“How long did we sleep?” Zev asked, his throat still rough and dry.
“Half the day.”
Zev moaned as he pushed himself upright. His muscles were stiff and sore.
Cassiel did not comment on what had occurred last night. He was studying Dyna worriedly.
“She will wake soon,” Zev said. He went to his pack to change into clean clothing and strap on his boots.
“When?”
Zev didn’t know. It could be a day or a week. Hopefully not much longer. She had exhausted herself completely to mend him.
Cassiel’s gray eyes landed on him, examining the new scars that layered his arms and legs. “That light she invoked, that was Essence Healing?”
“Yes.”
“But you are scarred.”
Zev rubbed the chain-link imprinted on his elbow. “Essence Healing uses life-force energy to mend wounds and illness. Similar to your divine blood, but not as powerful. Nor is it a definitive cure. Dyna cannot use it to self-heal, and it does not cure disease. It reaches within the body to locate injuries and increase the body’s rate of natural repair.”
“She mentioned healing magic requires a lot of power.”
“Depending on the extent of the wound, it can drain her Essence and render her unconscious until she recovers.”
“Hence why she hasn’t awoken.”
“It would happen to my father on occasion. He was a Herb Master of Azeran’s line as well …” Zev trailed off. He had not meant to speak of him.
“From where I stand, I do not believe it was your fault,” Cassiel muttered. “You were left unchained.”
Zev inhaled a deep breath. “She told you?”
“She did.”
Zev turned away, staring down at the discolored warped tissue on his wrists. Cassiel had not demanded answers because Dyna had already given them.
“I wish she hadn’t. You despise me enough as it is.”
A slight flush colored the Prince’s face. “I do not despise you. I did not know how to define you. I have learned that people are all the same no matter where they originate. They reject and fear what does not fit in their societal conformities.”
Cassiel plucked one of his fallen feathers nestled in the grass and spun the shaft between his fingertips. “Celestials deem themselves as a pure and sacred race. They are intolerant of anything unnatural. They hated me for being half-human, and I hated them for their bigotry. I swore that I would never be like them but I—” He sighed and tossed the feather in the fire where it burst in a spark. “I have done the same to you. That was wrong.”
Zev raised his eyebrows. “Are you apologizing?”
Cassiel cleared his throat again, fidgeting with the ivory buttons on his tunic. “I am admitting failure in my conduct.”
Zev smirked, running a hand through his matted hair. That may be as close to an apology as he would get. “I should not have kept my condition from you. It’s difficult to speak about.”
“I understand that more than most. But if you had kept it from me last night, and I had not followed you into the woods, Dyna surely would have been killed.”
Zev flinched.
“Do you not remember?”
“I have no memories when the Other overtakes me.”
“You were determined to kill us.” The wind blew against them, drifting Cassiel’s scent toward Zev. It was subtle, but the Prince smelled like Dyna.
