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“Just to ensure he doesn’t forget and try to use the leg, of course.”
“Of course,” she said with another snort.
The female law keeper, who I recognized as a healing mage—soon had the matter in hand, however. The regular law keepers who had trailed in her wake lifted the injured man, and with a few choice words and a warning about not jostling the man’s leg, she had them all out of the entrance hall. I knew enough about the law keepers’ processes to know she would be taking them all to a smaller assessment room. Once there, she would complete the healing and any other investigation necessary.
I breathed a soft sigh of relief once they were gone, releasing my hold on my own body.
“I’m sorry for embarrassing you,” I said to Amara. “And in the middle of the law keepers’ hall, too. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“I hope you will be.” She narrowed her eyes as she examined me. “But for your own sake, not mine. Your squeamishness isn’t your fault.”
“Maybe not, but I’m not newly activated anymore. I’m a healing apprentice, and I should have better control over myself.”
“I didn’t realize it still affected you so badly.” Hayes sounded intrigued rather than censorious. “I would have expected it to have faded by now through exposure. You’ve certainly seen far worse injuries while training at the hospital with me—and connected with the injured bodies in those cases as well.”
I shrugged, not sure what to say. My squeamishness had abated somewhat, but it definitely hadn’t disappeared.
“Hmm…” Hayes rubbed the side of his jaw. “If it’s still there at this point, I’m afraid you may be dealing with it permanently. It’s unusual for a healer not to overcome it, but as you’ve already experienced, it won’t stop you from completing your duties as a healer.”
I groaned. “A squeamish healer. It’s bad enough being a squeamish apprentice, but you’re saying I’ll still be like this after I graduate and become a proficient?”
“Sorry,” Hayes said seriously, but I could see the amusement around his eyes.
“You’re laughing at me,” I grumbled, and he gave a full chuckle.
“You’re powerful, Delphine, and a quick learner too. You have excellent control for someone only months into their apprenticeship. You can’t blame us seniors for being grateful when we discover the young upstarts have some weaknesses.”
I laughed. “You’re not fooling me,MasterHayes. You’re strong enough to hold your head up regardless of any new arrivals in the healing affinity.”
“Ah, but that’s what old Drake and the others thought until Airlie arrived,” Hayes said, referring to the head of the Elements affinity and the young arrival who had shaken up not only the Guild but the whole kingdom with her unprecedented power. She was not only part of the royal family now, but also sister to the queen of neighboring Calista.
I shivered slightly at hearing myself compared to the princess, even in the most casual way. I wasn’t like her. I didn’t have unprecedented new levels of power. The only unusual thing about my healing ability was that I hadn’t been born into a family with an established lineage of strength. And that was by no means unprecedented. The very Master Drake mentioned by Hayes had been born into a family of blacksmiths.
“So Master Anka wants that injured man healed by one of her own healers as part of their investigation of the crime,” I said, getting the conversation back on track. “Is that why we’re here?” I directed the question at Amara.
I’d been doing a lot of training at the hospital under Hayes’s tutelage, since Amara’s elements affinity meant she couldn’t give me direct training in healing. But she’d mentioned recently that Anka wanted me to do some more training at the law keepers’ hall. Apparently the experienced law keeper was always on the lookout for any healing apprentices who showed even the faintest interest in law keeping.
“Actually I didn’t know anything about the case when I planned our day,” Amara said, reminding me of her early departure.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” I hurried to say, trying to remember if I’d already apologized amid the distraction of my embarrassing collapse. “There was a group swarming Ember in the dining room, and…”
I let my voice trail off, suddenly worried that it sounded like I was making excuses. But Amara just rolled her eyes and smiled.
“That fox. She attracts attention wherever she goes.”
The affection in her voice was obvious, despite her complaints. Over the weeks we’d spent in Caltor, Amara had grown almost as fond of Ember as I was. We’d both be sorry if she ever chose to go back to the wild.
“Is there another case going on, then?” I asked, looking around for any sign that something out of the ordinary was happening in the hall. There was no sign of anything, however, the open space now empty except for the usual clerk behind the counter.
A glaring absence suddenly caught my attention, and I looked to Hayes. “Wait, where’s Luna?”
The second-year apprentice was usually glued to her master’s side, her enthusiasm for learning making her tireless, despite the sometimes long hours of our shared training.
“She’s already inside.” Hayes gestured at a different corridor from the one taken by the earlier group.
I frowned in the direction he was indicating. I had to be even later than I’d realized if Luna was already deep in the bowels of the hall. But why were we all gathered here? If we weren’t assisting with the injured leg, was there a more substantial injury that needed investigation?
As I hurried down the corridor behind Hayes, I braced myself for the possibility of an even more shocking scene. I was determined not to embarrass myself again, regardless of what was about to confront me.
