Solace

by Bethany Adams

  More insight into the situation, though. There was a good chance the energy poison deployed by Kien had been related to the virus, especially if Meren had used Kien’s spell as a base. They had no way of knowing if Meren or Kien had read The Wayfarer’s Trial or some other account. Meren could have attempted to recreate both the airborne and bloodborne variants—or they might have been an accident. Either way, it sounded like the potion would treat both if they could master it.

  Clink.

  Lynia’s gaze flew to the window, and a groan burst from her lips as one clink and then another sounded. Ice. Was there supposed to be another ice storm today? Gods help them if they had to handle case after case of careless injury on top of Lial being incapacitated and both he and Caeleth infected, besides. Tynan might be more skilled than she assumed, but he’d also indicated he wouldn’t be able to handle being the sole healer of an estate this size. Unfortunately, he was the only one they currently had.

  Carefully, she eased from the bed, tucking the book beneath her arm and stealing a glance at Lial. His chest rose and fell steadily, but the slight crease of his brow and downturned lips gave her cause to worry. Just how quickly did his energy regenerate? Ralan and Meli hadn’t reappeared, so surely, it wasn’t that dire.

  Yet.

  Lynia padded across the room as silently as she could and followed the curve of the stairs down. As she reached the base, the door to the healing tower opened, and Maddy slipped in before closing it behind her. In that brief glimpse, the situation became clear—they were definitely in for an ice storm. The sky held the purple tinge of frost, and the scent that blew in on the breeze was unmistakable after the centuries she’d lived at Braelyn.

  “I didn’t expect you back so soon,” Lynia said as Tynan stood from the chair beside Caeleth’s bed. She wasn’t certain where Aris had gone. “What happened with Lord Caolte? And Lord Naomh. I hope nothing dire.”

  Maddy’s smile held as much exhaustion as relief. “The potion appeared to be working well on Lord Caolte, and there was a little progress for his brother. There wasn’t anything else I could do, though. I figured I would be more use here than I would be staring at two Sidhe lords in a freaky basement.”

  Despite the situation, the young woman’s words surprised a chuckle out of Lynia. “Their home is certainly…fascinating. What about your mates?”

  “Quarantining in our guest tower,” Maddy said. “I checked us all for the virus and didn’t find it, but I don’t know how long it would take to build up enough for magic to easily detect it. Besides, Anna wanted to call the outpost to see if Vek or Dria would talk to her boss. We were supposed to go back to Earth around now, and she was scheduled to be at work tomorrow.”

  Tynan stepped forward until he stood beside Lynia. “You are in training as a healer?”

  “Ahh…” Maddy began, a look of uncertainty crossing her face as her focus shifted to the priest.

  Lynia’s face went hot at her lack of manners. Introductions should have been the first thing she performed when Maddy arrived, but she was so distracted that she’d forgotten. Now poor Maddy was stuck trying to figure out why a stranger was asking her such a question.

  Hastily, Lynia moved between the two. “Forgive me, Maddy. I forgot that you weren’t here for Tynan’s last visit. Allow me to present Callian ay’tor Beronai pel asebarah i Tynan Fessen nai Calai. And Tynan, I present to you…”

  Lynia’s mind went blank, and the heat in her face became a wildfire. Gods. If she’d ever been formally introduced to Maddy, she couldn’t remember her full name. Was she no longer capable of basic etiquette? Ah, the smug look Lyr would give her if he knew of this!

  “Maddy a Shayan a Clairen of the Cairdai,” Maddy filled in with a smile. “A clan of the Seelie Sidhe, if you are unfamiliar.”

  “I am, I’m afraid,” Tynan replied.

  That title was too simple, though, wasn’t it? Lynia frowned. “What about the Unseelie court, Maddy? Shouldn’t that rank be included now that you’re mated?”

  “Crap,” the young woman muttered. “Truth be told, I forgot how to pronounce it. I guess you should just add ‘princess’ to the front of my name and call it a day.”

