Chapter 24
Sora sat with Lisette and Cameron in the head mage’s workroom, seated comfortably in well-stuffed chairs, and talked magic.
His head had finally stopped aching from the Burkhard Fire Wine he’d over-indulged in last night.
He was quickly learning his lesson when it came to listening to Cassie’s suggestions.
They were more dangerous than Ravi’s impulsive ideas.
Thank Kami-sama Ravi had planned ahead and kept two hangover cures next to the bed.
He’d spent the night with Ravi—as he normally did, now—and woke up to a ringing head, his mouth tasting like something furry had crawled inside and died, messily.
Ravi, apparently better at processing alcohol than his puny human body, was already up and coaxing the cure down Sora’s parched throat.
Definitely an upside, having a dragon lover who was a morning person.
In the peace of Lisette’s private sanctuary, Sora could comfortably enjoy talking with his peers.
He’d always loved this part of being in a magical clan—the ability to sit like this and discuss theory.
To work together in tandem with others to create something truly magical.
He loved this process more than anything, this pitting of intellect and possibilities against a problem.
And this was definitely a problem in need of a solution.
“I’m so glad you came.” Lisette wore a sad smile on her face even as she oriented to face him more directly.
The mage looked comfortably attired, today, in a dark green dress that hugged her from collar bones to ankles in a flattering way, and she clearly had multiple things stashed in the front pockets, judging by the way she clinked.
“We didn’t know how to ask for your help without sounding desperate, but Ravi encouraged us to do so. He was adamant that you wanted to help but weren’t sure how to ask.”
“I’m perfectly fine sounding desperate,” Cameron pitched in darkly.
There was a pained frown gathering across his brow.
“Alric’s been neglecting himself the past several days, jumping from one thing to another, and I can’t get him to slow down enough for me to apply the salve every morning. He’s in pain and ignoring it.”
And the mage was clearly upset his mate was carrying that pain. Sora could see it clearly in Cameron’s eyes. He’d not had a great deal of interaction with the consort of this clan, but in this moment, he didn’t see a consort. Just a man who was deeply worried about his husband.
Sora’s heart went out to him, even as his mind revved up to tackle the problem. “Ravi has mentioned some of it to me. What is his condition, precisely?”
Cameron answered readily, his dark eyes intense.
“A spell hit him along the back and left shoulder, damaging the nerves and leaving a wicked burn mark along that area. Alric believes it was some mix of fire and lightning spells, but it’s hard for us to know for sure.
It was enough to get past a fire dragon’s hide, though. ”
“Two, in fact,” Lisette corrected grimly.
“Alric now suffers from pinched nerves and tingling sensations, and his grip strength in that hand is basically nonexistent. If something’s over a pound, he can’t lift it.
He doesn’t have full range of motion—even lifting the arm above shoulder height is difficult. ”
It sounded like nerve and muscle damage to Sora. “But there’s no indication anything is wrong in his skeletal structure? Specifically along the spine?”
They exchanged bewildered glances.
Lisette offered slowly, “I think his bones are fine? Why do you ask?”
“The symptoms you’ve just relayed to me suggest that there is a compression to the c-spine.
Weakness in the arm and hand, burning sensations, numbness—all of that is commonly linked to compression.
It would make perfect sense to me if the spine were pinching nerves and pulling muscles and tendons out of whack. ”
Cameron sat up abruptly, eyes alight. “Does this mean we can counter those symptoms if we can decompress the spine?”
“Not a hundred percent, perhaps, but we can certainly improve the situation by leaps and bounds. I hesitate to promise anything until I can examine King Alric myself. But I think it’s very possible to alleviate the worst of these symptoms.” Sora now itched to lay hands on the man himself, but it wasn’t the easiest of tasks to ask a king to strip down for a stranger’s examination.
“What have you been using to treat him?”
Lisette popped up and fetched a sheet, which she passed to him.
It detailed the potion elements and recipe in neat handwriting.
Reflected sunlight, untouched snowflake, distilled frankincense, and carrier oil.
There was a scribbled note on the side: Willow bark.
Ah, a good addition. Willow bark acted as a topical pain reliever all by itself.
Add that into this mixture, and it could only enhance the other elements.
