“You’re right, something is wrong with him. Sarai… I think you might be a healer.” Celina’s voice hit him with the full force of that tree branch.
Pain, buried deep for years, erupted from the hidden mines of his soul and gutted him from within.
You’re a healer, Avery! This is wonderful!his mother’s excited voice exclaimed. Laughter and high-pitched cries of joy pierced his mind, pictures of his mother dancing with Avery around the kitchen, celebrating the discovery of her magic.
“What? How?” Sarai’s worried eyes snapped to Morgan, who looked only slightly less surprised than his soul-daughter.
Rodric absently rubbed his thumb over the fingers on his left hand, tracing the long-healed wound that had almost ruined his chance to train as a warrior. Their dog had run through, jarring him as he wielded a kitchen knife, causing red blood to soak into the freshly baked bread from his nearly severed fingers.
“Rodric!” Avery raced to him, fear draining the color from her face. Heat tingled in his skin as her small hands covered his own. A soft white glow enveloped their hands, shimmering and flickering like the flame of a fire as it wrapped around them. They both stared as his hand healed before their eyes, all his fingers becoming whole and intact again.
“Oh, stars…” Avery whispered, before looking up. Pure joy radiated from her in beautiful waves of starlight that were almost visible, reflecting in the morning light.
Theirstarburst, his mother had always called her. Though he had the same dark hair and eyes that distinguished their family line, his sister Avery had been born with white-gold hair and bright hazel-green eyes. She was a beautiful flare of light in the sea of dark colors common to their people. It had always worried him, the way she stood out, but that was nothing compared to his overwhelming fear at the revelation of her magic.
Staggering backward, he found the wall and gave it all his weight as he tried to breathe. His vision wavered out of focus, imposing Avery’s image over the young girl before him.
“Sarai, I think you were helping him all this time, keeping his symptoms at bay without even realizing it. When they separated you, and he stopped receiving that healing energy, an infection set in,” Celina said.
“But… I’m not a healer. I was caught for dream walking.” Sarai’s ears turned red in a deep blush as she described how her magic had initially been discovered. She swallowed hard. “I can’t have more than one magic ability, can I?”
“It’s true that people usually only have onetypeof magic. But they might have multiple abilities within that same category. Dream walking and healing are both potential abilities of someone withSpirit Magic.It is possible you havebothabilities. Your healing magic didn’t have a reason to develop until Aiden needed your help, so it stayed dormant. Dream walking is quite rare, and usually a smaller talent. I think healing is actually your core ability.”
Understanding dawned on Morgan’s face, and he grinned like a proud guardian. Sarai sat stunned, her lips parted slightly in shock. Celina smiled at them both before turning to look at him, deep concern transforming her beautiful face as she assessed him. She was right to worry.
Jagged pieces of grief tore through Rodric as he tried to swallow, eyes burning. Fear and heartache over finding Brenna missing swirled, mixing with the old pain to ravage him.
No.He shook his head as Celina began to reach for him. Needing her, yet not ready for her.Not here, not now.He flattened his hand against the wall and pushed his feelings down and out with every breath of air, repeating the words in his mind.Not here, not now.
Unable to look at Sarai, whose hazel eyes were shining with a familiar joy, he focused on Celina. Auburn hair weaved tightly against her head. Back strong and straight as she sat near the bed, hand settled comfortingly on the sick boy’s arm. Slowly his vision settled, along with his heart, as he listened to Celina’s voice explaining the universe of magic to the new healer.
“There are different types of healers. Some can mend bones, knit skin, and fix injuries. Others can heal infections or other natural illnesses or inflammation. A very rare few, like me, interact with someone’s lifeforce and strengthen the body’s natural healing abilities. There’s a small chance you’re like me, but I think it’s more likely you’re able to heal infections.”
Oh, Avery.Rodric sucked in a breath, torn between fear, old pain, and morbid curiosity to know more about his sister.
Sarai nodded, thoughts chasing across her face as she processed the news. “How do we do we help him? I don’t care what I am as long as I can help him.”
“Believe me, I understand.” There was a wisp of memory in Celina’s voice as she spoke, the slight extra weight of emotion deepening her natural tone. “Once we start, I need you to doexactlywhat I tell you. Healing can be very dangerous, because we use our own lifeforce to power the healing magic we send to our patient. That’s partly why healers often work in tandem—so that no one burns out.”
Emotion reared again, making Rodric’s heart jerk in his chest. Celina’s worried eyes found his again, and the sparkling blue of the Eldrin ocean washed over him in soothing waves, until his heart calmed and settled into a normal rhythm. With great effort, he banished his memories back into the hidden traps he had built to keep them safe from the world and locked them tightly.
For the moment, he forced his mind to focus closely on the people in the room, letting them anchor him to the present, banishing Avery’s sad smile, her blood-drenched hands.
Morgan squeezed Sarai’s shoulder, drawing her full attention. Rodric could see the worry in the slight dip of his eyebrows and hear it in his solemn tone, could tell that he knew. Knew the dangers, the risks, of letting magic run wild. Rodric wanted to yell at him to stop the process, to not let Sarai use this magic, to protect her from it, but his voice was still frozen in his throat.
Balancing on the balls of his feet, the warrior spoke confidently to his soul-daughter. “You’re going to do great, starshine. Just promise me you’ll listen to Celina. I know how much you want to save him, but I don’t want to lose you too. Your life is just as important.” He touched her face, tucking her long hair behind her ear. Tears shimmered in her eyes but didn’t drop. “No solo charging once you get in there. WorkwithCelina and don’t overdo it. Promise me, Sarai. Or I will toss you over my shoulder and haul you out of here quick as a falcon flies.” Morgan smiled slightly and winked at her. “You know I can.”
Sarai’s light laugh bubbled through the room, breaking the tension, and she wiped her eyes, smiling at some shared memory. “Okay.” She took a deep breath and nodded. “I promise.”
“Good girl.” Morgan pulled her close and kissed the top of her head before stepping back to give them room to work.
Nodding his permission for Celina to take over, Morgan settled next to Rodric against the wall. Concern strained his muscles and stiffened his stance slightly, but his energy remained calm and confident. This was a lesson Rodric wasn’t ready for—watching Morgan guide his soul-daughter as she prepared to take the step off the precipice into the dangerous wild that was magic. How could he ever support Brenna in pursuing something that could kill her?
Sarai settled comfortably on the bed next to the unconscious boy, legs crossed under her, and made eye contact with Morgan one more time. Whatever she saw made the last hint of anxiety vanish. Relaxing her shoulders, she sat up tall and straight and looked at Celina.
A very serious young woman filled with purpose took the place of the scared girl from moments before. The gleam in her eyes was so much like Brenna’s when she was stubbornly focused on something that Rodric had to close his eyes briefly to steady himself.
Encouragement and confidence rang through Celina’s words as she gave Sarai a quick lesson on the basics of healing, preparing the girl for what they would attempt. “Magic—healing—is as natural as breathing. Those instincts will always guide you. It may take us a few sessions, but we’ll be able to save him.”
