Page 43 of The Gilded Cage

“Rhessinda,” Kiva corrected.

Maddis considered for a moment, before she offered an apologetic shrug. “I used to know all of our healers, but there are so many now, and I’m not as good with names as I once was. Lucinda, Rhessinda, Jacinda, Melinda — they all blur together, I’m afraid. It’s a peril of growing older, but not the worst, I’ll admit.” Her dark face lit with self-deprecating humor as she waved a hand down her aging body. “Once everything decides to move south, it’s all downhill from there. Something for you to look forward to.”

Kiva couldn’t help chuckling.

“Someone at reception will be able to help you find her,” Maddis went on, gesturing to the infirmary Kiva had already been heading toward. The healer’s attention was then snagged by a white-robed group lying on the grass, their faces tinged a sickly green. With a long-suffering sigh, she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I need to have a word with some of the novices about their behavior at the festival last night.”

With a pat on the shoulder, Maddis left Kiva standing on the path, but not before turning back to call, “I’ll look forward to hearing once you’ve made your decision.”

Kiva said nothing, not wanting to let the Matron Healer down. Not wanting to letherselfdown. But now wasn’t the time — there were too many other things she needed to focus on. Her own desires would have to wait.

Right now she deserves the chance to live her life and follow her dreams.

Jaren’s words to the Royal Council echoed in her mind, but Kiva closed her heart to them. Even if she made the selfish decision to put herself first, the scar on her hand would forever mark her as a criminal. No patient would ever trust her, no healing academy would ever accept her. One close look was all it would take for Maddis to rescind her offer.

And yet ...

Kiva sighed, Jaren’s words burrowing deep despite her best efforts to ignore them. Try as she might, she wasn’t ready to give up on her dreams.

Because dreams were all she had.

Dreams where her family was safe and happy and living the life they deserved.

Dreams where she studied at Silverthorn and was able to help those who needed her, bringing comfort where there was suffering, light where there was darkness, and hope when all hope was lost.

Dreams where she and Jaren —

No.

She knew better than to dream about Jaren.

“Hey, over here!”

Kiva looked up to see that she’d been walking blindly along the path toward the infirmary, only to discover Rhessinda sitting on a bench in the sanctuary and waving at her.

Passing through one of the stone archways, Kiva approached the young healer, the grass soft underfoot, the smells of lilac and lavender from the nearby shrubbery tickling her nose.

“I got your message,” Kiva said, taking a seat when Rhess patted the wood beside her.

While her white robes were spotless, the healer’s ashy hair was again in a messy bun, a few tendrils hanging loose around her face. “How’s the head?” she asked, her russet eyes examining the bruise much like Maddis had done.

“Much better,” Kiva said. “The aloeweed gel brought the inflammation down faster than I expected.”

“The poppymilk probably helped, too,” Rhess said with a knowing wink.

Kiva grinned. “I slept like the dead that night. Not sure if that was wise after a head wound.”

“If memory serves, Ididtell you to wake regularly,” Rhess said dryly. She then asked, “Other than the swelling, have you been feeling well enough? No slurring, numbness, coordination concerns? Drowsiness, vomiting, headaches? Anything like that?”

Admittedly, Kiva had experienced most of those things in the last two days, but all of them she attributed to training with Caldon, so she shook her head.

“You were limping when you walked over here,” Rhess observed in a leading statement.

“I’ve recently started a new fitness regime,” Kiva said, moderating her voice to keep from revealing how she felt about it. Judging by the mirth in Rhess’s eyes, she wasn’t successful.

“Ah,” the healer said. “So just your standard muscle aches and pains?”

“If by ‘standard,’ you mean ‘I’m dying,’ then sure.”

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