by A J Manney
“Now’s as good a time as any,” he said and sliced through his wrist.
Zalia stared at him in shock for just a moment before her senses kicked in. She launched herself from the bed at him. She watched the wound on his hand instantly gush blood. She knew instinctively that it was a deep cut. She reached out and tried to stop the blood with her hands. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve only done this once before, you idiot!” she yelled at him. As soon as she touched his wound, her hands started getting that tingly feeling again. She breathed a small sigh of relief. Hopefully it would work just like last time. As she sat there holding her hands on his wrist, her door crashed open and hit the wall. Valen came storming in, sword drawn.
He took in the scene in front of him. He stalked toward his brother. “What’s going on?” he asked.
Reid looked up at him, his face now white and sweaty, “She wanted to know if she could do it again,” he said in a weaker voice.
Valen scowled at him. “So, you just decided to try to slice your wrist off?”
Reid nodded with a small grin.
“You’re an idiot,” Valen angrily told him. “Of all the irresponsible, stupid things to do!” Valen fumed.
“I’m fine,” Reid told him. “Nothing to worry about.”
Valen glared at him, “I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about her. She just woke up from the last healing she did that she PASSED OUT FROM,” Valen was roaring at Reid now.
Zalia kept focusing on what she was doing. The burning got worse, then finally weakened. The wound was completely healed now. She took her hands off of Reid and stared at the blue wisps in wonder. She looked up and saw Valen and Reid both staring at her hands in wonder. She shook them slightly and the light dissipated.
She looked up and met Valen’s angry eyes. “It’s okay.” She looked down at Reid. “You’re healed. Now, we tested it; we know it’s not a fluke. Please don’t ever do that again or I might just let you bleed.”
Reid looked up at her and started to say something when Valen growled, “Out. Get out now.” Reid looked up at his brother, took one look at his face, and scrambled out of the room.
Zalia looked up at Valen and saw he was really angry, his eyes shooting daggers at her. He took a step towards her, and she automatically took a step back. That made him pause. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he looked at her again, he seemed a little more in control. “Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice.
Zalia was still frightened of him, so she just nodded her head. He stepped closer, and she managed to stay perfectly still. He took hold of her arm gently. “I’m sorry my brother did that to you. I’ll kill him later.”
Zalia let out a laugh. “I’m fine, Valen. Seriously. It’s no big deal. He just...”
Valen interrupted, “It is a big deal. I just carried you in here a few hours ago. Don’t tell me it’s not a big deal,” he said angrily.
Zalia could see he was really worked up. She reached up and put her hand on his bicep. “I’m okay,” she said softly. He seemed to calm at her touch. He closed his eyes and took in a large breath of air. He calmed down and asked how she was feeling.
Zalia took stock of her body. “Honestly, I feel a little weak and dizzy, but I don’t have the headache I had earlier.” She dropped her hand from his arm. “Maybe because it wasn’t as big of a healing, it didn’t take as much out of me. Kell’s wound was much more serious than your brother’s.”
Valen looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe,” he said.
Zalia looked up at him. “Do you know anything about magical healers?”
He shook his head. “I don’t, but Beckam asked your grandfather to talk to you. He may have knowledge of healers in the past. He will be coming in a few days.”
Zalia nodded. “That’s good. Then maybe we can find out what’s going on,” she said worriedly.
Valen looked down at her. “Everything will be all right. We will figure it out.” Zalia smiled up at him. It was sweet of him to act like it wasn’t just her problem. Zalia’s stomach chose that moment to make a loud noise. He smiled down at her. “Come on. Let’s get you fed.” He walked over to the door and opened it for her, letting her go ahead of him. Once in the hallway, he put his hand on the small of her back, directing her towards the kitchen.
When she walked into the kitchen, Mari turned and saw them and cried out. “Oh, my dear, how are you?” She walked over to Zalia and pulled her gently into a hug. “You gave us such a worry!” she said.
Zalia hugged her back. “I’m okay.”
