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A knock came at the door as Maude finished dressing. The gown she wore was simple: a deep, forest-green velvet dress that hugged her curves to just below her hips and then cascaded to the floor. A long slit ran up the side of her dress, her dagger strapped to her thigh comfortably.

The top of her dress had a modest cut, the thin straps running over her shoulders hidden by the curtain of red hair that paired nicely with the green velvet.

Hanging in the wardrobe was a long, black cloak that looked remarkably similar to the cloak Aeric wore.

The inside of it was lined with silver fur to match the thin silver diadem that was also conspicuously placed on the vanity.

Maude ignored the diadem but relented her stubbornness a smidge to don the cloak. She was just finishing wrapping the cloak around her when she opened the door to find Gunnar standing proudly on his own.

Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open, and the sight of Gunnar looking remarkably healthy brought tears to her eyes. They stung with unshed emotion as she took in her escort to her father's dinner.

"You look well, my friend," Maude said as she beamed.

"All thanks to Dahlia." Gunnar motioned to the Elven woman, who hovered a few feet behind him and was dressed in a similar styled black dress as Maude's whose satin sheen gave her the appearance of spilled ink. "I refused to miss this supper on account of my being a complete invalid."

"The very idea," Maude teased as she reached for his outstretched hand.

As she got closer to her friend, the faint sheen of sweat on Gunnar's brow became visible. Clearly, this effort was costing him a lot of energy. She wove her hand through Gunnar's arm and motioned for Dahlia to make her way to Gunnar's other side.

"Gunnar, you should also escort Dahlia to dinner. What we have to discuss involves her as well," Maude hinted as she flashed her eyes from Dahlia to Gunnar again.

The Elven picked up her subtle hints and wove her hand through Gunnar's other arm. "It would be an honor."

As the trio made their way to the main hall of the palace, Gunnar marveled at the beauty of the structure. "But the moonstone, there are no seams in the walls, so it must have been carved from one large piece of stone."

Dahlia chuckled as she took in his bewildered and awed expression. "The Elven are skilled at manipulating items to become whatever shape we please."

"Does the same skill include how you heal?" Gunnar asked. He had so many questions for Dahlia— his curiosity was unending, and Maude internally thanked him for being brave enough to ask the very questions that were on the tip of her tongue but refused to fall.

"It works a little differently for everyone," Dahlia explained.

"For example, one of our healers is especially skilled in healing physical wounds.

He can influence the skin to stitch itself back together using the water in a person's blood and tissues, coaxing them to reunite or even regrow the way one would coax water to erode stone into whatever shape they please. "

Gunnar nodded his head as if he understood exactly what Dahlia was explaining.

Maude, having never been comfortable with the Kingdom of Rivers elements, tried to grasp the concept of working with the element as opposed to directing it.

Her fire responded to her heightened emotion more intensely than most, the waves of her flames cresting out of her in violent and destructive paths that leveled most of her surroundings.

Though the element of water was making itself known in her body, she didn't fully understand how the force worked.

Water was gentle— healing and smooth. Most of her experiences with water involved diving into the ocean to cool her burning skin; the soft pressure surrounding her calming her nerves better than anything else could.

The way she felt wrapped in Herrick's arms was an excellent example of how he was the perfect embodiment of water in a person.

But water could be deceptively dangerous, too. The deep currents of a river can be hidden beneath a calm indigo surface, ready to drag you away before anyone realizes that you've disappeared.

"So, how does your healing work then?" Maude asked, her need to know the answer loosening her tongue faster than any mead could. "I've watched you before— your concentration is intense, and it almost seems as if you aren't doing anything at all until a person's color changes to a healthier tone."

Dahlia glanced over to her across Gunnar, the purple in her eyes becoming a lighter lavender as they passed a lit torch in the hall.

"I work with the blood directly," she said slowly.

"Most of my skill lies in being able to identify the treatment needed for a person and stop the spread of disease or sickness in its path long enough to treat that person.

In Gunnar's case, I was able to hold the poison within the veins that were closest to the scar. "

Gods , Maude thought to herself in awe. That must be exhausting.

