Page 138 of The Eye of the Fifth
The healer chuckled. ‘Ruven, does the young prince look to be in any fit state to attack me?’ Ruven’s face hardened, but he didn’t reply. ‘If you are so worried for my well being, you may wait outside. Should you hear me cry out for aid, then by all means come to my rescue. But unless that situation arises, I beg you to leave me to work in peace.’
She was mocking him, yet doing so in a way that was rather endearing. Ruven looked as though he did not know whether to smirk or scowl. He opted for neither, simply dipping his head as his companion had done, and leaving her alone with Gedeon.
‘Sit,’ she instructed, motioning to a wooden healer’s bench in the centre of the stuffy room. He obeyed, his stiff body aching, yet welcoming the heat blazing from the hearthstone. A dizzying assortment of aromas circulated the room, so many he could not distinguish one from the other. It was not altogether unpleasant.
For a long moment, Gedeon stared into the flames. The healer bustled behind him, grinding herbs by the sounds of it, and when she was done, she thrust a hot jar into his hands. Citrus and cinnamon wafted up his nose.
‘Drink,’ the healer ordered. Gedeon took a sip and almost gagged: the smell did not match the taste. She spoke again, her tone clipped and authoritative, ‘Drink it all.’
Gedeon didn’t hesitate this time as he threw the contents of it down his neck, swallowing hard. He almost sighed with relief as the hot tea/magic-fused tonic warmed him instantly from the inside out. After a few seconds, his clothes and skin were drenched from the remnants of weeks worth of ice.
Without a word, the healer took the jar from his hands, her white feathered wings tucked in at her back as she placed it to the side. She faced him again, eyes narrowing with surveillance. ‘Prince of Fire,’ she murmured. ‘A title that holds such significance in this world. Butyouarestill mortal. And a dangerous stranger to these lands. This title of yours holds no standing here, so, I will call you by your name. Gedeon, is it not?’
Gedeon did not reply.
The healer’s mouth pulled into an amused smile. ‘I see you have taken Nysari’s threat with literality. Whilst I am impressed by your resilience to keep your tongue, I do require an answer.’
Somewhat confident that he was not about to talk himself into a trap, Gedeon cleared the cobwebs from his throat and said, ‘Yes. That is my name.’
His voice sounded foreign. A broken, unused, dusty instrument.
‘Good,’ the healer said.
Gedeon tested the waters. ‘And yours?’
She paused, her hand lingering on the edge of the bench. ‘I have no wish to become acquainted with the destroyer of my city.’
That embedded knife of guilt twisted in Gedeon’s gut. ‘Then why am I here?’
‘Thepramahhas requested that I treat any injuries that may ail you.’ Her expression of bold discontent told Gedeon she wanted to do anythingbutthat.
‘Why?’
‘Because physical pain can act as a cloud for judgement. When Naal hears whatever it is you have come all this way to say, it will come from a body and mind of optimum health, not one that is frozen and weak.’
Gedeon could not stop himself before saying, ‘You have no taste for torture in the north, then? Truth often comes pouring out when one’s body is at the end of its tether.’
‘Spoken from experience?’ The healer’s eyes narrowed. ‘Nythanor’s customs are nothing like Zarynth’s. You would do well to remember that. Now, lie back.’
He did as she asked, placing his shackled hands on his stomach. She moved to stand over him, hovering her palms over his head, then tracking down his body, a dull heat emanating from them. Her magic tingled every inch of his skin until she reached his midriff, and thattingling morphed into sharp pin pricks as her power sunk through to his spine.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Gedeon fought to keep his body still.
The healer withdrew her hands, marking the tension now gripping him. She threw him a glance. ‘Roll onto your side.’ Gedeon obeyed her. ‘This may hurt.’
The warning did nothing to prepare him for what came next.
It was worse. Far worse than it had been the last time he’d attempted to wield his magic. Phantom hands roamed his spine and itburned.The curse in his back was fighting her, swelling and writhing to dispel the foreign entity in his body, combatting that which might finally force it from him.
Gedeon bit his tongue to stop from grunting with the pain, clamping down so hard that blood coated the inside of his mouth.
Still the healer prodded the parasite, and the burning intensified with each second that ticked by. He was beginning to think that she had lied, thatthiswas surely his torture-
A gasp of relief escaped Gedeon as she removed her hands. The burning, stabbing pain subsided. A goblet of water was thrust in his face. ‘Drink.’
He managed to push himself to a seated position and gulped down the whole thing.
The healer watched him carefully, folding her arms across her chest as she sat behind a messy desk of parchment, potions and animal skulls. ‘Were you aware that you have been cursed?’