Mari pulled back and asked her, “What happened to you? They told me you passed out. Did you not eat dinner?”
Zalia opened her mouth to answer her, but Valen stepped in instead. “I think she just did too much dancing on an empty stomach,” he lied smoothly.
Mari smiled slyly at Zalia. “Ooo all those handsome men. You just couldn’t take a break for food. Sit down. Tell me all about them. Who was the most handsome? Did you kiss any of them?”
At this, Zalia laughed, even while she felt her face heating up. She looked away for a moment in embarrassment and happened to catch Valen’s eye. He was glaring at her with his arms crossed. Zalia didn’t know what his problem was but didn’t have time to think about it. She loved to get Mari stirred up. “Well, there was this one guy,” she said as she looked once again at Mari. “He was really tall and incredibly good looking. I wanted him to kiss me, but...” A door slamming against the wall cut her off. She whipped her head around in time to see the door bounce off the wall and come back to a close. Valen was gone, and he was madder than mad.
Zalia looked back at Mari in shock. “What’s his problem?” she asked.
Mari grinned. “Oh, I think I might know what the Prince’s problem is.”
Zalia looked at her blankly. “Well, what is it?”
Mari moved back to the stove. “Nope. It’s not my place to butt in. You have to figure this out all on your own.”
Zalia sat there a moment longer before she decided to get up and help Mari with breakfast.
Zalia spent the next hour talking with Mari as they made breakfast for everybody. They made boiled eggs, pottage, bacon, jelly, and fresh bread. As they were putting the finishing touches on all the food, everybody started coming into the kitchen. Henri and Collette came in, followed by Beckam and Reid. They all sat down and started eating. Zalia noticed Valen wasn’t present. She looked around, but nobody seemed bothered by the fact that he wasn’t there. Zalia wasn’t sure if he was upset with her still. She wasn’t sure if he would still be angry, but she grabbed a cloth and put some bread and bacon and a few boiled eggs in it while everybody was busy eating and talking and slipped quietly out the door.
She walked towards the training hall, figuring that’s probably where he was. She walked inside and didn’t see him immediately. She walked further into the great room and finally saw him in the corner in his training area. His back was to her, and he was bare chested. As she got closer, she stared in fascination at his mark. Then she watched him work. He had a sword in each hand and was doing a series of lunges, pivots, stabbing, and fancy footwork. He was so fast, Zalia could hardly see his movements. When he paused for a moment, she called out to him quietly.
“Valen?” she called softly. He froze. He didn’t turn and look at her. He stared straight ahead, ramrod straight. Zalia took a step closer. “I, uh, didn’t see you at breakfast, so I brought you some food. I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, so I brought some bread, a few eggs, and some bacon. But I can see you’re busy, so I’ll just leave it here for you.” Zalia stopped rambling, mortified. What is it about him that makes me ramble like an idiot! Zalia set the food down and turned and practically ran out of the training center. She was so embarrassed. He obviously wanted to be alone. He didn’t even say thank you.
Zalia went straight to her room and got ready for training for the day. She was looking forward to getting back to it. She had so much to learn. By the time, sh
e made it back to the training hall, she was more composed and ready to forget about Valen and get started with her training. She just hoped she didn’t have to work with Valen much today.
Beckam made her run laps and do some strength training. Then he worked with her on her fighting form. He also spent time training her with her new dagger. They took a break for lunch, and Zalia saw that Valen wasn’t at the table again. She hadn’t seen him all morning. When she asked Beckam about him, he just said that Valen had business to attend to.
In the afternoon, Reid trained with her. Surprisingly, she enjoyed it. They worked hard but laughed and had a good time together. Zalia was happy they had finally forged a friendship.
The next few days flew by. After dinner one night, Zalia was heading towards her room when she saw Raven coming towards her. She broke into a run and threw her arms around Raven, both of them laughing. “I missed you so much!” Zalia said. “It’s so lonely here without you.”
