Page 31 of Tino

“Breakfast!” Xari’s cheery voice filled our cabin followed by five quick knocks on our bedroom door. “Wakey wakey!”

Tino got up from the bed and opened the door, letting a way too energetic Xari inside. “Took you long enough,” he grinned as he watched me sit up in bed.

“What?”

Xari rolled his eyes and then grinned at me again. “You’ve been out for two days.” I had? “And I come bearing bad news too. Willow just told me a big meeting is starting in an hour.”

“What would she have done if Tair was still asleep?” Tino asked before I could.

Xari pulled out a spray bottle from the back of his jeans pocket. “I was to make sure he was awake, so I grabbed this.”

Tino’s eyes widened. “You’d spray him awake?”

Xari gave him aduhlook, then looked at me likecan you believe this guy?

I smiled, unable to stop myself. Xari had already helped my mood immensely. “Well,” Tino said, clapping his hands. “You brought breakfast?”

After getting dressed and relieving my bladder, we followed Xari to our front room where Niam was already eating with Silver, Wilston, and Julie.

“What’s the meeting about?” Tino asked once we were all seated.

Xari shrugged. “She didn’t say, just that it was important and everyone in the camp would be there.”

“Then let’s hurry and eat,” Niam said, offering us each a plate. I filled mine with more cakes than actual food. I wasn’t in the mood to think about health today, still too drained to do anything else than just fill my mouth. It hadn’t been easy getting dressed with my armbroken, but Tino had helped me, just like he did now as he spread butter on my bun.

After a few minutes of silence while we all filled our empty stomachs, Niam looked at me with worry. “You think you have enough magic to heal your arm before the meeting?” I shook my head. I’d only just gotten enough to be awake, I just had to deal with one arm being useless for a couple of days until I could safely heal myself. The pain disappeared then and Niam gave me a wink. “Hope that helps at least.”

I breathed easier now that no pain could be felt in any part of my body. “Thank you.”

“No problem, Mr. Healer.”

I grinned. I hadn’t let it sink in yet. I was a healer.

“We never got to test your magic!” I said as horrifying realization dawned on me. Tino never had his chance at finding his magic. I’d forced him to wait because I’d messed up.

Tino shook his head. “I needed to see what my elemental magic was to read up on it while you slept, so I trained with Wilston and Xarius yesterday. Niam, Silver, and Julie stayed here with you.”

“I missed seeing you get your magic?” My voice sounded broken, even to me, but damn it hurt not being there with him. Not experiencing it with him.

“I’m sorry, Tair. But I needed to know, and we had no idea how long you would be asleep for.”

I nodded, unable to meet his gaze. “Fire and wind?” I asked.

“Fire and wind,” he confirmed.

“Oh! Tell him your ability!” Xari exclaimed excitedly.

“You know that too?!” I knew my voice was way too indignant and I knew I wasn’t allowed to be mad. It was, after all,myfault I wasn’t there to experience it with him.

Tino gave me a sheepish grin. “I can coerce people.”

“Huh?”

“He can make people do what he wants with his mind,” Silver explained, pointing to his temple.

“You can control people?” I asked, needing this confirmed.

He nodded. “That was why Nujik answered my unspoken question, because I coerced him into telling us the truth of his powers.”