Page 68 of Enchanted Heir
I smiled and shook my head. “No one. I had figured out the king was wanting a sample of my blood and that the forest was dead or stuck and I thought it was worth a shot. So I cut myself trying to heal the Dead Lake.”
“And did it work?”
I shook my head. “No. But weeks later, a bloom formed in the exact spot I stood while leaning my hand over the lake. It did nothing to the lake but did do something to the ground.”
“Even if your blood has a higher iron concentration, it will take a much higher amount of iron than that to fix the lake, I’m afraid,” the doctor said as he ran a hand down his face.
I thought on that a moment. “So, you are not surprised?”
He shook his head. “Years ago, when more of our children started having this Iron Will, I of course started looking into it myself. I found nothing extremely out of the ordinary. A slight elevated iron count within the blood, yes, but nothing too high. Not high enough to even have an effect on the Enchanted, really. And everything else was normal. It was like a magic in and of itself. It was not hereditary or environmental and seemed to follow no logical pattern in how it turned up. For years I tried to find a pattern, yet ultimately found none.”
That was good to hear, but also at the same time, not at all what I wanted to hear. “So maybe just the iron is healing the ground, then?”
He squinted and shrugged. “I am unsure the nature of the magic, assuming the forest is frozen with magic. In theory, it could be that the iron in your blood can unlock it, yes. But I would suspect the amount needed to accomplish it is more blood than is pumping within your veins now.”
I walked over to him and placed my hands on my hips. “We are trying to figure out how my blood did this, but also trying to keep our cruel king from using this information to spill the blood of tons of innocent people with Iron Will just to save his forest. Can we trust you with this?”
He gave me a nod. “Of course. You have my word.” He paused. “The added coin was unnecessary. I’ve been protecting Nerede children with Iron Will for years.”
“Well consider it a reminder of our gracious countenance,” Owen offered.
The doctor smirked. “Okay. Let’s take your blood then. I am assuming your blood will be similar to the others we’ve seen over the years.”
“Prince Krewan is bringing another sample in shortly,” I offered. “How soon can you run these tests once you have the samples?”
He turned his head upward. “A number of hours, really. I will just need to push a few of my afternoon appointments. I will do the tests personally rather than using my assistants.”
I reached my hand out to touch his wrist. “Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to do this.”
The doctor looked to Owen and then back to me. “Should there be even half a chance you should ever wear a crown someday, this is the most important thing I could possibly be doing today, Ms. Demir.”
I didn’t really know what to say to that.
* * *
I hada piece of cotton pressed to my arm when Krew knocked and entered the bakery.
“Your Grace,” the doctor bowed.
“Your Grace,” my mother smiled. “Welcome. I just wish it were on better terms.”
Krew gave her a nod, his eyes going to my arm and back to my mother. “We may come back soon for the Harvest Festival. For a more pleasant trip. Jorah has been telling me all about it.”
The doctor gave me a look like he was impressed Krew would do such a thing.
“I see you have wasted no time, love,” Krew added with a smirk.
I shrugged. “I’m ready to know what’s in my blood. Though with what the doctor just explained, I’m not sure this will give me any answers at all. In fact, it might just leave us with more questions.”
Krew’s eyes went to the doctor, and I could see him gauging the man, trying to decide whether he was trustworthy or not, his blue eyes looking for any sign of weakness.
The doctor filled him in and repeated everything he had just told me.
With a sigh, Krew pulled out of his tailcoat another small vial of blood. “Here is another sample for you to run.”
The doctor carefully put it next to the larger vial that held my blood as he began packing up.
“Doctor,” Krew said roughly.
