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I shook my head. “It’s nothing like that.”
Dr. Amanzi set a wizened old hand on my shoulder and smiled down at me. “Then try to get some rest. I’ll return tomorrow to see how you two are doing.”
He left, and I took up his suggestion, and his chair. I set my hands atop one of Ben’s own and studied his weary face. “I’m sorry. . .”
My words rang in my mind as I set my head down and fell into a deep sleep.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
I was stirredfrom my slumber by a hand that settled on my head. My eyes fluttered open and I turned my head to see who stood there.
It was Lady Sofia Castle.
A smile stretched across her face. “Good morning.”
My heart dropped into my stomach and I sat up with some reluctance. “I’m so sorry, Lady Sofia-”
She held up one hand and shook her head. “There’s no need for apologies. Ben has his own will and I know how he adores those machines. It was inevitable he would again be found on the tract.” Her eyes fell on her son and her expression hardened. “What is unfortunate, however, is what monster did this to him.”
I winced. “It was me.”
She whipped her head back to me and blinked. “What do you mean?”
I took a deep, shuddering breath. “Somebody used magic to rile up the water and I tried to put it out by attaching sand to the wave, but it ended up attaching to everything. That includes Ben, and that’s why he’s in this condition.”
Sofia studied me for a short while before her smile reappeared. She grasped both my hands in hers and her eyes twinkled with that same light her son so often sported. “Millie, listen to me. You are no more at fault for what’s happened to Ben than I am.”
I shook my head. “But I-”
“You tried to save him,” she insisted as she squeezed my hands. “Your only fault is not being able to control the great power of the Prima Staff, but one can hardly blame you for that. It’s a powerful weapon, the strength of which is impossible to predict.”
“But I was still the one who used it,” I insisted.
Her smile widened. “And when you used it you had only good intentions in your heart, otherwise I believe that great power would have done more than provide some scratches and burns. It would have killed him.”
My heart nearly stopped as my eyes widened. “Killed him?”
She laughed and shook her head. “You could not have killed him yourself. Your goodness prevented his death by the hands of whatever wicked magician has commandeered the elements for their evil purpose.”
I pursed my lips as a faint glimmer of relief appeared in my heart. “I still shouldn’t have tried that. I should have thought things through. I should’ve known I couldn’t control the flute. Not when I know so little about its magic.” A bittersweet snort escaped me. “Hell, even you know more about it than I do.”
Sofia set a hand on my shoulder and tilted her head to catch my eye with her sparkling ones. “I have been studying the scriptures left by the first emperor for the past few weeks in order to help you, so I may have an advantage there.”
My eyes widened. “Really? Is there anything you can tell me about how to control it?”
She shook her head. “Nothing more than the inscription that is already on the flute.”
I sighed and cupped my cheek in one hand. “‘My script is simple, my thoughts are kind. You’ll find the symbol within the mind.’ Much good that does me.”
“Perhaps your mind was too worried about Ben to focus its power correctly yesterday, and not the other day,” she pointed out. A knock came from the door and Sofia nodded at the portal. “I believe that’s for you.”
I lifted an eyebrow, but stood and moved across the room where I opened the entrance. A woman slightly younger than myself stood in the doorway. She wore a plain dress which climbed above her ankles and which featured a straight design and short sleeves. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight bun behind her head and her face sparkled with cleanliness. The only blemish on her features were the dark circles around her eyes.
“Are you going to just stand there gawking at me or do I get let in?” the stranger snapped.
I blinked a couple of times. The voice belonged to Aria, but the look was more like a genteel woman. “Aria?” I guessed.
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. “I told you I was going to be down this morning, didn’t I?” She leaned to one side and her eyes widened a little when she noticed Sofia. “My Lady!”
