Page 24 of The Elven Healer's Apprentice

Merlon ignored him as well. Turning to me, he continued, “I will need you to work with Zebadiah to organize the delivery of supplies and removal of soiled things.”

The slender older elf offered me a polite smile and a formal bow. “Call me Zeb, my lady.”

“Then you must call me Adela.” I offered my free hand, intending to give him a friendly handshake. Instead, he took the tips of my fingers in his and bowed over them.

“A pleasure, my lady.”

Before I corrected Zeb, Merlon drove him out into the corridor with a glare. “I am beginning now.”

“Understood.” I returned the empty mug to the supply station I had prepared on the top of a chest of drawers near the door. Before I turned back to the bed, the prickle of a spell starting flared across my senses. And so began our work.

Chapter Eight

Adela

Despite Merlon’s and my efforts, the triplets were born in the early hours of the morning three days later. By the first child’s cry, I had begun to truly grow concerned about Merlon. His skin was pasty, and the occasional tremble in his hands had grown to a full tremor by the time he had dropped all of his wards. The movement was so severe that he didn’t protest in the least when I insisted on being the one to handle the newborns, checking their vitals, wiping them off, and then passing them into their mother’s and father’s care.

Thankfully, Casimir and his wife, being experienced parents, knew just what to do. Although the babies were smaller than a typical newborn, they declared their health with lusty cries, alert responses, and pink or dusky skin as typical of their elven heritage. Two boys, one light elf and one dark, followed by a pale daughter, much to the delight of both parents.

Orin cracked open the bedchamber door moments after I had handed over the last child. “May I come in?”

I glanced over at the doting father, daughter cradled in his arms, and Casimir nodded.

“Give me a moment,” I instructed. Slipping past Merlon, who sagged against the wall close to the open window, I gave the maidservants assisting quick instructions about how to cleanup the bedchamber and helped them gather the soiled linens we had just removed from the bed.

Once the worst was cleared away, the maids left, and Orin entered.

“Two new nephews and a niece,” Veta whispered over the dark heads of the babes in her arms. All three children had been born with full heads of black hair.

Orin’s worried gaze flicked over to where Merlon leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, barely moving.

“Despite their early arrival, all three are amazingly healthy,” I assured him as I returned our tools and supplies to my satchel. “Merlon strengthened their lungs and immune systems, but it is still best to keep their surroundings clean and limit visitors for a month or so.”

“Understood,” Casimir responded.

I turned to find the tall elf perched on the edge of his wife’s bed, caressing her shoulder while staring raptly into his daughter's silver-green eyes. The tiny babe blinked up at him from his arms and joy lightened Casimir’s usually restrained features. While I watched, he lifted his head and met my gaze.

“If anything unexpected happens, I will seek you out, I assure you.” He nodded toward Merlon. “We will come to you next time.”

I nodded. “Perhaps we could beg a place to stay for the rest of the night.”

“No.” Merlon pushed off the wall, staggered a step before catching the edge of the chest of drawers for balance. “We need to leave. We have work to do at home.”

A crease appeared between Casimir’s brows. “Are you sure, Merlon? You—”

Merlon waved away the shadow elf’s next words before he finished his sentence. “I need to walk.” Putting his words into action immediately, he strode toward the door, steadying morewith each step. On the threshold, he paused and looked back at me. “Coming?”

Startled by the strange vulnerability in Merlon’s gaze, I instinctively nodded. “Though perhaps we should request food for the road. I packed nothing.”

Merlon nodded as though one only half-awake. “I will wait for you at the end of the garden.” Then he turned and walked into the corridor.

“Casimir?” Veta murmured.

“I will see to it, love.” Casimir shifted from the bed, handing his daughter to Orin. He followed me out the door. “This way.” He motioned in the opposite direction from the way we had come, leading me deeper into the house. “Merlon tends to be so prickly it’s hard to tell when he’s truly ill or just being himself.”

“Was he always this way?” I asked. We emerged into a spacious kitchen with a wide hearth and a few servants bustling about.

Casimir paused and glanced down at me for a moment. “Grumpy?”

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