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“Nyx couldn’t see it.” I don’t know why I said that. Maybe it would make him feel better. To prove it was only me, and maybe if I promised to not to show anyone how to get here, they would let us go.

“So, it’s just you who is the problem?” he asked, dropping his voice and side-eyeing me as we fell behind the rest.

I swallowed—hard. Had I screwed up?

Jaxus nodded the group forward and spent the rest of the short journey in silence.

We passed through a small village nestled in the cove, with most of the buildings bordering the water. They were all raised off the ground on stilts, like the lake was prone to flooding. It made me wonder why they didn’t build them farther back. There were raised gangplanks connecting the buildings, too, built over the sand. I had so many questions about this place, but I held my tongue.I didn’t want to open myself up to give away any more information.

We reached a large tent, and as we passed through the doorway, I felt a wash of magic pass over us. Nyx suddenly shifted back to his fae form.

“Nyx!” I cried, going to him.

Jaxus put his hand on my shoulder, drawing me back. “It’s okay. The magic shifted him so he can be treated more easily. Just let them settle him.”

I watched as he was lowered onto a bed and a sheet was drawn over him up to his waist.

All but the healer took their leave, and I went to Nyx’s side.

The tent was sweltering inside, making me instantly overheated. I pulled at my shirt. “Why is it so hot?”

The healer bent to listen to Nyx’s chest. “Heat burns out sickness. It aids our natural healing reserves. Energy begets energy. We must draw it from somewhere.” He took a jar from a drawer and rubbed a salve onto Nyx’s chest.

“What are you doing?” I asked, remembering how dangerous it was to let a stranger treat him and snapping into motion.

“My name is Emrys. I am a healer. We take an oath. Do they not have healers in your kingdoms?” When I nodded, he pulled a rope with knots fashioned into a sort of long belt hanging with his skirts into view. “Do they still wear these with their healer robes?”

I did remember seeing something like it on Kiera and others in the healer’s wing. “Yes.”

“These date from before the Twelve Kingdoms were formed, back when healers trained with priests. We still wear them. Our oaths to the Goddess to do no harm are as sacred as a priest’s vows. We are bound by those oaths in magic. If I tried to do harm, I would only hurt myself. The elders can do with you two what they will, but there will be no death at my hands.”

My ears rang. There was too much to be concerned about, and I could only focus on Nyx. “Can I ask what you’re doing so I know?” I didn’t know what comfort it would give, but I couldn’t feel helpless.

“Sure. This salve is winter root and spice berries to ease his breathing. His lungs are damaged from inhaling the Dragon’s Bane. It’s bad enough on the outside of our bodies, but inside, it can do much more damage.”

I sniffed the air, and the salve was familiar. Not exactly what I remembered from my childhood, but close enough to invoke some nostalgia.“My grandmother used to make something like that.”

He smiled. “Smart fae. You must have had a healer in your family at some point.”

“Why do you work in a tent when the other buildings in your village are stone or wood?”

“Because different materials hold in heat and magic differently. We build our healing spaces with those things in mind. There are protections to keep the magic I’m using inside the tent as well as to prevent it from affecting someone who doesn’t need it while I’m using it on someone who does.”

“Healing magic can affect other fae?”

“Of course it can, youngling. What do you think blow back is?”

I’d read about blow black, but only briefly. It was when magic backfired on the caster, but I didn’t know what caused it. “Are all healing spaces protected like this?”

“I don’t know what the other realms do, nor how other healers operate or the types of magics they use.”

“There are more types of magic?” I asked, but then I recalled the old magic Nyx had used to unblock my power. Did they use old magic here? Is that why they were hidden?

“There are many, even some long forgotten or out of popularity. Believing there is only one way to use magic is like believing there is only one way to prepare food. There are many ways to use energy. Some, I’m sure, remain undiscovered.” His explanation made sense, but it hurt my brain.

I didn’t need more to think about.

He continued to work, sometimes showing me what he was doing or the salves he used. Most of them I wasn’t familiar with, but he did take the time to explain. I knew some ingredients because we used them in our village.