Page 80 of Soar

“Hmm…perhaps a blockage?”

“Very good. There was a mild case of onset colon cancer, which we caught very early, and she’s undergone treatment for it. It’s why the number is red, but the one next to it is white, showing the improvement of the condition and that her small intestines are healing.”

Wow. Treating cancer, even, without worries of it growing worse.

They kept going, with Evora also leaning around to see better so she could follow Sora’s explanation. Salem frantically took notes and tried to absorb everything at the same time. It was incredible what all this diagnostic spell could do. He’d known this before, from Sora’s explanation, but actually seeing it in person was something else entirely. There wasn’t a disease, condition, or ailment that couldn’t be detected by this spell. Even that was life-changing because, often, half the battle was diagnosing the actual problem.

Sora gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Those are the basics. Let the spell go now. We don’t want to wear you out.”

He let it go, although reluctantly, as it was so fascinating. “How long can this spell be held?”

“Depends. By yourself? About an hour, comfortably. If it’s a group working? Days. Which sometimes happens.” Sora returned to his own seat. “We had a case a good twenty years ago now where one of the dragons got caught in a terrible storm, was hit by lightning, and we all went into emergency mode to savehim. Myself, my parents, and three of my cousins did a group working to repair the damaged organs, restore limbs, etc. But it meant we had to keep the diagnostics up for days to make sure he was healing, no blood clots caused trouble, or any of that. In fact, Amaru’s met him.”

Amaru popped upright. “Wait, I have?”

“Ha Na, too. Rashi, the amiable guy who helped lead people out of the caves and into the tent encampment.”

“Oh my god! But he didn’t have anything wrong with him. He flew into town several times for supplies, even.”

Sora smirked. “The Abe do their work properly, you know. But he’s an example of what it sometimes takes to put people back on the mend. It’s not always easy, but it can be done, especially if we have multiple mages all lending strength to the patient.”

Incredible. Truly incredible to think they were able to heal a dragon struck by lightning.

Salem looked Sora dead in the eye. “I want to be you when I grow up.”

Sora just laughed. “Compliment taken, thank you. It’s partially why I’m encouraging Evora to learn, especially since she’s got a good eye for detail. If Evora, Amaru, and you all become the main physicians for the Valerii, I don’t think you’ll even need me to pop over here.”

He might be right, but… “I’m still calling you for advice even after I get caught up.”

“Fine by me. I’ll call on you, too, when my kids get into something. Because let’s face it, they’ll get into something.”

“They’re kids.” Salem sat back in his chair. “That’s their job.”

“They do it too well, some days. Okay, for this meeting, I vote we set up a schedule and a training regime. As we just said, there’s too much to learn all at once. Amaru, you’re still catching up on current tech?—”

Amaru gave a defeated sigh, like technology was not only insulting him but also his mother by advancing so quickly.

“—so let’s do this. Salem, walk Amaru through what you do in a surgery. Let him watch videos and such so he can see how the tech operates. Then the two of you can figure out what equipment he can make to work with the magic we’ll teach you. I’ll take you every other day with Evora, teach you the basic potions to treat most ailments, and then gradually advance up to spells. Sound good?”

Really, it was the only reasonable method of attack. “Sounds good to me. Can I have homework?”

“Oh, you’re getting homework,” Sora promised in a tone of doom. “You, Evora, and Amaru.”

Was it wrong Salem was really excited to hear this?

Gregori lifted his head and stared at the door in front of him, releasing a heavy sigh. He’d walked through this door hundreds of times in the past. This certainly wasn’t his first time being called onto the carpet. All of it for stupid shenanigans he’d pulled with his fellow trackers. Just pranks that had gotten a little out of hand.

But this time was different.

He’d lied, kept secrets, and in the end, failed his mate, his clan, and his king.

Just as he lifted his hand to knock, the door swung open and he gasped, barely pulling his hand back in time to keep from hitting Thiago in the nose. Gregori jumped back a step and grimaced.

“Sorry.”

“I take it you’re done lingering outside his door and you’re ready to face the music?”

Of course Thiago knew he’d been lurking outside Rodrigo’s private office. The crafty aide to the king knew everything that went on in the Valerii Clan. He’d been at Rodrigo’s side foras long as Gregori could remember, and he had even served Rodrigo’s father.

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