Page 43 of Golden Queen
"Have you given this charlatan your gold?" Antonin asked me as I edged around Madia and went to the bedside.
I laughed lightly. "Not a single coin, sir. But he's not from the Citadel. He's a mage and he can help you."
The old man scoffed, but he eyed Io speculatively.
"May I?" Io asked, motioning to the old man's hand.
"Do your worst, I suppose. If it will make Sera happy to try."
"It will make me very happy, sir," I said, smiling at him.
Io took his arm gingerly and wrapped his hand around the bony wrist. Even the very slight movement caused Antonin to wince.
And then I felt the air change. It grew heavy, but with a comforting weight, like a warm blanket on a snowy night.
Antonin gasped and sucked in a deep breath as Madia surged forward. She went to her knees beside me, reaching towards her father as he continued to suck air into his lungs. And then he released it with a shaking laugh. He coughed, clearing his throat, and then laughed again.
Io still held his hand. His eyes were closed, and he was sweating. His body was so still I didn't even think he was breathing.
The lamp at the bedside dimmed, throwing the room into muted shadow.
There was a sharp, unfamiliar scent in the air that chased away even the reek of the slums around us. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was unfamiliar, alien, and strong.
"Io?" I said, concern for him and for Antonin, suddenly mounting in my chest. I darted my eyes between them.
Antonin was half sitting up, his color better and his eyes wide with wonder. Still, Io did not open his eyes. His face grew more and more pained, contorting as though under some pressure.
"Io," I said again and reached tentatively for his arm.
"Don't, Sera," he said sharply. I jerked my hand back. "Not yet," he added more softly.
I looked at Antonin who now had tears streaming down his face, and I saw when it happened, when the last of the pain left his lined face. It was like a ghost fled from him. His brow smoothed, his eyes softened, and he let out a low, heartbreaking cry of relief.
Io opened his eyes and the shadows retreated. The air thinned and the smells of the little room returned.
"Any better than the charlatan?" Io asked with a grin.
Antonin laughed and surged across the bed to wrap his arms around him. Io did not seem at all surprised by the hug. He returned it, joining his deep chuckle with the old man's, who no longer looked as old as he had moments before. It was simply miraculous.
Ioextracted himself from the man's embrace, patting him on the shoulder as he moved to allow a sobbing Madia to throw herself into her father's arms. He rose and stalked from the room, moving a bit more quickly than usual.
I followed him and saw the moment he crossed the threshold when his body seemed to sag. He turned to the side to vomit violently into the street.
I wanted to go to him, offer some reassurance, but I knew instinctively that he would not want that. I felt slightly guilty for what I had so cavalierly asked him to do. I had not known it would be like that—that it would hurt him so badly. It hadn’t seemed to hurt him when he healed me.
"Are you okay?" I asked, tentatively.
"I will be," he said, and turned to offer me a wan smile. He wiped his mouth with a cloth from his pocket and then tossed it down to the ground before incinerating the entire mess with no more than a thought. It went up in a single whoosh, and only ashes remained of his dinner and his handkerchief.
Madia tried to pay him, pulling out the gold I had given her, but Io, who was looking more like himself again, refused. He told her the sight of Antonin, who was outside at the moment, looking up at the stars, was payment enough.
As we walked down the darkened street heading back to the brothel, Io was silent. My guilt for what I had asked him to do was eating me alive, even though the sight of Antonin's relief and Madia's joy still filled my mind.
"Did it hurt you like that when you healed my bruises?" I asked quietly.
"Not at all. Healing is simple. Antonin...he was very near death. There were other forces to contend with."
"Well...I'm sorry that it hurt you and...thank you."
