Page 7 of A Balm of Healing
Her eyes widened as he set it on the table in front of her.
“I’m supposed to take care ofyou,” she protested, teeth chattering.
“And you can’t do so without the use of your limbs. I suggest you take some time to rest and warm up before you do any sort of work around the house.”
She gazed back at him with parted lips, and he couldn’t help but return her stare. A foreign flutter took hold of his stomach, tying it and twisting it until he wasn’t sure whether he would retch or flee from nerves. He felt like a young man again, entranced as he laid eyes on a beautiful, captivating woman.
But then the curtain fell over him as he reminded himself he was worthless. It would do him good to remind himself often.
“Did you come find me?” she asked, halting him in the tracks of his retreat.
He nodded once. “You said you would show up today. You never came.”
“Because you want to know if I can heal you.”
There was no sense in denying it. He nodded again. “I hate my life,” he confessed as he stared at his hands resting in his lap. “It’s sad and lonely and filled with so much heartache and pain. But I thought if I just had the slightest bit of use in my legs…maybe that could change things.”
“What happened?” she asked quietly. “I’ve seen more injuries than you can count. And I’ve never seen anything like yours.”
The aching pit of sadness returned with a vengeance as he recalled everything he’d lost. Not just his wife. But his legs. His magic. His independence. His identity. But if she were to help him, she needed to know the truth.
“Where I used to live, the council was cruel. I…” He cleared his throat and stared at his hands just to keep himself from glancing her way. “I was the chief’s heir at the time. But it was just a title.” He ran a hand through his white hair, now curled at his ears without a haircut for a while. “I escaped Attleglade and married Meredith. After eleven years when my father died, they found me. Us. Threatened to kill my family if I didn’t return to do the chief’s job.” He swallowed, his eyes smarting with emotion, enough that he turned his chair to face away from her. “She took Nyana. I took Bastien. Soon after, Meredith died.” He rubbed a hand over his chest as he relived memories he wished he could bury. “I tried to visit Nyana in secret. I got caught. My punishment was to never walk again.” He paused for several long moments to compose himself before he dared to meet her eye, only to find compassion in their depths. “I don’t believe such healing is possible, Miss Caddell. But if you would be willing to try, I will pay you for your efforts.”
She abandoned her place on the sofa and approached, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I won’t lie to you. Healing from such injuries will be painful. Perhaps just as painful as it was to receive them. Are you sure you want to proceed?”
Without hesitation, he nodded. “I would do anything to chase my grandchildren around the yard and move around independently.”
The small squeeze she gave his shoulder also squeezed his heart with surprising warmth. “Give me the rest of the day to prepare, and we can begin tomorrow.”
He wagged his finger at her accusingly. “You are just trying to stay here for as long as possible.”
But then his heart jolted when she laughed, a beautiful, musical sound that left him both speechless and unable to form a coherent thought. Throughout his life, he’d had very little laughter to fill the gaps of heartache. But she offered hers so freely to him.
The woman’s eyes sparkled with humor as she dropped her hand from his shoulder and picked up her portmanteau. “Believe me, Mr. Dalena. You don’t want a healer with frozen hands.”
“You may call me Emeric,” he finally managed through a hoarse croak.
With a warm smile, she replied, “Then you may call me Gwen. Is there a room I can stay in for the time being?”
The main room resided on the ground floor, which was where he stayed because he couldn’t climb the stairs. But the others… “All of the rooms are upstairs.” He grimaced. “I apologize. I don’t know how clean the second floor is. But my daughter, Nyana, assured me there are extra linens in the hall closet.”
She paused on the first step leading to the next story and turned back to face him. “May I ask a personal question?”
“I suppose.”
“Why don’t you stay with family?”
He dropped his gaze to his lap. “Bastien recently married. He has been my rock for years. But I knew it was time to let him go on his own. And Nyana… She has three children to care for. She doesn’t need me in her life. Especially because I hardly know her.”
“Right,” she murmured. “Meredith took Nyana. I’m sure developing a new relationship with your daughter is not easy.”
Not knowing how to reply, he remained quiet. He’d never confessed the inner ponderings of his mind, the workings of his heart on such a level before with someone he just met.
“First thing tomorrow,” she said as she continued her trek up the stairs. “Make sure you are ready.”
In all honesty, he never thought he could be ready for what he might face.
Chapter Four
