Page 58 of Vibing Unity

She wasn’t wrong.

I looked at the girl. “So what’s up? Did someone hurt you? Treat you bad?”

She studied me a moment and then set the scalpel on the table near her. “They won’t let me see my siblings. My sister, and they won’t tell me anything besides she’s alive.”

I glanced around with a frown. “Why can’t she see her siblings?”

“She woke in this state, Your Highness,” one of the healers I vaguely recognized answered. “The Guardians brought them in unconscious for treatment because they were all injured in various degrees, but mostly mal everything. They should have woken a while ago, but they needed the sleep, so we let them sleep.”

I nodded and kept the gaze of the girl. “Because you can’t ever really sleep when you’re scared. Not really. It’s not real sleep. It’s your brain just shutting off from complete exhaustion, and it’s restless because the guilt you actually slept eats at you.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I heard you were abused, but you’re an only child. How do you know that?”

That was fair of her to ask when I was poking her. “I knew a few foster kids who were blood siblings. The older ones would talk about the guilt of sleeping. I know the rest on my own. I spent years never feeling like I was safe enough to sleep even after I ran from my last foster home. Only once I met Mel and only when she was in the house with me did I truly rest.”

Her lower lip quivered. “I’ve not felt that since my dad died. Mom was always shit, but he was great, and then my stepdad just moved in and said he was the boss and…”

“You won’t ever have to see either of them ever again,” I promised. “Unless you need to see them locked up and you can tell them off for your own sanity.” I shrugged when a few people gave me shocked looks.

She deserved much more than that.

“You can absolutely see your siblings. They might be sleeping and—we’ll get you updates.”

She swallowed loudly. “My sister?”

That was a much more complicated conversation. “They weren’t jerking you around. She’s alive, but that’s about all we know for sure. She will live. We’re trying to figure out how to heal her so she’ll have the best life possible. That’s why it’s hard to give you a real update.” I glanced at the healer who had spoken. “All of the life-threatening injuries were healed?”

“There’s nothing left that’s life-threatening, but they’re still healing those injuries, Your Highness,” he told me. “That was what I wasn’t articulating well because she—I’m not used to children in her state of upset.”

Yeah, I bet the guy wasn’t ready for a young witch to cuss him out and threaten him with a scalpel.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, food, and a bit of calm,” I told her. “I’ll be here.” I glanced at Ara. “Let’s see who of her siblings are awake and get some food here.” I focused back on the healer. “Do they have dietary restrictions or just get them fueled up and hydrated?”

“Today should be simpler, and let’s see where they’re at. If you’re getting quick, I would suggest like Panera. Soup and half sandwich of nothing spicy or over the top,” he answered.

Yeah, I figured. I asked the healers if there was anything they wanted to tell Ara to add since she had my account on the tabletwe always carried. It probably sounded weird, but given how large our online orders were for pickup using phones got to be a bit tedious.

I checked on the serious patient while everyone got things going, but my head was on the conversation I’d had with the witch who was awake… And it made me think about my conversation with Lucca. We were fine and it was settled.

But I felt unsettled still.

So I made a decision and excused myself. I opened a portal to Chief and gave the fae dog an assignment for me since he could contact me via our bond.

The other kids were awake, showered, and sitting with the one I’d met when I returned. Food started arriving and I was always happy to eat. I was also glad someone listened to me that we needed medical equipment more than just magic.

Magic was all about intent, and to fucking learn you needed to see things.

Which was why I was able to look at scans of the little girl’s arm and leg as I ate. Luckily, her hip wasn’t bad. A few fractures that could be easily healed. It was likely she landed on her side from the initial hit and the tire ended up over one arm and leg and the result the practically demolished bones.

There was so much to this, and I understood why it was so complicated. Even if we did the route humans would—she would never have a fully working arm or leg. They would use fake bones and titanium pins or whatever. I heard what the healers said, but I wasn’t a doctor, so I didn’t retain enough.

There had to be an answer here.

Stefanie arrived and I swallowed loudly as I glanced at her, thinking of her wing cut off. There were things no amount of magic could heal. I knew that.

I knew life wasn’tmagicallike that no matter how much magic I had.

But this? This I felt like we could fix.

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