XL | NOWHERE TO GO, RIGHT?
─── ????? ───
"THANK YOU," Celvene murmured as she accepted the steaming hanai bun from Khamisi, a small, sticky red dough filled with a mysterious paste.
Khamisi had made them for her before when she'd visited, a tradition from his homelands, the kingdom of Khezzintis.
He'd told her they were always made for guests the moment they arrived.
Khamisi had a late start to his preparations, for good reason—when he'd opened his front door, Celvene had thought he was going to faint on the spot.
Khamisi nodded in response before angling his gaze to Quinn. "And who is this? Not that I mind company, but you're both pretty beat up. Not sure I have enough runespowder for the both of you."
"Heal her first," Celvene said, directing her gaze on the rickety planks lining Khamisi's floor. She could feel the bun losing its warmth, but she didn't care. Did she deserve to eat? Was she a monster? She already knew the answer.
It wasn't one she wanted to stomach.
Khamisi hesitated for a moment before digging into his pocket and pulling out a tiny burlap bag. His face had lost some of its vibrant color. "I'm not sure how much I can do. I only learned basic healing as part of my country's training."
"I'll appreciate any help," Quinn piped up, flexing her arm and wincing. The blood decorating her skin had stopped, but she hadn't had a chance to clean it yet. "My name is Quinn. You must've descended from the afterlife, because this is a blessing. I thought we were going to die out there."
"I'd give more credit to Celvene," Khamisi said, chuckling. He handed another bun to Quinn, who took it happily and bit into it without hesitation.
Celvene stared at her for a moment before looking back at the ground, hanging her head between her knees.
Her stomach ached, her head pounded, and her actual injuries weren't doing her any favors.
She'd managed to sip some water Khamisi had offered, but not much more.
Everything proposed made her stomach churn, whether it was the taste, texture, or mere scent. Even the water had made her nauseous.
Quinn said something, though the words sounded garbled, like she had said it underwater. Celvene's eyes snapped to Quinn, who turned her head away from Celvene.
Celvene bit her lip before curling her hands into fists—they were trembling. When she looked down at them, all she could see was the silver blood of the dryad caked into every crevice of her skin. But she'd washed her hands. Hadn't she?
Her breathing shuddered, and she pushed herself back on her chair.
She focused on observing Khamisi's small house instead of her spiraling thoughts, if just for a moment.
The granite walls, a staple of houses closer to the water, were smooth and untouched save for a few abstract paintings hanging from black nails.
Near his front door was the living room, where Khamisi had ushered them; it wasn't exactly luxurious, with one small dark orange sofa and two similar shaded chairs.
Celvene was hunched on one of the chairs, whereas Quinn and Khamisi were sitting together on the couch, with Khamisi tending to Quinn's wounds.
She wanted to rip herself out of her thoughts, but she couldn't. She didn't deserve to. The most unsettling part was that whatever within her had hungered, whatever had made her act like a ravenous beast, was not satiated. She felt more empty than before, and just as starved.
A hand latched onto her shoulder and she jumped. Cursing herself for not being more attentive, she looked up to meet the gaze of Khamisi, whose brows were knit in a frown.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Celvene studied his face for a moment before nodding. Something in her told her not to trust Khamisi, but her heart told her otherwise. She knew her heart could lead her astray, but for now, she'd listen to it. It had gotten her this far in life.
And considering that gut feeling had rendered her incapable of controlling her own actions, she wasn't sure it was a sound guide.
"I'm fine," she muttered, clasping her hands together.
She was fine, to her knowledge, but she was so, so confused.
Had Zelphar done something to her? Was it from the rune she'd severed too early?
She'd heard of magic backfiring and permanently altering whoever the rune was cast on, but nothing had happened to her.
.. physically, at least. All that had happened was a little pain—maybe a lot—but it wasn't so bad that she couldn't act afterward.
Was that the reason things had burned beneath her touch?
It wasn't consistent, either; sometimes, her mere presence would wilt the vegetation, like the flowers positioned outside of Khamisi's house, which he hadn't noticed die.
Other times, she could touch whatever she wanted with no consequence.
It was an unwelcome feeling. She hated having to think about what to touch. Where to touch. Who to touch.
A lump formed in her throat. Her memories faded to Melantha. Heart beating a little too fast, she sniffled, ignoring the tears that pricked at her eyes. She'd never be able to touch, or hear, or see Melantha again. She'd sacrificed herself for Celvene. She'd seen it herself.
She'd never heard of any side effects from ruptured magic being a bloodlust so powerful that it made you rip someone's throat out, though. A cold chill ran up her spine.
Maybe she wasn't fine.
But if she continued to dwell on all the negative feelings swarming her mind, she'd feel worse. She tightened her hold on the hanai bun, and some of the paste squeezed out of a sizable tear. "Thank you, Khamisi. Gratitude slipped my mind."
It took Khamisi a beat to respond, but he did so with a smile. "You're welcome, Celvene. I'm glad you came to me."
"So we could steal all your food and make you heal us?"
"Well, no," Khamisi said, laughing a bit. Quinn shifted under his hold, and he whispered something under his breath. She relaxed. "But what would your alternative have been?"
"I either could have run into the burning circus and prayed someone that knew healing magic hadn't died yet, or I could've run to the castle, which is undeniably on lockdown."
Celvene's mind strayed to two people when remembrance of the castle popped into her mind: Oriel and Elas.
She was sure Oriel was fine; they were crafty and intelligent.
If Celvene hadn't heard anything heading towards the castle, she assumed Noriya had relented and not breached Aizasea's walls.
Elas... she had to hope he wasn't one of the guards also thrown into the military.
Her next stop would have to be the castle. If not to check up on the people she'd grown to care about, no matter how small, then to chew Aleksandr out for not better preparing the army. Even if it had been a surprise attack, the army should've been equipped with adequate weapons.
Considering Aleksandr was living a life of luxury since he took over Virion's position, she didn't doubt that the kingdom had more than enough wealth to fund equipping the soldiers with something more dependable.
"You're lucky. Who could've guessed that I was such an amazing healer?
Not you. I never told you, did I?" Khamisi lowered his hands from Quinn's arm, and her injuries had mended—sort of.
In their places were sewn skin, decorated with hues of black and blue.
Khamisi was right. He wasn't much of a healer, but he was better than the alternative.
"Yeah, Kiri. Amazing," she replied.
"Would you have preferred a tent on fire?"
"Even if you didn't know healing magic, I would've begged you to go find someone who does," Celvene said, and took a long sniff of the hanai bun.
Finally, she took a bite, though small, and she could see Khamisi grin out of the corner of her eye.
"I would've gotten on my hands and knees. You would know I was serious."
"I think I would've known you were serious the second you showed up on my doorstep with blood dripping down your body." Khamisi fell quiet for a moment before asking, "Is the silver liquid blood, too? Or is it something else? I've never seen anything like it."
Celvene's breathing hitched. A squelching noise spoke for her, and when she looked down, she'd squeezed the hanai bun into nothing more than a meaty pulp.
She angled her gaze back at the floor before she could realize what she was doing, and she exhaled a deep sigh.
"Don't worry about it. Got caught up with something that wasn't... like us, I guess. "
Quinn and Khamisi both froze. Celvene's heart dropped; had she misspoke? Were they onto her?
─── ????? ───