  “Very well, Princess Maddy.” Lips twitching, Tynan tapped his chest and gave a slight bow. “And if you’re as unfamiliar with Moranaian titles as I am of Seelie, it might help to hear that I am a priest of the Goddess Bera and a mind healer. I was first summoned here for the latter.”

  A curious gleam entered Maddy’s eyes, but Lynia wasn’t certain of the cause. Though Maddy’s surprised “A priest?” provided some hint. Arlyn had been confused during Tynan’s first visit when Lynia and Selia had speculated on the attraction between him and Kezari. Apparently, some priests on Earth were required to be celibate.

  Tynan frowned. “Yes. Is that unusual among the Seelie? I had not thought so.”

  “Of course not,” Maddy said with a shake of her head. “I…ah. I didn’t expect the roles to be combined, I suppose. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

  Lynia stepped in to smooth over the moment. “A difference in culture, I suppose. It would be a pleasure to compare the two later, but I’m concerned about the weather. Is it as bad out there as it seems, Maddy?”

  Grimacing, Maddy nodded. “Getting colder by the moment, and there’s more cloud than clear sky. Inona received warning of a storm as we approached the guest tower. So…I’m guessing that means we’re going to have a lot of incoming accidents soon. Fabulous timing, right?”

  Lynia didn’t dare wonder if there was anything else this month could bring, though she dearly wanted to. There was too much work already to dare the gods in such a fashion. Instead, she focused on preparation. If they split the potions into smaller vials, they could at least provide easy relief for scrapes and bruises.

  Without Lial, they would need every bit of help they could muster.

  Chapter 44

  When the first knock cracked against the door, Lynia grabbed her basket and sidled outside, pressing her back against the wood as she studied their first patient. The cold wrapped around her every breath like the cloak she’d shrugged around her shoulders, and her lungs stung from the sharpness of it. At least, she hoped it was the cold and not a sign that she’d caught the virus from Caolte or Naomh. She did trust Maddy’s and Tynan’s scans, but not even that was certain. They’d even had the guards retreat to the trees for safety’s sake.

  “Lady Lynia?” the scout before her asked, confusion in her tone.

  “Is your injury dire?” Lynia demanded. She had no energy for coddling. “Or would a tincture suffice?”

  The woman’s eyes widened, and she blinked. Then her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I had hoped Lial might heal this scrape on my ankle. Though it should knit together on its own, my duties will be more—”

  “So a tincture would suffice.” Lynia gritted her teeth against her impatience. It wasn’t the scout’s fault that Lial had spent decades healing every tiny injury he came across. “Lial is ill, struck by the disease he has been trying to cure for everyone’s safety. Our first priority is his recovery.”

  The distant chatter of birdsong resounded loudly in the sudden silence.

  “Lial is…” The scout’s mouth worked, but no other words emerged.

  “Yes.” Lynia dug around in her basket and selected a vial containing a single dose of the appropriate potion. “Use this. Then bind the wound and tell your superior if you need someone to replace you at your station. My son is aware of the situation and is no doubt prepared for this very possibility.”

  Or so she hoped. He was an excellent Myern, better than his father at the job if she were honest. Still, it might not go amiss to send him a warning of her directive. As the scout accepted the vial with a somber nod, Lynia connected with Lyr just long enough to update him.

  “What if something bad happens?” the woman asked, clutching the vial to her chest with an anxious frown. “Falls happen during ice storms, especially early on. My sister b
roke her wrist in just that way a few decades back.”

  Lynia smiled softly to put the scout at ease. “We have a healer-priest here to help Elan, and there’s also Lial’s new trainee, Maddy. However, their energy must be reserved for difficult cases like broken bones. In the meantime, I’ll stand ready to hand out tinctures until supplies run out. If you could pass the word along to your fellow scouts, I would be grateful.”

  The woman inclined her head. “Of course, Myernere. Thank you for explaining. And prayers to Bera for Lial’s quick healing. I can’t think of a scout or warrior on this estate he hasn’t helped at least once.”

  “I’m certain he will appreciate your prayers.”

  Gods above, but Lynia hoped he would survive to find out about those prayers.

