin, tense line. “I can’t tell you. Just…leave the shadows alone, Araya. Please.”
“We used to tell each other everything,” Araya said, staring at Serafina. “There wasn’t a single secret between us. When did that change?”
“When you tied yourself to Jaxon.” Serafina crossed her arms, her expression cold. “You're the one who made it impossible to tell you anything. Whatever I say could easily end up in his hands--his ties to the Arcanum put us all at risk."
“You work for the Arcanum too, Serafina!" Araya snapped. “Just because you run a community clinic doesn’t mean you don’t take their gold. How is that any different?"
