Page 58 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
“She has a fever,” I told Elias.
“She won’t in a minute.” He drew a shaky breath before his tired gaze lifted to my face.
Shame flooded me as I finally took in the scene I’d walked into. After his beating, no one had assisted Elias, butregardless of that, he’d come to help Javier and his sister. Even though he himself was the one who needed medical attention the most.
“Are you okay?” he asked me.
Worry lines marred his forehead as he took me in. When he grabbed a blanket that draped over the edge of the couch, he handed it to me. I did my best to wrap the scratchy blanket around my shoulders with my unused hand.
“Sit by the space heater.” He jutted his chin toward the heater Javier paced in front of.
“Come on, Teddy,” Brenton said, cupping my elbow.
Elias growled, his eyes shimmering between his usual violet and a few shades darker.
Brenton held his hands up in a sign of surrender, which was odd but not too odd for Brenton since he seemed to be the jokester in their little group. “The girl needs the magic more than you do.”
“Magic?” I asked, taking the few steps to where Brenton guided me.
I held a hand over the space heater and inched my feet closer to it. It looked familiar, like one of the old heaters Donnie kept as a spare. Unsurprised, my chest warmed at the thought, at how lucky I was to have him as a best friend.
“Elias said he can heal Jasmine.” Javier massaged the base of his neck as he watched Elias with his little sister. The movement was familiar in a way I couldn’t quite remember.
“Is that a good idea?” I asked.
Elias’s shoulders slumped further as if he couldn’t bear Jasmine’s weight any longer. “I won’t harm her,” he promised me, his tone soft and tired.
It was my turn to shake my head while my fingers itched to touch his tense shoulders. “You looktired, Elias,” I said. “Before the commander beat you, you looked tired. You could barely stand after,” I continued, ignoring Javier’s wince beside me. “Are you sure it’s wise to heal someone when you. . . I mean, I don’t know how magic works, but shouldn’t you rest? Gather your strength or something?”
His eyes, swollen with dark circles beneath them, stayed trained on me with something that looked a lot like hope flashing behind them. “I depleted all my magic before I knew the commander was coming,” he explained. “That’s why I looked tired before my punishment.”
His punishment, which wasn’t meant for him but for a sixteen-year-old boy trying to take care of what was left of his family.
I was an asshole for not having helped him. No, worse, for having offered but quickly taken it away.
“Nalari is allowing me to absorb her magic to heal the young Jasmine,” he continued.
“Could you use her magic to heal yourself?” I questioned.
One side of his lips quirked up the tiniest bit. “I could, but I’m not allowed to.”
Right, no healing allowed. Commander Hudson’s orders.
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Then when you finish, you’ll come to my place so I can give you medicine to take care of your back.”
He blinked slowly at me. “Thank you,” he whispered.
I nodded.
Something in my chest clenched at the gratitude that shone in his eyes. At the way he watched me as if I was all that mattered. Then he looked away, taking away the warmth that spread inside me.
I felt a sizzle when he closed his eyes, like a slight electric shock that wrapped around Javier’s small house. Elias leanedforward and put his large hand over Jasmine’s head. She squirmed beneath his touch. Slowly, her crimson cheeks returned to normal as did her labored breathing. Within a few moments, she blinked her eyes.
Javier rushed to her side and dropped to his knees. Immediately, Jasmine crawled out of Elias’s lap and into her brother’s embrace.
Elias let out a long, slow breath that I felt with a knot in my stomach. His face had turned a sickly gray, making the bruises under his eyes more pronounced.
“I apologize, but I can’t heal your other sister tonight,” he told Javier, his body swaying forward before he righted himself. “But if she gets worse or Jasmine’s fever returns, use the herb I gave you. It’ll hold them until I can return tomorrow with my magic fully restored. Do you remember what to do with it?”
