Page 10 of A Winter Awakening
“I jumped off my horse. It’s entirely my fault. I should have gotten off more carefully, but I wasn’t in a great state of mind.” He gave a weak laugh. “I’d gotten lost and was panicking. So rather than dismount gently, I jumped with no care for what lay beneath the snow. Turns out there was a large rock.” He laughed.
Sinoe lifted his foot and placed it on his lap. Gael sucked in a breath, and tears stung his eyes.
Sinoe’s eyes closed. His lips moved. His fingers and hands made a swirling motion around the ankle, not touching it, just hovering above. He mumbled something. But Gael couldn’t make out the words. Did oreads speak a different language?
Sinoe opened his eyes and placed his foot back on the ground.
“How is it?” Orteo asked.
“It is badly sprained. I do not think it is broken,” Sinoe said, voice soft and fluid. “You won’t be able to walk for a while. It will need time to heal.” He paused. “You should know, though, that I am an oread healer. Oreads and humans are different. Oreads take energy from the mountains around them. Much of my role as a healer is assisting in the flow of energy between the injured oread and the mountains.”
“Sinoe helped me with a sprain earlier in the year,” Edwin said.
“I did,” Sinoe said. “It seems some of the techniques I would use on an oread could also be used on a human.”
“He then made me see the village healer to check on his healing techniques,” Edwin said.
“I would never risk you or your well-being,” Sinoe said, giving Edwin a smile.
Edwin blushed. “She said she would have done the same as Sinoe. Except for the chanting, crystals, and using a salve combined with ground rocks.”
“Yes, she did not know if that helped humans,” Sinoe said. “But the salve without the rocks definitely will.” He reached into a bag and pulled out a jar. “I can put some salve on it now and wrap it here. It will help with the swelling and pain. But you will need to rest it. For at least several weeks.”
“You are from Castle Evermore?” Edwin asked.
“Yes. But I can’t go back.” Gael couldn’t face everyone back there. “I need to go somewhere else.”
“Maybe you could come to Ores,” Edwin suggested.
“Yes! Ores!” Anywhere but return to Castle Evermore. “Although, I don’t know where that is. Or where I’ll stay.” Gael smiled tightly. “I didn’t have much of a plan when I left, you see.” He laughed. His hands trembled. “I just set off.”
“It will be all right,” Orteo said calmly.
Gael gazed up at the oread.
“We’ll work something out.” Orteo smiled. “I’ll make sure you are all right.”
The terror slipped from Gael’s shoulders. Because Gael believed Orteo. They’d only met just last night. But somehow he knew the oread could be trusted.
“Thank you,” Gael whispered.
“I’m sure we could find somewhere for you to stay,” Edwin said.
“And I can pay,” Gael blurted. “I have money.”
Edwin smiled.
“We’ll need to work out how to get to Ores, since you can’t walk,” Sinoe said as he wrapped the ankle.
“How far is it?” Gael asked.
“A bit less than a mile,” Edwin said.
“I could ride.” Gael pointed to Daisy. “I’d need some help getting on, but I think I could ride. I’m an excellent rider. Just bad at navigating.”
After some discussion, they decided to give it a try. They helped Gael onto Daisy’s back and made their way carefully through the forest.
Orteo walked beside him. “Are you all right up there?”
