Page 16

I nodded as she gestured for me to get back into bed. I had planned to find some clothes and leave, but she had this gentle but forceful manner that had me obeying and slipping back under the covers. A healer’s nature, I supposed.

She helped me arrange the blankets until I was settled. “I’m Kiera. I’m a healer here in the capital. You were asleep for a few hours—you had Nyx worried.” She chuckled.

Worried? It had seemed more like I had inconvenienced him by not waking sooner and making him wait.

“But we cleansed the Dragon’s Bane from your system, and you should suffer no ill effects now that you have rested. Are you hungry?”

My instinct told me I should leave and not accept anything more from these fae, whether it benefitted me or them—I had to get my bearings quickly and find out if there was a way to get myself home since I couldn’t exactly trust my deal with my kidnapper—but my stomach disagreed and responded on my behalf.

Kiera smiled again. “That’s a good sign. I brought you some stew and bread,” she said, lifting the tray and placing it on my lap. “It’s nothing special, but the cook is used to feeding these hungry brutes, so it’s hearty and will give you strength.”

It smelled wonderful, but I knew it wouldn’t give me strength. The evenings were always harder with my condition. Although I felt well, considering the situation. Perhaps after sleeping through the day, I was well rested where I was usually exhausted by the evening meal.

“Thank you,” I managed, realizing I was virtually mute. I had to try to assert myself. Own my weaknesses and show my strengths where I could, otherwise these fae would see me as an easy target. And if I had an attack, as I was prone to do at night, I would need a healer without my mother to tend to me.

“I have a condition,” I admitted. “I suffer from weakness, and I have breathing attacks, especially at night. They come with fevers and sometimes uncontrollable shaking.”

Kiera’s eyebrows drew together. “Hmm. Have you had this for long?”

“All my life,” I told her, eyeing the stew. My stomach grumbled again in longing at the sight.

“Eat,” Kiera insisted, nudging the tray. “You need it. You can tell me all about yourself while you do. So, this condition… Does it have a name?”

“Not that I know of. The healer just called it a condition.” I took a spoonful of the stew and groaned; it was divine. More flavorful that anything I was used to from our limited stores. There were chunks of meat, many vegetables, and the flavor was so rich. If we had meat at the compound at all, they stretched it among so many, you were lucky to get one or two pieces. This stew was bursting with it.

“And they didn’t know the cause?”

I shook my head, finishing my mouthful. “No. They just helped me manage the worst of the attacks. There was a tea that sometimes helped with the breathing and the fever, but if the shaking came on, all they could do was tend me until it passed.”

“Were there no other healers nearby who could identify it?”

“Our community is very remote. We never mix with outsiders at all.” I paused my spoon, realizing this healer obviously knew little about where I was from. I wondered if she even knew the dragon had taken me against my will and that my community was… “It was remote, I mean. It has been destroyed now.”

Kiera offered a sympathetic frown, telling me she knew something of what had happened. She reached for my arm, squeezing reassuringly, and I could have cried from the gesture alone. I did not know this fae, but for her to offer me, a stranger, comfort not as my healer, but as an equal who sympathized with my plight… It was much needed.

“I know you have been through a lot, Zaria, and you have much to overcome. My job is to get you well so I can help you face it strong. Okay?”

I nodded, going back to my stew before emotions took hold.

“So, you had a healer in your community who did not know what ailed you but couldn’t consult other healers to gain insight?” she prompted, urging me to continue.

“Yes. She was old and had lived with the Sisters for many years. She did her best, but her abilities were limited. As were our supplies. So, she was not always able to do more than offer comfort.”

“Well, if she had not been in contact with other healers for many years, she would not know how our methods have improved. We know much now that we did not know a generation ago. I wonder if I can identify your condition and help you.”She worded it as though it was merely amusing, but her tone told me she was confident she could.

“If the Goddess wills it,” I said, immediately feeling strange saying such a thing in this new world I was so unfamiliar with. My parents had always warned of the sins of the rest of the kingdoms. Especially the capital. Did the fae here even recognize the Goddess?

Kiera smiled. “Our work is always in service and reverence to the Goddess, Zaria. Her will is our purpose. It will be my honor to use the gifts she has bestowed upon me to improve your health and strength.”

This fae was kind, there was no denying it. Her warmth poured from her in every word and gesture. I didn’t want to trust anyone in this place, but I knew she was someone I could place my trust in.

“Tell me about your condition. What triggers it?”

“The herbs. I can’t be near them without a breathing attack coming on. But even if I stay away from them entirely, I still have the weakness.”

“All the time, or does it come and go?”

“It comes and goes. If I am well rested, I have energy and can do chores that don’t involve working in the fields. Then in the evening, I weaken. The work takes its toll on me, and I get exhausted. I usually can’t take part in anything after the evening meal and take to my bed. If I’m lucky, I wake in the morning feeling better and have a good day. But if I have an attack in the night, sometimes it takes a day or two to return to full strength.”