The healer turned around, his brown curls bouncing around the small horns at the top of his head. He knelt before her chair, holding her hand, and Ava braced herself for the news.
“He’ll live. But had you arrived just an hour later, I don’t know if he would have.”
Ava nodded through the blur of renewed tears.
“Ava,” Kai looked at her with concern. “My daughter…did you…?”
Squeezing his hand, she answered, “We found her. She’s unharmed and headed home. Jorrar’s safe too.”
Normally so calm and put together, Kai yanked her into a tight hug, his voice breaking. “Thank you. My grandchildren will have their mother back. I will have my daughter back.”
After a moment, he rose, wiping his eyes, and returned tothe bed, rummaging through herbs and tinctures in his apothecary kit. “This will help bring his fever down.” He lifted Casimir’s head and poured a vial of blue liquid down his throat as the other healer worked on Casimir’s many wounds.
Casimir coughed, then swallowed. Ava pulled his large hand into her lap, tracing the top of it with gentle strokes of her thumb.
“Ava,” her brother said, still sitting on the ottoman. “Can you tell us everything that happened? Was anyone else injured?”
“Quinn’s fine,” she answered. “You’d better confess your love for her soon.”
Thorne tensed, glancing at the others as if he didn’t want them to overhear.
“We all know, Thorne. We’ve known for years,” Kai said with amusement.
Thorne shook his head and sighed. “What else? Why are you so weakened?”
Ava pulled the blanket closer. “I think I had my great tribulation.”
“What did it feel like?”
She explained how her magic erupted, what she was able to do, and how many daemons she killed with the flick of her wrist.
Thorne’s eyes widened. He ran his hand through his hair. “You absolutely had your tribulation. How do you feel right now?”
“Exhausted. Like I could sleep for days.”
“You don’t know how to control your magic yet. How to use it slowly and gradually. Using so much too quickly is draining.”
“Could it kill me?”
“No. But if we use our magic reserves up too fast it puts us in a vulnerable position. It weakens our bodies, sometimes to the point of needing days of rest.”
What he said made sense. Ava had never been this tired in her life. The only thing keeping her awake was the fear of Casimir somehow taking a turn for the worse, or waking up without her by his side.
“There’s one more thing.” She prepared herself for what she was about to reveal.
“What?”
“Andras trapped me. I was able to get away soon after, but he had me long enough to use my blood to open a portal…”
Kai gasped. Thorne went completely still.
“I’m sorry. There were symbols already drawn in the dirt as if he was ready. His shadows held me while he cut my palm and forced me to open it. I didn’t know…I should have fought harder, should have paid more attention.” The words came spilling out. “I can’t believe I let him get a hold of me…Oh god, I’m so so sorry?—”
“Ava,” her brother interrupted. “This is not your fault.” He squeezed her knee. “I’m not angry with you. Andras is strong. Do not blame yourself. When everyone returns, we’ll discuss this. There’s nothing we can do about it at this moment. Perhaps the book will give us information about what exactly this means.”
Letting the other healer take over, Kai turned to Ava. “You must rest. You need food and then you need to sleep.”
“I don’t want to leave him.” Her eyes darted to Casimir as she squeezed his hand.
