My heart jolts—partially because of Alys’s words, partially because of the delivery of them. Signing publicly is dangerous, but I suppose since the child is a Waterweaver, they’re in the same boat.
Jacinta’s eyes widen. She shakes her head sharply, sending her wild brown hair flying every which way. “I haven’t used any magic! Certainly not dark magic. I swear by all the gods!”
Ava steps in, calm as ever. “No one is accusingyouof using magic. At least not willingly.”
Jacinta waves her hands around, uttering too much at once for me to catch. Tears stream down her face as she looks back and forth between Nuala and Ava. With a gentle hand on the woman’s shoulder, Ava leads her out of the room. It gives Alys a chance to work without the extra distraction.
I’m entranced by her healing light and the serene, focused look on her face. It’s fascinating. Slowly, Nuala stops trembling.
When Alys’s gaze settles on us, I sign, “Will she be alright? What dark magic do you sense?”
“I’m not sure, but the child has magic of her own.”
“Waterweaving,” Tiernan says.
“Ah.” Alys glances briefly at Nuala. “It will be extremely difficult to heal her of whatever dark magic is inflicting her body. I’m not certain if it’s even possible to fully cure her. Especially in so little time. It feels very similar to the poison I battled.”
“What if this is the work of Purists?” I silently motion. “Osheen may know something. Unfortunately.”
Tiernan swears, likely under his breath.
I volunteer to collect Osheen rather than risk Tiernan giving in to his harsh feelings toward the betrayer. As I step out of the cozy house and into the blustery night air, I gain everyone’s attention. Osheen’s blue gaze focuses on me, sadness and regret aging him. Without a word, I wave him over, and though he seems surprised, he doesn’t question me.
When he’s standing close, I fight the urge to step away. The coolness of my shadows prickles my fingertips, but I control myself as well as the urge to shake him. “You’re needed inside,” I say.
Without another word, I open the door and step inside. Alys is still crouched, watching the rise and fall of the blankets over Nuala’s chest.
“What exactly do you know about that cure against magic you mentioned?” I ask Osheen. “The Poison? Can you tell Alys a bit more about it?”
He frowns in confusion. “The Cleanse?”
I shrug my shoulder and gesture to Alys, perhaps a little sharper than I mean to. My muscles are tense, as if merely being in Osheen’s presence is changing my body’s harmony.
Tiernan’s arm wraps around my upper back, his hand squeezing my shoulder. I will my muscles to unclench as I watch the fluent words on Osheen’s hands. “It’s been given to Wielders mainly, I believe. But that’s only for those who want to get rid of their magic. They have a poison that targets magical blood. It’s more potent—a few rare herbs imbued with what sounds like old dark magic. Like from that book of fairytales Durvla used to love so much.” He glances sidelong at me before his eyes shift back to Alys.
He’s heard me read that book to Taig countless times. He used to playfully tease me for my love of those stories. It’s difficult to believe so much of it turned out to be true. A despairing laugh almost leaves my lips. Tiernan squeezes my shoulder again, his warmth keeping me from bursting into tears.
“It’s not the first time this has been attempted,” Alys motions. “Widespread poison was the first attempt at the Purge, before the violent massacres began. Too many survived the poison, so they started to use more … aggressive methods.”
Osheen flinches, as do I.
“They’re planning to fully weaponize the poison, but they’re mostly focused on the Cleanse. I’ve heard it’s gruesome. Those who take it rarely survive, but they don’t care about the casualties.”
Gods …
“It could be the weaponized poison, but I’m not sure how they’ve been testing it.”
As much as I hate to admit it, Osheen’s knowledge on this journey is indeed useful.
Alys glances at Nuala then runs her hand over her salt-and-pepper hair. “Thank you, Osheen. The poison seems likely. I sense magic within her, but it’s tainted.”
Tiernan releases me to sign. “If I help with the healing, can we reverse the effects so that she’s at least stable long enough for a rescue? We can send word to the Verge now and, in the meantime, heal her as best as we can. Maybe we can leave them with a few tonics to keep the fever down and the pain at bay.”
Alys nods in agreement. “We can try.”
Tiernan turns to Osheen before signing a tad too forcefully. “Have one of the others send word to Dayfyd. Sloan has done rescue missions before; they know what to do.”
Osheen nods and gets out of the house quickly. The door hardly has time to close before the child’s mother steps into the room, a tray of teacups in her hand. Ava walks behind her with a steaming kettle.
