Eres physically shoves the prince aside before addressing me. To my surprise, he allows it. “Lay back down, Lyra. I need to check your stomach and hands. Kae, you need to leave.”
That doesn’t go down well. The shadows grow and swell further until the prince is surrounded by them. “I’m not going anywhere. Nythen has called a full Council session, and my mother is attending. The Lightbringer is required.”
Disgust drips from his words, his mouth twisting as if he tastes something vile. The prince studies me as if I’m something he’s trodden in. “I’ve been sent to deliver it.”
“Well,she’snot well enough to attend.”
“Then patch it up.”
“I have,” Eres snaps. “But my erevas is limited on her.”
Duskbane only shrugs. “Not our problem. It doesn’t look like it’s dying now. That’s good enough for me.”
It.
I press my lips together and focus on Eres, since he seems to at least be some sort of ally. He offers me a brief smile, his hand gentle as it presses against my shoulder. “Lay down, please. Can I take a look?”
My eyes shift past him, to silver depths and derision. Kaelen Duskbane doesn’t look away, his glare threatening to burn another hole in my body.
I shrug silently.
“Turn around.” Eres addresses Duskbane over my shoulder. “If you insist on staying, give her some privacy.”
I watch his mouth drop open. “Excuse me?”
“Kaelen, so help me—”
“Fine.” He hisses it, irritation showing in every movement as he turns to face the wall, folding his arms. “Bare minimum, Eres. We have to go.”
I turn my head to the other side of the bed.
Darian stands against the wall, his clothes back in place. My eyes take in the shadows carved into his skin. He stands silently, amethyst eyes glittering as he stares at Duskbane’s back. He’s leaner than the prince, taller than Eres. His gaze shifts as if he can feel me watching, and he offers me a tight-lipped smile before addressing Eres. “If I’m not needed, I’ll go and meet you at Council. Maybe I can stall them.”
Eres nods. “Thanks for your help.”
The silence that emanates from the other side of the room when the battered door slams once more feels like a physical chill against my skin.
Eres peels back the coverlet, his hands hovering without actually touching me. I follow his gaze to my stomach, sucking in a breath.
The shadows look as though they’re bound, or sewn, into my skin. Dark threads form a lattice effect, criss-crossing across my stomach in a strange sort of dressing. Craning my head, I attempt to get a closer look. I’ve never seen anything like it before.
“Whatever stabbed you, they twisted it,” Eres explains quietly. “It tore some of your insides. I was able to use my erevas to builda shield around the damaged parts to protect them while you heal, but you’ll be sore for a while.”
Frowning, I attempt to follow. “Erevas?”
He holds up his hand. A small dark shadow flickers to life, hovering in the centre of his palm like a flame before he snaps his hand closed and it vanishes. “Erevas is what we call it. The equivalent would be your luminth.”
Nodding, I attempt to call some of my own, testing to see if the effects of the darts have worn off. The resulting burn pulls a cry from my throat, and Eres’s hand wraps around my wrist. “Stop. You’ll only hurt yourself.”
But I’m staring at my bandaged hands. The cloth covers most of my palm and halfway up my fingers to just below my knuckles. And above them…my fingers are thewrong color. Almost blue, darker still at the tips. “Is it… permanent? This damage?”
I’m not feigning the trembling in my voice when I look to Eres for an answer.
“I don’t know yet.” The words are gentle. He’s still holding my wrist. “It’s possible. There’s a lot that I can try before we reach that conclusion. But the stakes went through your hands, Lyra, and then there’s the frostnip. There is a lot of damage. Our gifts are different enough that there may be limitations to what I can do.”
Permanentis not a word that I’m used to hearing when it comes to pain, or scars. I’m familiar with pain—more than familiar, enough that it rarely scares me anymore. I’ve seen much worse than this painted across my body.
But it’s never beenpermanent.