Raven smiled at her. “I missed you at the castle. I thought I would die of boredom! I never thought I would say this, but I am so happy to be back at the training center,” she said with a happy sigh.
Zalia grinned at her. “I will be reminding you of that tomorrow morning.”
Raven laughed. “Your grandfather is here too,” she told Zalia.
“Oh good,” Zalia said. “I need to talk to him.” Raven nodded. Zalia put her arm through Raven’s arm. “Let’s get you settled, and you can tell me everything that I missed at the castle after my party.”
They walked together to Raven’s room. Zalia sat on Raven’s bed while Raven unpacked her bag. They laughed and talked for a little bit before they heard a knock at the door. Raven went to answer it and found Beckam standing there.
“Welcome back, Raven,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you, Prince Beckam,” Raven returned his smile.
“Beckam,” he corrected her. Then he looked at Zalia. “Grandfather would like to talk to you.”
Zalia nodded. “I’ll see you later, Raven.” Raven waved, and Zalia headed into the hall with Beckam.
As they walked next to each other, Beckam looked at Zalia. “How are you doing?”
Zalia looked up at him. “I’m feeling fine, just confused. I feel like there is so much I don’t understand. I have so many questions that nobody has any answers to.”
Beckam looked at her in sympathy. “It does seem that way. I’m sorry; we will figure it out. I promise.” He pulled Zalia under his arm. Zalia smiled up at him. Beckam led her into the kitchen. Her grandfather was sitting at the long table, nursing a cup of hot tea. He looked weary.
“Zalia,” he said as she walked in. He stood up and came over and gave her a long hug. He kept his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “How are you doing, my dear?”
Zalia smiled at him. “I’m not going to lie. I’m really confused right now. I have so many questions.”
Her grandfather nodded. “I’m sure you do. Let’s sit down. Do you want some tea?”
“No, thank you,” Zalia said. Zalia followed her grandfather to the table and sat next to him, with Beckam across from them.
Her grandfather folded his hands and placed them on the table. “Okay. Let’s start at the beginning. Zalia, please recount to me everything that happened with Kell.”
Zalia told him every detail she could think of. Then she went on to describe what happened with Reid. Her grandfather listened the entire time. When she finished, he looked at her. “And you have never done this before, correct?”
“Correct,” she answered him.
He sat there quietly for a few minutes. Beckam looked at him. “What are you thinking?” he asked.
Her grandfather paused a moment longer, then began slowly. “I don’t know what to make of it. You have to be a magical healer, but how? We haven’t had magical healers in hundreds of years. If you had other signs, I would think that maybe...” He shook his head. “I just don’t know.”
Beckam looked at him. “What signs?”
Her grandfather shook his head again. “There’s a really old prophecy that exists about a magical healer, but she has to be marked. And nobody really believes prophecies like that anymore. They’re archaic.”
Zalia had stopped breathing when he said marked. Taking in a large breath, she asked quietly, “What do you mean by marked?”
Her grandfather explained patiently, “You know about the marks on a first-born, right?” Zalia nodded. He continued, “The prophecy states that four marked princesses will lead the five kingdoms into a peace treaty that will finally last. The first is said to be a magical healer. Nobody ever believed the prophecy because there have always been five kingdoms in our realm. Why would there be only four princesses? And there have never been four first-born princesses at one time.
Beckam looked at her and then back at his grandfather. “And now, Zalia is a healer,” he said quietly.
Her grandfather nodded. “But it doesn’t all fit. Zalia’s not marked. Her brother Kael was marked. Once he died, the marks would have passed on to the next generation or died out. They don’t skip to a sibling; they can only skip generationally. I just don’t understand. She doesn’t have any markings.”
Beckam looked at his grandfather again. “What about if they were the markings of the prince—you know, the true mark. That would make sense. Maybe they are not first-born princesses. Maybe they become princesses when they each marry a prince, and the marks they have are true marks.”
Her grandfather nodded slowly. “I guess that could work. Most people have always believed they would be first-born princesses. But it still doesn’t work. Zalia doesn’t have a true mark.”