“You added in willow bark recently?”
“Tori’s addition,” Cameron explained. “Tori, frankly, knows more herbology than most of us combined. He’s the one who suggested it, and it has definitely helped.”
“Yes, it would. He’s mentioned to me he’s interested in becoming a healer. I didn’t know what to say when we first discussed it, and he’s not brought it up since.”
“Tori would jump at the chance to learn, if someone was willing to teach him.” Lisette eyed him as if wondering about Sora’s intentions. “He has a very keen mind, that one.”
“If not myself, then someone of my family will be happy to teach him more of the trade. We believe that knowledge should be passed along to those willing to learn.”
Sora made a mental note to bring this up with his parents.
Heaven knew, they needed more healers, and his parents were always excited at the prospect of teaching.
If they were going into an outright war, then the healers would be at their wits’ end.
Sora set the thought aside to be handled later and focused on the here and now.
“I see no issue with what you’re using. But I do have a few thoughts. Something we can use in addition to the salve. I suspect there is a build-up of scar tissue interfering with the nerves. I have a potion that can help break it up and then keep it from rebuilding.”
“That sounds promising, too.” Lisette propped her hands on her hips, clearly thinking hard. “A maintenance potion to keep trouble from reaccumulating in the future.”
“Yes, that’s precisely what it is. It’s not a complicated potion, and if we apply it before the pain-relieving salve you have here, then it will significantly cut into King Alric’s numbness.”
Cameron was so excited he practically vibrated in his chair. “That sounds amazing. We’ve never been able to do anything about the numbness. You know what? I’m calling him. Right now.”
Before either of them could say a word, Cameron had his phone in his hand. It rang twice before he said quickly, “Hey, where are you? I want you in Lisette’s workroom now. What do you mean you’re only ten steps away, why are you—Ravi?”
The door opened, and Alric stepped through, a half-smile on his face. He pocketed his phone as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “Ravi insisted I was meant to be here about this time, for some reason. I’m almost afraid to ask. Why am I here?”
Of course Ravi would orchestrate the king’s presence, having known about this meeting beforehand. Sora wasn’t even surprised.
Cameron bounced out of his chair and immediately grabbed King Alric’s shirt. “Off with that. Now.”
King Alric protested, trying to bat away his hands. “Wait, wait, why are you trying to strip me?”
“You like it when I strip you,” Cameron pointed out, still wrestling with his shirt.
“Not when there’s an audience, I don’t!” King Alric’s voice had dropped to a low hiss as if he didn’t want everyone to hear.
Sora decided to step in before this became ridiculous. “King Alric, I believe I can mitigate most of the symptoms you’re suffering. May I examine you?”
King Alric stopped wrestling with Cameron—although he kept a firm grip on one hand—and blinked at Sora in surprise. “Is that why I’m here?”
“Yes. I believe, based on your symptoms, that you might have a compression to the c-spine. It would explain much if that’s the case. And I might be able to reverse it, at least to some degree.” Sora indicated the clean surface of the worktable nearby. “If you’ll sit there, I can examine you.”
King Alric’s expression warred between hope and resignation.
It was clear he felt torn about giving Sora access to his body and putting himself in the realm of hope once again.
But one look at his mate’s face—his expression making it clear that he dearly wished for King Alric to be examined—settled him.
He nodded once and allowed Cameron to help him out of his dress shirt.
Sora moved to collect his black bag and pulled out the necessary ingredients, setting up on the table as King Alric carefully hopped up with Cameron’s assistance. Once settled, Sora pulled together his favorite diagnostic spell and readied it.
King Alric’s back told its own story. It was a mess of badly healed skin, burns, and scars.
The dipped alignment of the shoulder said that the spine was not in the correct position.
If this wasn’t a case of a compressed spine, Sora would eat both boots.
He applied the spell to the skin, anyway, giving it a beat to sink in and report back to him.
Then, he hissed in sympathy. Kami-sama, the man had been moving and working in this condition?
Sora had watched him go from place to place, meet with people, even dance with his mate as if nothing were wrong.
Sora’s admiration for him shot through the roof.
He wasn’t sure he’d be able to do half of that with King Alric’s condition.
“Is it bad?” Lisette asked, worry dripping from her tone.