  As afternoon tilted toward evening, the gratitude he wouldn’t have expected poured in. The third time she went outside to dispense a tincture, she found a stone altar set up against the side of the tower wall, a candle burning merrily despite the ice pelting around them. She traced the hint of magic surrounding the flame to a nearby tree, where a scout perched while keeping guard.

  By the time Emereh’s potion was nearing completion, the other side of the altar was covered in bundles of herbs, a few pieces of jewelry, and gold coins. More herbs were stacked against the base until she could barely discern the shape of the altar. All still dry, thanks to a friend of Caeleth’s. The mage had cast a shield over the doorway and altar, preventing the ice from landing on both the offerings and anyone who dispensed tinctures.

  Elan and Maddy took over answering the door, and whether it was a blessing from Bera or the fact that most had remained indoors after Lyr had activated the shield, Tynan only had one broken bone to mend. Outside the tower, of course. Although none of the healers nor Aris had sensed the virus in the air, they’d deemed it better not to bring others into the healing tower.

  At least she had fewer distractions while she continued her research.

  Mostly.

  “It is difficult to believe that a healer cured an entire colony with four doses,” Tynan muttered beside Lynia as she lined up the vials she would need. “Are you certain there were no directions for increasing the amount?”

  Eyebrows raised, Lynia sent the healer a sidelong glance. “I assure you both my reading and research skills are excellent. When I find such directions, you will know.”

  Tynan flushed. “Forgive me if I hinted otherwise. I only wondered because you are not a healer.”

  “There are many things one can comprehend without actually doing them.” Lynia tipped her head to the side and let out a relieved sigh when the potion appeared to be the correct color. “In this case, I’ve had to learn the art of potion-making quickly, but I haven’t had time to study everything about this one. I’m currently searching through nearly a thousand pages of notes written by a traveling healer millennia ago, all concerning a colony that no longer existed when my grandparents were born. There’s only so much a researcher can do.”

  “Ahh…”

  If he hadn’t annoyed her so badly, Lynia might have taken pity on him after hearing the uncertain tone of his voice, but she let the sound hang in the air and focused on her work. Ever so carefully, she poured an equal measure of the potion into each vial. Only four doses.

  Hopefully, they only needed one.

  Once again, the unknowing darkness gave way.

  There was no drifting this time, no nagging awareness of distant pain. This agony was sharp, needles rending his veins rather than repairing them. Lial reached for his magic, but it kept slipping from his grasp. His reserves were dangerously low. Why were they low? He had to scan himself before it was too late.

  Panic tightened his throat, and he sucked in a strangled breath. But before he lost all sense, Lynia’s presence surrounded him, her energy calming him instantly. If she was here, it couldn’t be too terrible, could it? She wouldn’t allow him to suffer.

  “I’m sorry for waking you, love,” she whispered into his mind. “Can you drink the potion if Tynan lifts you a little?”

  Potion? What potion? And why was the mind-healer there? His muddled memories slipped back into the darkness where his consciousness had been. Then a wave of pain swept through him, and for a moment, it was all he could do to breathe. Whatever the potion might be, it was clear he needed it desperately.

  “I will try,” he attempted to send back, though he wasn’t certain he’d properly connected until his body shifted position.

  His head swam so badly he didn’t dare open his eyes. His stomach roiled enough as it was without risking that—a poor state with a potion to drink. Lial set his attention to calming his insides, his focus on stifling the rising bile. He only just managed it when he felt cool glass against his lower lip.

  A rush of liquid, and life itself might have flowed into him. What was that brush of gold and green and glory? He followed the cold trail down his throat and into his stomach, where it washed away the nausea that had plagued him.

  But still there was pain. Only when the darkness swallowed him again was there reprieve.

  Once again, Lynia sat at Lial’s side with The Wayfarer’s Trial in her lap. But this time held a different kind of agony. If she’d thought she couldn’t stop checking on him before… Well, she’d been wrong. It took all her willpower not to stare at him incessantly. Would the potion work? What if she’d mixed a component wrong? An error could ruin everything, and she didn’t want to miss a single sign of something going bad.