Zalia had sat absolutely silent during this whole exchange, trying to regulate her breathing. Her heart was pounding hard, and she felt sweat on her forehead. “Um, I have something to show you,” she said quietly. Her grandfather and Beckam stared at her. Zalia carefully pulled her tunic top up her back all the way above her shoulder blade, exposing the marks on her skin.
Beckam shot out of his seat. “Those are Valen’s marks! Has he seen those?”
Zalia shook her head fearfully. She was absolutely terrified of what it meant; she was afraid she knew all too well.
Her grandfather stood up and came over to her and gently pulled her shirt down. “Do you know what those marks mean, Zalia?” He asked so gently that Zalia felt tears pool in her eyes. She had so much pent up emotion from everything going on, that once she started, she couldn’t stop. Her tears began flowing freely, and soon sobs started shaking her body.
“Oh Zalia,” her grandfather whispered as he pulled her close to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Zalia cried into her grandfather’s chest. She cried out her overwrought emotions of fear of the unknown, confusion, rejection, and most of all her deep sense of loss. “So much loss, so much pressure for someone so young. Oh, my sweet Zalia. I’m so sorry.” He held her and talked soothingly to her. When she finally pulled herself together, she pulled back slightly and looked up at him. He had tears in his eyes and on his cheeks. She hugged him tightly. He was such a precious gift to her. To have gained a grandfather, after she had lost so much was a miracle in and of itself. He hugged her a little while longer. Then he pulled back. “We will talk more tomorrow. Tonight, you need sleep. Let me walk you to your room.” He began to lead her from the room. She looked over her shoulder and saw Beckam still sitting at the table watching them.
“Beckam?” she called out. Her grandfather stopped with her. Beckam looked at her. “I know Valen is your friend. Please don’t tell him. Not yet. Please.”
Beckam looked like he was about to argue, but her grandfather stepped in. “Nobody will tell Valen anything until we talk all this through.” He looked pointedly at Beckam. Beckam finally nodded. He stood up and walked over to Zalia. He reached out and gave her a big hug.
“Goodnight, cousin. Get some rest. We will figure all this out. I won’t tell Valen. I give you my word
,” he said as he kissed her on the cheek.
Zalia turned away to start walking out the door with her grandfather when she heard Beckam say, “But Zalia...” he waited until she turned around. “Don’t wait too long to tell him.” Zalia nodded and turned back to walk with her grandfather to her room. Zalia was not looking forward to the conversation with Beckam and her grandfather tomorrow, but she was dreading the conversation with Valen even more.
Chapter 14
Zalia hugged and kissed her grandfather goodnight. After he left, she climbed into her bed. She was so weary, but she knew it would probably be a long night. She knew with the attack, her healing, and everything going on, her nightmares would probably be plaguing her for the next several nights again.
Zalia sighed as she lay there thinking. There was so much racing through her head, she would never be able to sleep. She held her hands up in front of her face, even though it was dark, and thought of her healing powers. Why now? Why couldn’t I have gained this power earlier? Would I have been able to save my family? Zalia shut down those thoughts. It was too painful; she felt the tears pool in her eyes. She turned her mind to think about something else.
Her mind turned to the marks on her back. There was no mistaking that they were Valen’s marks. She had never heard of a true mark, but she could only guess if she had Valen’s marks on her back what that meant. She groaned aloud. “Why him? He hates me!” Zalia couldn’t believe her rotten luck. Why did it have to be Valen? She couldn’t imagine what would happen when they told him. She would never be able to face him again. He would hate her. And what of her kingdom? Would she have to give up her kingdom and go with him to his? There was so much she didn’t know.
Zalia groaned again and rolled over, willing her mind to shut down and stop thinking. She finally fell asleep, but slept fitfully. Her nightmares returned, plaguing her from getting good sleep. After the last one felt so real, she decided to just get up for the day. She got out of bed, got dressed, and took her sketchbook with her to the kitchen.
