Page 24 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

Still cloaked in our illusion, we stormed through the castle like nobility with a mission, no one daring to stop us.

Once we crossed the outer ward of the castle, the glamour peeled away like mist burned off by the sun.

My skin shifted, shimmered, and suddenly I wasmeagain, white-haired and leather-clad.

Tae stumbled beside me, breathing heavily.

“This way,” I said, looping my arm under his to support him. “We’re going to the Healers’ Quadrant.”

We ducked down the winding alley behind the mess hall, slipping through the east entrance just as the pain caught up with him fully.

The glamour may have vanished?—

But the wound was very, very real.

We moved quickly through the quiet moonlit grounds, slipping into the soft hush of the Yarrow Gardens, the air thick with the scent of blooming herbs and dew-drenched petals. The winding paths were lined with silverleaf trees, their branches swaying in the breeze, and medicinal flowers that would be plucked come morning.

Tae leaned heavily against me, his steps uneven, the blood on his side staining the hios tunic. I kept my arm tight around his waist, guiding him through the carved archway into the Healers’ Quadrant.

It was silent—too silent.

The stone halls echoed beneath our boots as I passed through the dim corridors. Cots were empty, lanterns extinguished. Most of the healers were asleep.

But I knew she’d hear me.

“Meri!” I called softly but urgently. “Meri, I need you.”

For a breath, there was no answer, just the drip of water somewhere in the distance.

Then soft footsteps came from down a narrow hallway, and she appeared.

Meri looked like something out of an old tale, her long red hair unbound and rippling down her back, her white nightdress glowing in the low light, bare feet padding silently across the stone. Her bright-green eyes fixed on Tae, her mouth already pressing into a concerned line.

She looked like an angel.

Without a word, she motioned for me to follow and led us down the corridor into her private chamber. We obeyed, keeping our voices low, the air thick with exhaustion and urgency.

“Here,” she said gently, gesturing to the small cot tucked near a wall lined with salves and tinctures.

Tae groaned as he sat down, and Meri knelt in front of him with quiet efficiency. Her fingers moved quickly to unbuckle the bloodied armor and peel back the leathers to reveal the wound beneath.

She hissed softly. “It isn’t deep. The blade mostly deflected off the armor. He’s lucky.”

Tae leaned back, head resting against the wall, his breath shaky.

“I need twenty minutes with him, Ashlyn,” Meri said. “Then you can take him home.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, and touched her arm.

She gave me a reassuring smile before placing her palms gently on either side of the gash.

Tae’s entire body relaxed in an instant. His eyes fluttered closed, and a low sigh escaped his lips.

“God, that is soothing,” he murmured, staring up at Meri like she’d descended from the heavens just to heal him.

She didn’t blush. Just kept working.

I slipped out the door, the scent of lavender and copper lingering in the air, and left them to the quiet magic between healer and wounded soldier.