Ursa straightened, the tray balanced on one hip. "You are correct about the queen and Princess Cardilia being on edge lately. And come to think of it, the staff noticed that the queen was having more private meetings than usual, and I heard of at least two couriers arriving with confidential correspondence." She lowered her voice, though we were alone. "They insisted on handing the letters directly to the queen."
"Were they by any chance from Catonia?"
Ursa shrugged. "They wore plain clothing. But given all the brouhaha going on with the Catonian ball, I wouldn't be surprised if they were sent by King Tekumuton." Ursa's mouth curved knowingly. "If you ask for my opinion, I'd say that there's an engagement being arranged. The secrecy, the queen's agitation, and Princess Cardilia's anxiety." She tilted her head. "Maybe it is one of the younger princes of some great house, someone who has been naughty and needs to be hidden in our remote province."
30
ALAR
"The wounds that bleed can heal.
The wounds that leave no mark are the ones to fear."
—from the healers' manual
The court physician's rooms were located in the oldest part of the palace, where the walls were thick and the air was cool, which could just as well have described the old healer.
Lemil's large belly was a testament to his love of food and his dislike of physical activity, and I found it ironic that the man who insisted that my father moderate his food and alcohol consumption and maintain a rigorous training routine didn't follow his own advice.
"Prince Alar." He rose to greet me as I entered his office. "It is so good to see you home."
"Good to see you too, Healer Lemil." I shook his offered hand, noticing that his belly had shrunk a few centimeters during my absence. I chose not to remark on it in case I didn'tremember its former size correctly. "Do you have a few minutes for me?"
"Always. Please," he said, motioning at the chair in front of his desk. "Take a seat and tell me what ails you."
"I didn't come to talk about myself. I came to talk about Arlen."
The smile slid off his face. "You understand I'm forbidden to discuss the heir's condition," he said.
I arched a brow. "Even with me? My parents already filled me in on the situation, and I just spoke to Aric and Aden, who are well aware of Arlen's condition."
His round cheeks reddened. "Yes, of course. Forgive me. I didn't know where the king and queen stood regarding you. You were absent for a long time."
"I understand."
I could have been compromised, and since no one had bothered to update the healer, he had no way to know whether I could be trusted.
He let out a relieved breath. "What would you like to know?"
"Everything, but mostly I need to know how bad his soldiers' affliction is. I want to understand what's happening in his mind to make him so jumpy and terrified. Arlen is not a coward."
"It has nothing to do with bravery," Lemil said. "It is a wound, even though it is not visible. It happens to survivors who were nearly killed or were confronted with the deaths of people they cared for. Most of the afflicted recover in time because the mind is built to heal, the same way the body is. But some cases are stubborn and never recover. Their minds are stuck, reliving those moments over and over, and the affliction affects every aspect of their lives, making normal life impossible."
That was why my father had decided to ship Arlen to Tarina. They didn't think he would ever recover and live a normal life.
I could never accept that. I wouldn't. I would fight until my last breath to get his mind unstuck so he didn't have to live the rest of his life inside a nightmare.
His situation reminded me of Kailin after the Podana dream. She'd been wasting away because the threads connecting her to the animals whose minds she'd occupied had been draining her energy and she hadn't known how to sever them. Each additional prophetic dream had made it worse, and the rest and healing tonics that the healers had prescribed had only a small effect. The real cure, the thing that had restored her health, was her bond with Morgateth.
Perhaps the solution to Arlen's affliction was a bond with a dragon?
He had the same drop of Elucian blood as I did, which didn't guarantee that he had the ability to bond with dragons, but the possibility existed, and I needed to explore it.
Would my father agree to let Arlen travel to Elucia?
Would the Elucians allow him to come?
Could he join the pilgrimage in his state?