As if she had spoken aloud, Dahlia responded, "It can be very difficult and meticulous work.

Had Gunnar been brought to me soon after he was cut with the poisoned blade, I would have been able to pull all of the poison from his blood.

Unfortunately, he'll bear the stained black veins for the rest of his life. "

"That's okay," Gunnar chimed in as he jammed his elbow into Maude's ribs gently. "Women love a tragic injury. I'll be irresistible now."

Dahlia chuckled— a soft and feminine sound that made her think of a spring night right when the days grew longer, but the darkness still held a pleasant chill.

The Elven healer was one of the most talented healers in the kingdom; her skills were sought out by Elven and humans alike from all over the north.

When she healed, her face was focused but underneath the tension from her work, Maude could see the joy she took in her craft.

It reminded her of how she had wanted to do the same when she was a youngling .

She had told Thora that she had wanted to be a healer before she knew her position in life, how she had been crushed when she discovered healers needed an affinity for water galder .

Then, she was envious of Herrick when she found out that he could have had the opportunity to learn, thinking she would never have the ability.

Except, now she did.

"Can you teach me?" Maude asked suddenly, cutting off whatever Gunnar was about to say. "Can you teach me to heal?"

Dahlia was quiet for a moment, her shock receding slowly as she took in Maude's serious face and earnest words.

"You may not have the skill; not everyone does," Dahlia started to say slowly.

"Will you try?" she asked, her voice a whisper in the silent hall.

There was a long pause, and the only other sound was their slow footsteps. As they reached the door to the dining hall, Dahlia pulled them to a stop.

"Why do you want to do this?" Dahlia asked, any friendliness in her beautiful face gone.

Maude hesitated as she glanced at Gunnar, weighing how much she wanted to reveal. His kind, blue eyes crinkled slightly in the corners as he nodded encouragingly. She let out a long breath.

"Because all I've done is destroy. I want to learn how to do something good… I want to be good. If I can heal, maybe I'm not as wretched as I thought."

Dahlia watched her as she spoke, her body and flat features frozen like the statues of the gods in the courtyards. After what felt like a small eternity, her exterior cracked, and she smiled.

"We'll start tomorrow."

Maude grinned and released her breath as the doors to the dining hall opened. Before she could see who opened the door, she was pulled into the warmth of someone's embrace. She stiffened for a moment before desert lavender overwhelmed her.

Though the hug was slightly out of character, the spicy sweet scent of the lilac Elven wine on her breath accounting for the public display of affection, Maude squeezed her sister tightly for a second more before releasing her to admire the vision of delicate but brutal femininity Bryn cut in the darker shadows of the dining room.

Her sister wore a pale silver gown that was tight around her chest and flared out from her waist in soft waves to dance across the marble floor.

The light from the torches on the walls flickered over her pale skin, and the freckles that dotted her face and arms laid out over her flesh like constellations in the night sky.

Her hazel eyes seemed to glow, the flecks of yellow in them burning like starlight.

Behind her sister was Liv, the tall warrior dressed in black leggings, her black tunic cinched tight at her narrow waist by the leather corsets that were popular in the Kingdom of Shadows.

Together, they were a blade as ornate and beautiful as the ceremonial daggers in the weapons room at the Midnight Palace, but just as sharp and dangerous.

For a moment, soft yellow and lavender threads pulsed in and out of Maude's vision, their intricate and delicate pattern draping themselves over Bryn and Liv before they disappeared into the bright sky lights that flared above them.

Bryn seemed more at ease here than she ever had in Logi; the constraints of living under a tyrant had clearly taken their toll on her little sister all these years.

Before her stood the soft and gentle warrior from her childhood that wanted to defend her kingdom but also braid flowers into her hair.

Ulf had beaten that gentle nature out of her sister.

Not for the first time, Maude regretted that she hadn't been the one to end his miserable existence as she watched her sister slowly transform back into the person she would have been before Helvig had turned them into hateful creatures.

"I knew it; I look ridiculous," Bryn said as she watched Maude take in her appearance.