Page 9 of Their Trials

“Heal him,” he said matter-of-factly, his mouth lifting on one side in a smirk, knowing he had me there and smug about it.

I hesitated, all the steam leaving me at the realization that he was right. I looked back down at Arryn, unsure of how to even start. The only magic I’d ever used was when I had slowly healed myself from the Queen's lashes and a brief test of Baer’s. This was a completely different scenario from then, not to mention how dangerous working healing magic without him would be.

Baer crouched down next to me. “You can do this,” he said as I met his eyes, my uncertainty written all over my face. “It's just like healing yourself.”

“Okay.” I nodded, trying to convince myself that I could do this, anything to bolster my confidence.

I placed my hand on his chest and closed my eyes, but before I could access my magic, Lennox interrupted me. “You have to touch his skin.”

“Of course,” I said, not looking at any of them as they all watched me closely, embarrassment heating my cheeks. I should have known that. It was why I had to remove my pants when Arryn had first healed me.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I moved my hand to his cheek and then closed my eyes again, diving into myself as I searched for Arryn's magic within my core. It wasn’t actually mine since mine was still locked up tightly and out of reach. I found myself grateful that the guys had completed the bonding ceremony so I could at least have this.

I found each of their magics easily. Arryn's green magic jumped into my mind's eye, and I coaxed it into me, asking it to assess Arryn for injuries. It rushed out of my palm and navigated his body. It was as if I could see the path it took as it checked Arryn over. The clarity of it was astonishing.

When it came back to me, I knew exactly where his muscles were sore, which scratches were where, and that he did indeed have a concussion. I trickled the magic, not wanting to rush it and cause more damage, as I asked it to focus on his concussion. I was too inexperienced with magic to even consider throwing it around willy-nilly. Focusing on his serious injuries first since my magic was still easily exhausted, I continued to unspool the magic from me slowly.

I felt the magic as it healed the head injury before pulling it back into myself and opening my eyes. Arryn's eyes met mine as soon as they were open. For a moment, we just sat there and looked at each other in understanding of what I had just done.

“Good. Let's go,” Callum barked, startling me back to the situation.

Still not moving, I glanced back at Arryn. “You good?” I asked him softly.

“Much better now,” he murmured with a smile, moving to sit up and forcing me to lean back on my heels so he could.

Baer reached down to help pull me to my feet. “How are you feeling, Killer?” he asked me quietly.

“I'm okay. Though I'm worried about what else is in this damn maze now,” I said more loudly as I turned to face the others, Arryn now standing and getting his bearings.

Baer laughed. “Aren't we all.”

“What would be better is us not standing around waiting for the next threat.” Callum prompted us to get moving again, his thick arms crossing over his chest. It was then that I remembered the wound he received while fighting the Cu Sith.

The blood was still trickling from the laceration and mixing with the dirt and sweat on his arms. I nodded at his arm and asked, “Do you need to heal that?”

“I'm good,” he said simply.

Arryn walked over to him. “Let me heal it. If we face anything further, we need you at your best.”

Callum didn't reply verbally, simply holding out his arm to Arryn to do his thing. Arryn placed his palm on Callum's bicep, and I could feel the magic we now shared doing an assessment before healing the wound before my eyes.

Once Arryn had finished and withdrawn his hand, Callum spoke, “Can we go now?”

“Lead the way, Mr. Grumpy Pants,” I replied with a sardonic smile that didn't reach my eyes, gesturing out with my palm for him to lead on.

He ground his jaw but ignored me, turning to stomp out of the courtyard and down another path. I had no idea where we were. All the walls looked exactly the same, covered in the poisonous ivy, no distinguishing markers to be found. Of course, that didn't matter really since the fucking walls moved.

After a few minutes of trudging along in silence, I asked, “So what else can I expect to jump out at us?”

“Honestly?” Lennox replied after I nodded at him, “We have no idea.”

“Perfect,” I grumbled to myself. “Any idea what it is that we’re supposed to accomplish here?”

“It could be any number of things, but I suspect that this trial is both physical and mental, testing our responses to the threats we face. I believe they'll continue until we have met whatever it is that the land is looking for,” Arryn explained as I drew nearer to him, still shaken after seeing him unconscious.

I had seen men knocked out before, but I'd never felt that level of fear before in response. It startled me. The thought of him being seriously injured had almost paralyzed me and led me to believe that I wasn’t staying as detached as I had wanted.

Despite my better judgment, I had started to care for these men, even Callum. The bond was pulling us closer together now that I could feel the echoes of their emotions. I worried about how I was going to leave here after the trials, to return to Earth and the girls who counted on me. The ones who had suffered like I had. They needed me to be the constant in their lives, and I couldn't abandon them like everyone else had.

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