Page 77 of A Touch of Stars and Stones
It was so much worse than any of the other visions or images because this didn’t just show me. I could feel it. I could taste the tang of copper in the air. It felt real. Even my palm hurt where the metal’s pattern pressed into my skin.
My hand flexes in Ten’s, but he keeps his grip tight, a slight grunt slipping past his lips.
I blink back the sting of tears, turn my gaze to where we are, and my eyes travel over towards the formidable tower thatrises from the centre of The Court. That foreign building, which offered nothing but questions when I first arrived.
And more questions are all I’ve been dealt since.
With another squeeze of my hand, Ten tugs me in the direction he’s leading, my feet all but stumbling along in the dust.
A doorway, a hallway, a bend, a door.
But we’re not in my room as I step inside and look up.
It’s similar. But there’s a purple throw on the bed. The huge bed that, while it is probably the same size as mine, looks much bigger in this room. In Ten’s room.
“Sit,” he orders, leading me to a soft chair in the corner of the room, next to the wardrobe and desk. He finally lets my hand go, balling his fist after releasing and heading off across the room.
He returns and kneels in front of me with a cup of water that I gladly take and drink deeply from. It quenches my thirst and rinses the horrid tang of copper from my mouth. It also gives me something to distract from the presence of Ten so close.
There’s no mistaking the concern in his eyes as he looks at me, still the warm chestnut-rich colour that I’ve come to be too familiar with, but this close, I can study the subtle colour variations as the light catches, greens glinting, like the hills we trekked over to come here.
“What are you looking at?” I ask.
“I’m checking on your injuries.” As his eyes trace over my face and down my neck and chest, it’s like he’s running the tip of his finger across my skin, and it leaves me with a trace of goosebumps in the wake of his attention.
“Perrin fixed me.” It was an odd sensation, like a gentle tugging under my skin. Not unpleasant, and it alleviated the sting of the pain inflicted.
Ten keeps moving his eyes over me.
“But I still ache. Everywhere,” I add, needing to fill the silence and buffer his scrutiny.
“Calix will do that to you. I’ve been fighting with him since we were kids, but he’s now the strongest of us all. Physically.”
“I couldn’t stop it or him. I could feel every hit when he connected with me, but it was like an explosion in my body. I didn’t think it would be like that,” I say, my voice soft and tired.
“Perrin’s good, but he can’t erase all the damage. Your bruises will still hurt, and you’re going to be sore for days.”
“How? I mean, how can he heal?” Reading about healers was one thing, but feeling it felt alien.
“He’s a Natural. He can manipulate your skin to knit back together so you won’t bleed out. Very useful if you’ve been stabbed or have other cuts or wounds. But he can’t take all the damage away. He’ll likely bring you something for the pain later.”
It wasn’t just the physical pain I was worried about. “Will she forgive me?”
Ten brings his eyes back to mine, and I know he’s not sure what to say, the little tick of his eyebrow giving him away.
“That’s not for me to say.” He stands. “But there’s no reason why she shouldn’t. I’m guessing you didn’t have any more control over what you showed her than you did those visions with us? Or the ones you had before you even came?” His words are gentle, but they make me feel small, reminding me I’m not in control, and I hate it.
I nod.
“If I’m right, then we need to practice until you know what you can do, and what every person and combination you connect with can do for you, to you, and how you can work together.”
“That easy, huh?” I joke. It sounds impossible.
“Not easy. That’s why we all live in the residence. Training isn’t just about throwing daggers or defending yourself. It’s moreabout our magic and the potential it brings for us and others. But with you, we’re all in the dark.”
We wait until I’ve got my trembling hands under control and go down to the food hall.
There’s an instant hush as we walk in, and I feel the rush of blood to my cheeks.
