I snorted, then laughed.
Baldy stood, sputtering something about how atrocious the weather was lately. I ignored him, dismissing him with a wave of my hand before I followed Skye into the…buildingMarion stayed in.
Once inside, there was barely enough room for the three of us to stand, it was so small.
“Your Royal Highness,” Marion Holmes looked stunned, then she dropped into a deep curtsy. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Marion,” I said lightly. “Why are the Healers being kept in such a tiny room? Are you all just taking turns sleeping?”
“I…” Marion’s blue eyes flicked over to Skye a bit curiously before looking back to me.
“This is my Key,” I explained. Marion glanced at Skye again, her eyebrows raised slightly, but then she cleared her throat. “I am the only Healer here.”
Skye had been taking in every detail of the tiny space with hersharp, silver gaze, and when Marion spoke, she spun around to look at me in shock.
“I see,” I said quietly, looking around the smallroom, if it could be called that. There was a small cot in one corner, and a luggage rack with a small suitcase of her belongings. I looked away from it quickly when I saw how messy it was. An older woman like Marion would be humiliated if I saw her dirty clothes.
“We’re sorry to barge in on you this way,” Skye said. “We didn’t realize…whatisthis room?” Her voice was somehow both gentle and authoritative, and Marion straightened up slightly. She’d been plenty deferential toward me, but her attitude toward Skye was unexpected. She wasn’t sure who she was, but Skye’s tone alone was enough to make Marion sit up, which is how the bald fuck outside should’ve responded.
“This is the resting place they gave me,” Marion said. “This was a commune, they didn’t have much to spare.”
Skye’s silver gaze flashed toward me, a barely perceptible anger burning there. “There wasn’t a larger tent made available to you?” she asked.
“No,” Marion said slowly, looking to me again.
“That’s unacceptable,” Skye said to me.
“I’ll fix it,” I said, looking to Marion. “What else do you need?”
“Help?” Marion replied slowly, then cleared her throat. “The Palace told me there were no other Healers available. They believed my skill was enough to handle the load, but I’m not as young as I once was.” Her face fell.
“Unacceptable,” Skye said again, this time under her breath.
I agreed, reaching out to Wyatt in my mind.Is Zephyr willing to help you heal some of these survivors? Marion is ragged.
Wyatt was silent for several seconds, and Skye looked at me with worry. Finally, he came back, replying firmly,He’ll help. Show us where to start.
Marion was watching Skye a little too closely. She looked between us, realizing we must have been speaking telepathically, but she didn’t dare call either of us out.
“The Prince has brought his personal Healers to assist,” Skye said. “They’re at the front gates. Is there anything else going on here you’d like to tell us?”
Marion fiddled with the hem of her shirt. “The people here are superstitious. Do not interrupt their prayers.”
Aiden metus outside the shed, having been called by Skye.
“This place is nuts,” he whispered, even though no one was around. “What are the odds a little commune gets wiped out with a random tsunami?”
“Yes, whatarethe odds?” Skye murmured.
The three of us made our way through the camp, and I heard more than one person murmuring about whether or not Aiden and Skye were members of my Chain.
I almost cringed.
My mother would have a fit if she was the last to meet my Link-mates and Skye.
Oh, well.Her fits were becoming more frequent, anyway. Her only affinity was telepathy, and she was already pretty old for a Telepath. It was a shame the old myth about fully connected Chains never getting sick wasn’t true, otherwise my mother would’ve been safe from the inevitable madness that came with telepathy as the only affinity.
I could see Aiden and Skye slow ahead of me in my peripheral vision. The shadows would catch me if I stumbled, so my eyes had been glued to my phone.
