Kamira took a deep breath beside him. “It just doesn’t make any sense. Have you heard of any Sorcerer in all of our history being able to do something like what that Sorceress has supposedly done to you?”
Doraan bit his lip in annoyance. She still didn’t believe him. She was so dead set on Sorcerers being unable to perform certain acts. But what did anyone really know about Sorcerers? Had the Ungifted ever truly known the extent of their powers? It was highly unlikely. Did the Sorcerers even know the limits of their own gifts? If they were smart, they would have never shown their full set of skills to the Ungifted.
“The history books don’t know everything, Kamira. Different ones say different things. There is no exact knowledge of anything.” He moved himself up, wanting to get off the hard floor when a sudden sharp pain so intense he was certain he’d been struck by lightning shot through his leg and all the way up to his lower back. He yelped, wincing as he lowered himself back down. He had sat for too long in this position without moving, and stiffness had settled in, creating a prickling ache and stabbing pains through his lower half.
“Are you okay?” Kamira’s tone shifted from detached to worried in a split second, and she moved to her knees, hovering beside him.
“Fine,” he ground out as spasms moved through his muscles.
“Does it hurt you often?” she asked, leaning over him and trying to get a glimpse of the stump of his missing limb.
“It comes and goes, but the further north we get the more it aches.”
She furrowed her brow and cupped her chin in thought. “It’s the drastic drop in temperature. It causes sudden changes in the body as you adjust to the new atmosphere putting pressure on those nerves around the injury.”
“Is there anything you don’t know?” He half grunted, half laughed. Honestly, this woman seemed to have an answer for just about everything. He could ask her why there were fish in the sea and she could tell him the exact reason for it.
Surprisingly, she huffed a laugh in return. “There are many things I don’t know, but I told you my mother was a healer. I learned a lot by watching and listening to her while she worked.”
“Well, I hope my body acclimates soon. I don’t think I’ve slept in two days because of the constant, gnawing pain.”
“I can help with that. Well, with the pain. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can make you sleep.”
He smirked, happy she was coming back to the helpful and cheery person he had known these past weeks. He knew that she still wasn’t pleased with his words, but it seemed like she did understand why he felt the way he did, and that’s all he could really ask for. Even so, doubt and fear crept into his mind like fog climbing its way up a mountain. If they succeeded, what would become of him? Would he be able to go home and ascend the throne? Would he be able to finish what his father started? In his eyes, this quest to break the curse was like killing two birds with one stone. Not only would they hopefully be able to shatter the curse, but he would know where a large remainder of the Sorcerers lived. If Kamira learned of his double motivation for finding the Temple, there was no way she would help him. It was a secret that he wouldn’t even tell Cormac.
But that was all based on the slim chance that Kamira was actually able to find the Brothers and that they actually knew where the Temple was. He was stressing over hypotheticals. Nothing was discovered yet, and he wouldn’t sit here and get his hopes up just for them to be crushed into a millions pieces once again.
Right now, he hoped Kamira could help with his pain. “How?” he finally asked, looking at her incredulously.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” Kamira stood and reached out a hand to help him. “You’ll be more comfortable on the bed.”
He nodded, reaching and clasping wrists with her as they pulled against one another until she was able to yank him up to balance on one leg. He instantly regretted it as the room spun around him and his stomach roiled. He stumbled, placing a hand on the trunk beside him to steady himself.
“Can you make it to the bed okay?” Kamira asked, still holding onto his wrist.
“I’ll be alright. Go ahead and get what you need.”
Kamira sprinted from the room. He quickly hopped to his bed, and fell onto it with a heavy sigh of relief. Why had he drank so much? The sight of all those lights headed straight for his home had sent him into a panic, and all he could think to do was drink the thoughts away. Drink until he forgot about the ships, until he forgot about everything and passed out until it was all over.
It had been a very long time since he was a part of the Aksahri council— offering input and listening to conflicts—but when he sat beside his father, learning what it was to be ruler of the realm, they never seemed concerned with an uprising. No one had ever brought up a concern of war. There had only been talk of units in the Aksahrian guard being sent to keep the peace throughout the realm. Maybe they knew of the King in the North and had been preparing. It was entirely possible that these past ten years, his father had been preparing for a moment like this, and he hadn’t allowed Doraan to see it. From what he saw during his short visit, not much had changed, and there was definitely not a fleet of ships in their harbor as large as what was coming for them.
Doraan groaned, pressing the palms of his hands into his tired eyes. He couldn’t think about all this now. There was nothing he could physically do. His main focus needed to be breaking the curse, and that was enough to worry about for now.
“Alright,” Kamira said as she walked briskly back into the room.
Doraan sat up on the bed, propping himself against the wall.
“Are you ready?” She had a bowl in her hands with a thick green substance inside.
He cringed, pointing to the paste. “Not if it involves that.”
Kamira rolled her eyes at him. “Trust me, it will be worth it. You’ll be thanking me after.”
He glared at her before conceding. “Fine, but if my leg turns green because of that stuff, I’m throwing you overboard.”
Doraan smirked at her, his smile spreading into a gleeful grin when she graced him with another annoyed eye roll before sitting at the foot of the bed. That same lightness that seemed to settle over him every time Kamira was near enveloped him in a warm embrace that chased away the dark thoughts that plagued him. Doraan sank further against the wall behind him, finally relaxed and at peace enough to fall asleep for the first time in two days.
18
