Page 164 of Silverbow
She gave her ascent and Alloralla gently placed a hand atop her injured shoulder. She braced for the icy wave, but it didn’t come. Instead, warmth bloomed from her hand. Like melting candle wax, it slowly slid through Enya’s chest. It cooled where it met the wound, turning to ice that felt deliciously soothing.
“You were very lucky.”
“I’m not sure I’d consider anything about a crossbow particularly lucky,” Enya muttered.
Alloralla let out a laugh that sounded like tinkling little bells. “I meant you were lucky to have been with the prince.”
Faint spots of pink crept into her cheeks.Of course.“Do you…know him well?”
With another amused huff, Alloralla began carefully unknotting the sling. “I have known Oryn Brydove since he took his first breath. I was the court healer for Eastwood.”
“And now?”
“I reside in Stonescale, healing those who come in on ships and looking in on the prince when he and his court are in residence.”
His court. Light.She hadn’t considered the others as his bloody court. “And he…summoned you?”
“Colm found me in the dream when you departed Harbortown and asked me to come and then he set the gnomes on me.”
She felt a bit sheepish, but she said, “Thank you for coming.”
Alloralla studied her with keen blue eyes. “Of course. I serve the court. But rest assured that there is nothing between us that will be discussed outside of this room, other than how long you are to rest.”
“And how long is that?” Enya asked.
“I am sentencing you to at least two weeks of silk sheets and down pillows. More, if the wound puts up a fight. A tricky spot that, and the prince’s healing, while life saving, is rather crude. He effectively plugged the hole and now we must unplug it and properly mend it.”
Enya gulped.
Alloralla waved a hand. “It’s not so bad as all that. You won’t feel a thing. I can wield away the pain.”
Where was that bloody wielding two weeks ago?
Alloralla carefully slid her fingers beneath the fabric of Enya’s shirt, brushing over the angry scar. “Oh you poor child.”
Before she could respond, that warmth bloomed again in her shoulder. It tingled as it radiated out to her spine and across her ribs, chasing away all the pain. She sighed as it continued to spread and pulse in time with her heart. As it crept through all of her limbs, Enya felt weightless, like she was floating in a warm bath. The relief was so glorious, she let out a little moan that made pink flood her cheeks. The elven woman didn’t seem to notice. When her hands came away and the feeling came flooding back, she gently took up Enya’s wrist and moved her arm in careful circles.
“Any lingering pain?”
“No,” she sighed, flexing her fingers, the feeling strangely foreign.
Alloralla prodded at each of them in turn with what felt like a small, dull pin. “You feel that?”
She nodded.
“Very good. We’ll keep the sentence to two weeks. If it gives you a single twinge, I want to see it again. I’m afraid the scar will remain as a relic of the time that has passed since the wound.”
“Thank you,” Enya said, still testing the shoulder.Incredible.
The elven woman perched on the sofa across from her, studying her thoughtfully. “Is there anything else?”
“Like what?”
“Anything at all. I’ve just done a full healing, my lady. Is there anything you want to discuss?”
Enya blinked at her and Alloralla sighed.
“You are free of any disease or defect. Assuming you can avoid crossbow bolts or any other calamities, you should live a long life for your kind. But, there is an exhaustion in you that feels older than two weeks, and there is a residue that suggests a dream ward has been in use for some time.” She examined Enya over steepled fingers. “Can you sleep without it?”
