Page 51 of Interion

“Did someone fall out of bed today?” he asked.

“Fall is an understatement—I practically crashed to the floor.”

I smiled, hugging the doctor and planting a loud kiss on his cheek. Unlike Adele, who smelled of mint cigarillos, he smelled of herbs—a sweet, woody aroma that was distinctly Ambrose. He loved those cigarillos.

“Don't waste time—go put yourself out of your misery, girl! I already know the result, but I'd rather you see it for yourself.”

Ambrose waved his hands as if shooing me away. But before I left, I took a closer look at my friend. He had dark circles under his blue eyes and looked exhausted. Ambrose had dark brown, straight hair, always meticulously neat—a trait of mixed ancestry he swore he knew nothing about. He was tall with a lean, unmuscled frame from spending his days idle in the hospital.

“The sun just came up and you're already smoking. Rough week?” I asked, pausing at the door. He looked at me, each blink slow and lazy.

“Long story.” He shooed me away again with his right hand.

“I have time to listen,” I insisted, while Ambrose took one last drag of his herbal cigarette.

“In short, the patient in 068 has been giving us trouble. His injuries aren’t improving, and he’s stuck in this state between life and death.” He stubbed out the cigarette and tossed the rest in the trash, gesturing around. “I’m out here because Serguei is probing his mind for useful information. On top of that, early this morning some victims of a wolf attack—or whatever it was, since it happened outside the wall—died on the operating table. And to cap it all off, Lorenzo and I had a fight last night. So yes! The week has been abysmal.”

“Serguei?” I couldn’t register much after he uttered the name everyone avoided speaking. Serguei was in there? The king’s psychic, the most feared man in the nation—and one of my own people. I stifled a shudder, but Ambrose seemed to notice my discomfort.

“Don’t be afraid—he came strictly to observe the patient. He’s barely looked at or spoken to anyone since he arrived half an hour ago.”

The man didn’t need to look or speak to cause damage, and even though he was here only for work, I was still apprehensive. People told stories about Serguei, and none of them were about heroic deeds. In fact, they were the kind of stories that gave children nightmares. After Ravena, his wife, betrayed Interion, he was forced to kill her in the tunnels beneath the city, but reports claim that alongside his wife’s corpse, he also left his soul rotting in the darkness. They say the man who emerged from those tunnels was pure insanity and pain. Serguei, consumed by grief, unleashed a wave of carnage that decimated 5% of the population. This destabilized the economy and left hundreds of families in mourning, which is why all citizens of Interion knew and feared the man. No one was stupid enough to get in his way.

“Did he discover anything about the patient?” I asked, trying to shake off those terrifying thoughts.

“We know it’s an unprecedented psychological condition. He’s trying to enter his mind, but hasn’t been able to yet.”

Another shudder ran through me, and Ambrose placed his hands on my shoulders.

“Stay calm. Just don’t get in his way, and he’ll ignore you like he did everyone else.”

I didn’t believe it, but I nodded, eager to go find out my grade. We went through the entrance and walked down the corridors with Ambrose telling me how anxious he was for the day of my Sonar test, since he and Lorenzo thought my gift would score higher than 900. I laughed at how incredibly high they were betting on me. I didn’t believe for a moment it would be that high—my healing abilities were only good because I’d developed them since childhood.

When I finally reached the cafeteria, I saw it was packed with nurses squeezing and bumping into each other to see the grades. The bulletin board had become almost invisible behind them. I stood there, considering coming back later, but I was too curious about my grade.

“I can tell you,” Ambrose offered from beside me, also dismayed by the commotion.

“No, I want to see it with my own eyes—it’s an important moment. I want to savor it, whether it’s good or bad,” I replied, planning how I’d get in there.

“Good luck, then,” he encouraged me, making a chivalrous gesture toward the bulletin board, the path to which was swarming with people.

I ventured among the nurses and human medical residents. This year, only Adele and I were healing residents, and each year the number of elmedics decreased, since Drutes—the nation with the most healers—had been banned from society. Now, we had to hope the gift would randomly appear in other nations, or we’d end up extinct. I started cutting through the crowd and could only think this was insane. It felt like a fight for territory. They stepped on my feet, bumped into my back, but in the end, there I was between the bulletin board and the mob of crazies. It wasn’t hard to find my name on the wall—it was on a sheet with only two names.

Kyller Voluz: 9

Adelevik Ivanov: 10

I looked toward the door, and Ambrose was smiling broadly at me. I raised my arm, waving euphorically, and ended up hitting a resident nurse on the head—she shot me a furious look. Now I understood the commotion at the bulletin board; it was news too good not to celebrate. I made my way back to the elmedic.

“Oh, by the gods! I passed the test with an excellent grade, Ambrose!” I shouted happily, bouncing toward him.

“Congratulations, my girl! Welcome to the surgical team. Starting next month, you’ll be able to lead some surgeries.”

“Oh, Ambrose, I’m so happy! Now I just need the Sonar evaluation and the physical test at the military academy. Then I’ll be able to practice as an officially qualified elmedic.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it’s right here. We’ve already talked to the hospital director, and we discussed how three elmedics just aren’t enough. Apparently, they’re going to add one more position this year.”

I clapped my hands in joy—I was so happy I could barely contain myself. Throughout the entire morning at the hospital, I kept smiling like an idiot at the glimpse of a new future stretching out before me.