Page 105 of Journey to the Elderoak
Brown curls appeared as his head peeked out from his office. “I’m right here. What happened?”
He rose and gestured for the guards to lay Casimir on a bed. His animal companion—a beautiful deer named Ivy—headed straight for Casimir and hopped onto the bed, nestling in between his legs.
The guards left and Ava paced as Kai examined him. Raine stood back, watching her with concern.
“Well? Fix him,” she snarled at Kai.
“Whoa,” said Raine as he reached for her shoulder, trying to calm her.
Fury boiled over and she turned, pointing her finger in his face. “Don’t touch me.”
“He’s going to be fine,” Kai assured her. He paused, evaluating her. “Ava…you’re…you did it.” He gave her a broad smile.
“I need everyone to stop saying that and fix him!”
Kai tried to hide his amusement. “I am. Okay, I’m sorry. I won’t speak anymore.”
He bustled about in his robes, gathering supplies to extract the poison and help with the pain. Ava couldn’t stop pacing, feeling like she was going to crawl out of her skin. Raine cautiously drew closer.
“Ava,” he whispered, reaching for her tentatively like someone would approach a dangerous animal. “Take a deep breath…your magic…you’re going to lose control…”
She froze and looked at him in confusion. He gestured to her feet. Flowers bloomed where she had been pacing and vines were twisting across the floor.
“I don’t know how to stop it,” she whispered, hands trembling.
He crept closer while Kai worked feverishly. “May I touch you?”
She took a deep breath and nodded. He stood next to her and rubbed her back. “Focus on breathing right now. Casimir is safe. I promise this is not a life-threatening injury. He’s had much worse, as you’ve seen before. Breathe in and out and imagine a light outside of you. Close your eyes.” She did as he instructed. “There you go. Now visualize the light being pulled back into you. Deep down inside your belly where your magic sleeps. Keep pulling. That’s it. A little more. Good.”
Visualizing the light, the warmth of magic coursed through her and ceased. It didn’t feel out of control anymore. Her trembling stopped and she opened her eyes, relieved the vines and flowers had disappeared.
“What’s happening to me?”
Raine shared a look with Kai before responding, “Remember how Cas freaked out the other day in the meeting? About you?”
“I was about to do that?”
“Yes.”
Sighing, she walked over to Casimir and sat in a chair next to the bed, pulling it close and taking his hand in hers.
Kai looked at Ava from the other side of the bed. “He’ll be fine. This poison is similar to when your leg was bitten, just stronger.”
“I’m going to get the others, if that’s okay. They need to know what happened,” Raine said.
“Yeah,” she said.
He left the infirmary. The room was empty save for the three of them, no other patients to attend to today.
“How do you feel?” asked Kai, suturing one of the wounds on Casimir’s shoulder.
He had removed Casimir’s shirt and Ava winced as she saw how deep the punctures were from the mandibles of the creature.
“Weird,” she answered. “Stronger. And angrier. I can smell and hear things I never could before. It’s overwhelming.”
“It will take some time, but you’ll get used to it. I promise,” he said. “I’m so proud of you, by the way.” He reached across and squeezed her shoulder. “You’ve come a long way since I first met you.”
Memories flashed through her mind. When she’d met Kai, she was battered and bruised. Covered in injuries from her torture and being bitten on the leg by one of Deidamia’s horrific monsters. Kai had shown her compassion as he healed her, providing reassurance in a place when she’d felt scared and alone. It was the first time she’d felt safe in weeks.
