Page 26 of Ruled By Magic

The doctor nodded and perched himself next to me. “Where is the pain worst?”

“My stomach.” My voice rasped.

He lifted the blanket. I followed his gaze and gasped. A jagged burn hole in the front of the dress revealed red, blistered skin beneath. I gritted my teeth as the doctor placed his hand on the wound. He closed his eyes. Warmth seeped into me. It coalesced in my belly and lower back. The warmth built to a pleasant heat but shot up higher. Too hot. Pain filled my body again, and I cried out.

The Lord Commander offered his hand, and I held tight. “Try to breathe. I know it hurts, but it’s effective.”

I closed my eyes and sucked in air. He rubbed a thumb over the front of my wrist. I narrowed my focus to the sensation and tried to block out the agony.

“That should do it.” The pain dwindled. “You had bruised organs, internal bleeding, a third-degree burn, and muscular damage to your lower back. All fixed now.”

I pulled my hand from the Lord Commander’s and sat up. No pain. I got to my feet and took a few steps. Still good. My lips curved into a smile. “That’s amazing! How did you do that?”

The doctor glanced at the Lord Commander. “I think I’ll leave that to you to explain. Good night, both of you.”

He closed the door behind him.

I turned to face the Lord Commander. He’d saved me. In that moment, gratitude outweighed my wariness. My body moved easily, lithe and strong. I seated myself next to him on the sofa. “What was that all about?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “This can’t go beyond these walls. Is that clear?”

His voice held a hard note of command. I nodded. “There are a very few mages—only thirty or so in Dexia, that we know of—who can use their magic to heal. It’s a vanishingly rare skill, and their effectiveness is limited by their innate strength. Doctor Hanna will have to sleep and eat before he can heal anyone else. Their time is beyond precious.”

He paused and took a breath. “The magical community keeps their existence a secret. It’s felt that if word got out, the demand for their services would be out of control. There might be riots. They aren’t miracle workers, there are some things they can’t fix, but they’re a lot more effective than standard medicine.”

The implications of his words sank in. Of course there would be riots. Only thirty magical doctors for a population of millions. “What can they heal? What’s beyond them?”

“They’re very good with injuries, putting the body back into its natural state. They can slow or halt the progression of some diseases. Some maladies don’t respond. Cancer, for instance.” His lips pressed together, and he glanced away with an unmistakable twinge of pain. He’d lost someone. Should I ask? Before I could, he continued.

“I’m not sure what to do about them. The current system isn’t fair. But they have their own lives to live, they can’t be slaves healing whoever we tell them to.”

This must be just one problem of hundreds on his plate. I didn’t envy him. And he’d taken a big risk, revealing the healers to me.

“Thanks for calling him.”

“Look, Livet—”

“Liv.” I surprised myself with the interruption. “I hate Livet, it’s an awful name.” I must still be light-headed. He smiled; a bright, genuine one that sent a pleasant shiver through my limbs.

“I’m officially Leopold, so trust me, I feel your pain. Anyway, Liv, I’m sorry. It’s my job to ensure your safety. I didn’t think—” He shook his head. “I didn’t think anyone would dare attack you. I underestimated how much some people must hate you.”

His words struck deep in my chest. He was right. Of course people must hate me, but I’d never intended to meet them. They occupied a different world to me. The barrier of class and status kept us far apart. Now I bumped into them in the toilets.

“You know who she was?”

I nodded.

“It’s lucky she’s a very weak mage, or you’d be dead. Her family sold their estate. She’s trawling the social circuit, desperate for a husband, but no one will touch her.”

A pitiful image that stirred nothing in me. The woman tried to kill me. She could die a spinster.

“Everything collapsed for them after the old Lord Commander died. I haven’t bothered to prove it, but I’m pretty sure he still subsidized Anton. They were close friends and the family never seemed short of money. When I took over, all that stopped, so Aleita has good cause to hate us both.”

“What’ll happen to her?”

“Prison. Attempted murder.”

A chill ran through me, but a yawn chased it. My eyelids grew in weight, and I struggled to keep my focus on the Lord Commander.

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