House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

“Treatment?”

“You don’t remember?”

Kerrigan shook her head.

“That’s okay. She said that might be the case. I’ll let Helly explain. Try to drink some more water.”

“Okay.”

Valia disappeared, and another figure filled the doorway. Fordham looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Black bruises pushed against the skin under his bloodshot eyes. He was in days-old clothes, and his black hair was messy, as if he had perpetually run his hands through it.

“You made it.”

“Hey,” she muttered, taking another drink. “What happened?”

“You don’t remember?”

Kerrigan shook her head. He sank into Valia’s unoccupied seat. “You tried to take the wall down, started screaming, and blacked out. I had Netta pick us up. We met Tieran and flew straight home.”

“Oh,” she said, fuzzy memories surfacing. “Did it work?”

He shot her a grim look. “It didn’t take the wall down, but it did create a break. Wynter could get her arm through it.”

“Gods,” she whispered. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“How did you do it?”

Kerrigan shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think that I did.”

Fordham frowned. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” She closed her eyes, wishing that she could explain it. Because now that she was thinking about it, the sensation of what had happened on that balcony all rushed back in. The way the magic had sensed her and then dropped belly deep into her magic, as if it was a life force. Then, the strange vision. She didn’t know if she should even mention that. Mei and Trulian and how she had decided to seal the monsters inside the mountain to save the world. It was just as the stories described it. Except it was one spiritcaster and not thirteen of the best magic users of the time. One girl had created that.

Could Kerrigan do something like that too?

“What are you doing to my patient?” Helly snapped, jarring them both.

“I was checking on her,” Fordham said.

“Out with you. You can see her when I’m finished. It’s the middle of the night. You should get rest.”

Fordham shot her a hollow look. As if he hadn’t slept since they flew away. But it had been the middle of the night when they left, and it was a three- or four-hour flight. It should have been at least dawn.

“What time is it?”

Helly frowned. “You have been asleep for a full day.”

“What?” she gasped. “But that means …”

“Training starts tomorrow,” Fordham said.

“Yes,” Helly said, shooing him toward the door. Fordham looked like he wanted to argue, but eventually relented. “Your training begins tomorrow, but I can give you a medical exemption.”

“No,” Kerrigan said automatically.

“Why am I not surprised you don’t want one?”

“I wasn’t in the tournament until the very end. I can’t miss the first day of training as well. No one will take me seriously.”

“You’re in no shape, but if you drink this draught and sleep the rest of the evening, you might be ready. Or at least, you won’t pass out halfway through the day.” Helly passed her the drink. “I hope.”

Kerrigan took a tentative sniff of the mug and gagged at the smell. “What is this?”

“Just drink it,” Helly admonished.

Kerrigan held her breath and then downed the thick, viscous substance in one go. She choked on it but held the stuff down.

“That should speed you up. I did what I could without Fordham telling me what had happened to you. I treated you as if you’d had a vision.” Helly arched an eyebrow. “Is that what happened?”

It was easier than the truth. How could she even begin to explain what had happened in that mountain?

“Yes,” Kerrigan said, sinking back down into the covers.

“What did you see?”

“I don’t know.” Kerrigan sighed and closed her eyes. “It was a woman and a man that I didn’t recognize. They were together, and the woman did some kind of light magic.”

Helly pursed her lips. “I have no idea what that means. You recognized neither of them?”

“No.”

Lie. She knew exactly who they were and what they had done. But a part of her couldn’t confide in Helly what she had almost done. What would Helly think to know that she had tried to take the wall down? What would she think if she knew it was even possible?

“Well, it always reveals itself eventually,” Helly said. She patted Kerrigan’s knee. “Get some rest. We will discuss what happened in the House of Shadows after that.”

“We will?”

“Of course. You’re the first person to enter their grounds with an inside source to their court in a thousand years. We need to know everything that happened, everything you heard.”

Kerrigan looked at her, aghast. “I’m not a spy.”

Helly shot her a pitying look. “Your allegiance lies with us. Society first, tribe second. This is what that means.”

“Did you ask Fordham?”

“Yes. He was quite forward with information, if I’m honest. I don’t know why you would want to withhold anything that happened. He made it seem rather mundane. Border disputes, treaty issues, trade issues.” She waved her hand. “Anything is helpful.”