I heard a shout below me and turned to see a group of two dozen soldiers unloading a supply wagon that had just been wheeled from deeper in the gorge. The group was about one hundred feet below me and they swarmed over the cart like ants over a corpse.
After ascending a few additional ledges and climbing a ladder, we made it to Nadea's pavilion. It was colored to blend perfectly with the side of the cliff, and was guarded by four women in chain armor. When they saw Runir and I approach they pulled back the flap to allow us to enter.
"No change." Gerald was a small man, but he probably outweighed my famished body. His hair was a dark brown and came down almost to his shoulders in straw-like disorder. Runir told me that he had been responsible for saving Nadea's life when she had been imprisoned in the dungeons.
"Will she ever wake?" the tall man finally asked the question on everyone's mind. I could sense the sadness in his voice. The loss. He didn't need to tell me how he felt about her. He reminded me all too much of Malek and his feelings for Shlara.
"I am unsure," I sighed and took a spare seat next to Nadea's cot. Her body was covered with a thick gray blanket, but her face was left bare. Her eyes were closed and the dark circles under them accented the drawn and pained pull of the tan skin across her features.
"I thought you said you had done this before?" Runir asked me for the twentieth time.
"This is different." I shot him a glare and Gerald turned a shade of gray to match the blanket over Nadea. He must have heard stories about me.
"How?" Runir frowned and Gerald stood up from his chair quickly, interrupting my response.
"If you two are going to have this discussion, I'll just be leaving," the small man squeaked. Then he seemed to realize the bold words had actually left his mouth. His eyes grew wide and he dashed out of the tent before we might respond.
I turned back to Nadea and stared at her face. Then I looked at the swell of her chest under the thick blanket. Her breaths were so shallow that even with my enhanced senses I could only perceive a slight movement.
"Kaiyer?" Runir pressed me again.
"It's different because she isn't human." I turned to look at him. His eyes were a darker blue than Jessmei's. They didn't get wide with disbelief, his heart rate didn't increase, and he didn't inhale a breath.
"You knew?" I asked the obvious.
"The king had known for a while, he left a letter for my father." He looked nervous and his heart beat faster.
"You left that part out of the story you told me," I growled.
"Would it have mattered? It was her secret to tell. How do you know?" His words cracked and I saw the strife in his eyes.
"When I change someone, I learn everything about their body. I channel the Earth through their spine and into their brain, I see all of their imperfections and injuries. I reshape them to allow their mind and form to accept the Elements."
"The Earth? The Elements? Is that the magic you use? Explain it to me." Runir moved across the tent to sit in the medic's empty seat.
"Yes. It is our magic." I nodded and countless memories of Entas, my old friends, and screams of battle rode through my tired brain. "I started to change her, but I knew it would be difficult because of the stab wound. Then I realized during the process that her pathways weren't human." I was about to go into more detail about the procedure, but the handsome man interrupted me.
"I don't wish to speak about it anymore. When she wakes up, she can tell the story to you." Runir sat forward in his chair and looked at Nadea's face. The cot was in the center of the tent between the two chairs we occupied. On the opposite side was a medical desk where Gerald kept his tools ready in case his duchess awoke and needed his attention.
"You were the one who asked." I shrugged.
"I asked if she would ever wake. I didn't want to speak of her heritage," Runir huffed and got up from his chair, and then he paced around the small
After ascending a few additional ledges and climbing a ladder, we made it to Nadea's pavilion. It was colored to blend perfectly with the side of the cliff, and was guarded by four women in chain armor. When they saw Runir and I approach they pulled back the flap to allow us to enter.
"No change." Gerald was a small man, but he probably outweighed my famished body. His hair was a dark brown and came down almost to his shoulders in straw-like disorder. Runir told me that he had been responsible for saving Nadea's life when she had been imprisoned in the dungeons.
"Will she ever wake?" the tall man finally asked the question on everyone's mind. I could sense the sadness in his voice. The loss. He didn't need to tell me how he felt about her. He reminded me all too much of Malek and his feelings for Shlara.
"I am unsure," I sighed and took a spare seat next to Nadea's cot. Her body was covered with a thick gray blanket, but her face was left bare. Her eyes were closed and the dark circles under them accented the drawn and pained pull of the tan skin across her features.
"I thought you said you had done this before?" Runir asked me for the twentieth time.
"This is different." I shot him a glare and Gerald turned a shade of gray to match the blanket over Nadea. He must have heard stories about me.
"How?" Runir frowned and Gerald stood up from his chair quickly, interrupting my response.
"If you two are going to have this discussion, I'll just be leaving," the small man squeaked. Then he seemed to realize the bold words had actually left his mouth. His eyes grew wide and he dashed out of the tent before we might respond.
I turned back to Nadea and stared at her face. Then I looked at the swell of her chest under the thick blanket. Her breaths were so shallow that even with my enhanced senses I could only perceive a slight movement.
"Kaiyer?" Runir pressed me again.
"It's different because she isn't human." I turned to look at him. His eyes were a darker blue than Jessmei's. They didn't get wide with disbelief, his heart rate didn't increase, and he didn't inhale a breath.
"You knew?" I asked the obvious.
"The king had known for a while, he left a letter for my father." He looked nervous and his heart beat faster.
"You left that part out of the story you told me," I growled.
"Would it have mattered? It was her secret to tell. How do you know?" His words cracked and I saw the strife in his eyes.
"When I change someone, I learn everything about their body. I channel the Earth through their spine and into their brain, I see all of their imperfections and injuries. I reshape them to allow their mind and form to accept the Elements."
"The Earth? The Elements? Is that the magic you use? Explain it to me." Runir moved across the tent to sit in the medic's empty seat.
"Yes. It is our magic." I nodded and countless memories of Entas, my old friends, and screams of battle rode through my tired brain. "I started to change her, but I knew it would be difficult because of the stab wound. Then I realized during the process that her pathways weren't human." I was about to go into more detail about the procedure, but the handsome man interrupted me.
"I don't wish to speak about it anymore. When she wakes up, she can tell the story to you." Runir sat forward in his chair and looked at Nadea's face. The cot was in the center of the tent between the two chairs we occupied. On the opposite side was a medical desk where Gerald kept his tools ready in case his duchess awoke and needed his attention.
"You were the one who asked." I shrugged.
"I asked if she would ever wake. I didn't want to speak of her heritage," Runir huffed and got up from his chair, and then he paced around the small
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