Page 17 of The Elven Healer's Apprentice

He nodded.

“Twins and then triplets—pardon my forwardness, but isn’t that unusual for elves?”

“Ah, but my wife isn’t an elf.”

My eyebrows rose. “Is she a dryad?”

“Human.” He quirked his mouth. “As human as you, by the looks of it. May I ask how you came to be the assistant of the royal healer?”

I shook my head. “I am not even that.”

“Then why are you here?”

Shrugging to disguise the sudden panic in my gut, I tried to smile, but it fell flat. “I have nowhere else to go, so I will stay as long as he allows.” I couldn’t look at Casimir for fear I would cry. Desperation clawed at me. I had to stay. Here I had found safety, purpose, and friends. Sina’s blunt scolding and Lippin’s teasing antics reassured me that they had accepted me as a friend. But since Merlon’s return, I had grown even more determined to stay. I wanted to be part of this family. To do so, I had to crack the puzzle of the healer at its center and persuade him to accept me.

“Don’t let him push you away.”

My head snapped up to find the shadow elf across from me smiling slightly. “Pardon?” I asked.

“Merlon, don’t let him push you away. He needs connection. He has never been comfortable accepting it from those who care about him. I should know. I grew up with him to some extent. Had to, being related and all.” Mischief lightened his eyes to an almost silver hue. “Get him to talk about his childhood and it should help a great deal.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

He grinned then, a bright slash of white against his dark skin. “Because anyone can see you care, and you are getting under his shell.”

If only I was. Merlon had grown increasingly testy over the past few days. Perpetually grumpy and snappish, he yelled at Sina only the night before, which Lippin swore never happened. Then this morning, when Lippin shirked his chores again, Merlon had confined the faun to the stables indefinitely. The healer had stalked off muttering something about “No work, no comforts.” Which reminded me—

“Pardon, master elf—”

“Call me Casimir,” he offered.

Inclining my head with a smile, I acknowledged the gesture as I glanced at the angle of the sun. “I have other duties that require my attention.” Sage would be kicking the walls of her stall by now. “It has been a pleasure meeting you.”

“Until next time.” He offered me a deep bow.

I offered a wobbly curtsey before heading for the door. By the time I reached it, he was gone. Not even a wisp of shadowy leavings remained in his wake.

Chapter Six

Merlon

The cool scent of shadow magic filled my nose, announcing Casimir’s arrival in the darkest corner of the still room.

“I see you have taken an apprentice, or is she an assistant?”

“Neither.” I shot a glare over my shoulder without disturbing the infusion I was creating within the bottle in my hands. Holding the vessel perfectly still while encouraging the herbal attributes to infuse was a vital step. “I swore off apprentices after my last one.”

“Then what is she to you?” Casimir asked, crossing to pluck a bit of a mint leaf from the remnants on the workbench. “She works faster than Lippin moves on his best days.”

Silence hung between us while I continued to stare at the slowly changing color of the draught as I enhanced the potency of the ingredients.

“Are you paying her?”

“I never asked her to do anything except prove her skills.”

“Did she?”

“I refuse to have another apprentice, and Lippin is my assistant. There is no need for a second one.” I grimaced. Not that Lippin acted like much of an assistant these days, and I was paying him. Since my return, the faun had done as littleas possible, and Adela had brought up the slack without being asked.

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