  Never had precision in her research been quite so literally life or death. Had it been less vital, the challenge might have exhilarated her, but she couldn’t shake free of the fear. How did Lial bear such a burden day after day? Perhaps his work wasn’t always so dire as a plague, but he held life in his hands regardless.

  Lynia snapped her attention back to the page in front of her. Emereh had moved on from Abuiarn, and she might have ceased reading except for one thing—the references. Every time she considered skipping to another section, there was a tantalizing “unlike the challenge of healing the people of Abuiarn” or the like to draw her in.

  In spite of her absorption, she almost missed the information she was searching for. It was a small aside, one that didn’t mention the colony by name at all. Fortunately, I’ll be leaving for Ikilse on the morrow. I denuded my supply of ilni on my previous mission, and if I must undertake a similar task, I’ll be stuck without the means to hasten the speed of distillation. Though it is to be hoped that I never need a potion with such urgency again.

  Snatching her notebook from the blanket at her hip, Lynia copied the words over, careful to highlight Ikilse and ilni. It would take more research to discover how the herb—if it was an herb—could be used to diminish distillation time, but it was a start. With any luck, Lial might know.

  If the potion worked.

  Her gaze slid to Lial once more. His chest rose and fell steadily, and when Tynan had arrived to help with the second dose half a mark ago, he’d reported a marked decrease in the virus. Added to some promising news about Caeleth, who’d had the remnants of the virus wiped out by a single dose of the new potion, Lial’s seeming improvement held a flicker of hope steady in Lynia’s heart.

  But she was afraid to encourage that spark to flame. Something could still go wrong. Lial’s innate healing magic was rising again, and that might interfere. Lynia nibbled on her lip. Should she ask Ralan and Meli to return? She hadn’t summoned them in the first place, so surely if they were needed, they would reappear. Ralan almost certainly wouldn’t pass up the chance to save the day.

  Abruptly, the camahr stood from Lial’s legs and padded up his body to sit on his chest. The light on the tip of its tail brightened until Lynia squinted against the blinding blue, but otherwise, she didn’t dare move. What was the creature doing? Worry pinched her heart, but before it could grow into fear, the light winked out, and the camahr jumped down. The little kit walked away with a smooth, rolling swagger, no hint of hu
rry to its movement.

  She blinked, and the camahr was gone.

  Why had it left? Was its departure a good sign or a bad omen? As Lynia examined Lial for any hint of distress, she sent a call out for Tynan, but he and Maddy were working on a dislocated shoulder and Elan was feeding Caeleth. Had their luck run out, then? If Lial had worsened, it would be a bit of time before she knew. The shoulder apparently wouldn’t take long to fix, but it was a delay nonetheless. What if that cost them all?

  Though she hesitated to do so, Lynia finally reached out to Selia to ask if Aris would help with his life magic. The life mage had experienced enough trauma that she hesitated to contact him directly—for his sake, not hers. Unexpected mental communication with a woman he didn’t know well might be uncomfortable, and the last thing she wanted to do was cause him more pain.

  Lynia hadn’t heard the details of his torture, but she didn’t need to. She’d seen Lial in the aftermath of experiencing the memories. That was enough. It felt like a blessing when Aris sent word through Selia that he would hurry over.

  Hesitantly, she placed her hand on Lial’s chest. Until he was deemed recovered, there was a risk in touching him, despite their theory that the virus here was bloodborne. Lack of knowledge did not equal safety—one didn’t have to see the monster stalking through the dark to suffer the bite of its claws, after all. But she needed to feel for herself that his breathing was as regular as it seemed.

  Heartbeat steady. No hint of struggle in the rise and fall of his breath.

  “Lyni.” The dry rasp of his whisper caught her flickering hope and fanned it to fire, the heat of it only intensifying with his next words. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t risk yourself by being so close.”

  If he had the wherewithal to nag her, he was certainly improving.

  Lynia met his eyes, and the shadows of worry caught at her heart. “When the camahr left, I grew concerned that you were worsening.” Then a new fear hit. “What drew you from rest? Tynan put you under rather deeply after your last dose.”