“How’s everything going?”he asked Curran, smiling at him.
Curran rubbed his growing stomach.“Well, I feel like I swallowed a watermelon, and the heartburn is no joke, but I think that all in all, we’re doing well.”
Palmer nodded.“That’s to be expected.I can prescribe you something for the heartburn that should make it easier for you to sleep.”
“That would be great.That’s when it’s worse.”
“Well, your stomach doesn’t have a lot of space left, considering how big the egg is getting.”
“It’s almost over.”
“It is.”Palmer had studied how long a dragon pregnancy lasted.Since they laid eggs, it wasn’t nearly as long as human pregnancies, which meant that Curran would be laying his egg soon.Palmer was excited, although the feeling was slightly dampened by what was happening with Twig.
He went through all the checks, making sure that Curran and his baby were healthy.He couldn’t find anything wrong, which was a relief because he was distracted.He kept thinking about Twig and comparing his symptoms with some of the illnesses he’d found descriptions of.Several of them could fit, and he needed to order more tests.
“Is Rune on your mind?”Curran asked suddenly.
Palmer blinked at him.“I’m sorry?”
Curran gestured at Palmer’s face.“You’re distracted.Is it Rune?”
“Why should it be?No, it’s his brother, Twig.He’s not feeling well.”Palmer wouldn’t be talking about this to anyone else, but Curran was close to Killian.He probably already knew.
Sure enough, Curran nodded.“Killian mentioned something about that.Do you know what’s going on yet?”
“Unfortunately, no, and so far, I haven’t made any progress.”
“I’m sure you’ll find out.”
“I wish I had as much faith in myself as you and Twig clearly do.I don’t understand why he doesn’t want to see a dragon healer.I’m sure this would be much faster and less painful for him.”
“Maybe, but he trusts you.”
“Why?He doesn’t know me.”
Curran hesitated.Palmer’s question had been rhetorical, but now, he wondered.It seemed like Curran knew something, and maybe it was something that Palmer needed to know, too.
“I don’t know Twig’s history, but I’ve heard enough.You know what the old king forced us to do, right?”Curran eventually said.
“You mean the pregnancies?”
Curran nodded.“Yeah.I was lucky because of my brother.He’s close to Killian, and the old king didn’t want to make waves.I’m sure I would’ve been forced into pregnancy soon enough, though.”
“I thought the king didn’t force his own children into it.”
“Not as such, but he made sure that they got regular checkups to see if they were healthy and fertile.I don’t know what happened to Twig and if it’s just a general distrust of dragon healers since then, but I think that if he trusts you to do this, you should continue doing it.”
“I will.I’m just confused.I’m doing my best, but I don’t have the years of experience that dragon healers have.”
“That’s already a lot.I’m sure that if it becomes necessary, Twig will agree with whatever you decide, but you’re showing him that he can trust you by not pulling in another healer just because you’re confused.”
“I just don’t want my confusion and his fear to cause irreparable damage.”
To Palmer’s surprise, Curran reached over and squeezed his forearm.“You won’t,” Curran said, sounding like he truly believed that.“Twig trusts you, and so do I.There’s not much I can do, but I’ll try to help, too.Maybe I could talk to him?”
“I didn’t know you were friends.”
“We’re not, but in a way, we’re family.Maybe it’s time we grew closer.I don’t know a lot, obviously, but I’ll do what I can to help.”
