Chapter Seven
KILLIAN’S EYES FOLLOWED the boy over to Kade, who was standing stock still back by the bar counter, horrified. Sila had come around at some point and was holding him back with a hand on his shoulder.
Kade’s expression was blown open, his eyes wide and distressed.
A spark of shame swirled in Killian’s chest. This wasn’t who he was meant to be around Kade.
Noticing the tense atmosphere, the boy turned and flinched when he caught sight of Killian and Roi; frozen where they were. Now stiff and scared, the boy turned and gently tugged on Kade’s sleeve. “Please. Kade. We need to hurry. My grandfather won’t last much longer.”
That got Kade moving. Shaking off Sila’s hand, he motioned for the boy to lead the way, his eyes never leaving Killian.
Sliding his dagger slowly across Roi’s neck, Killian applied just enough pressure to break the skin. Blood pooled in the cut and trickled down the older elf’s neck.
Regrettably, it wasn’t enough even to scar, but it would stand as a reminder.
Killian let Roi drop.
Roi took a gasping breath and they glared at each other, neither breaking eye contact as Killian moved to follow Kade out of the tavern.
“We’ll take my horse,” Killian called as he untied his stallion from the post outside the tavern.
Kade had been about to jump up behind the boy on a dappled grey mare. He hesitated, then patted the boy’s leg. “It’s alright, Tora, we’ll be right behind you.”
Killian mounted first, then helped Kade up behind him. Not having bothered with a saddle when he stormed out of the barn meant they were riding bare. Kade’s hips were flush to Killian’s backside and his arms were tight around Killian’s waist.
The hair on Killian’s arms prickled. He squeezed his knees into the stallion’s sides, and they started off after Tora at a gallop.
Mylla was barely conscious by the time they arrived. He moaned at the slightest touch. His daughter was sitting next to him, her hand pressed firmly over the bleeding wound on Mylla’s inner forearm. She was in tears, pale and shaking, but she’d done enough to keep him alive.
Mylla had fallen in front of the plow as he worked the small field out back from their house, readying it for new crops to plant. The very plow toppled only a few meters away, the horse still attached and pawing at the ground, a bit spooked, but well trained and loyal.
Kade knelt next to the daughter, whispering quiet words of comfort before urging her away and taking her place. His hands replaced hers over the wound.
The blades had caught Mylla’s wrist and carved deep through sinew and flesh, dragging up his arm from his wrist to his elbow. The white of his bone was visible even through the mess of blood and muscle.
Killian whistled. “That’s nasty. Might be easier to just cut it off.” Everyone turned to glare at him. He shrugged. “What? It’s a valid suggestion. Not many can come back from an injury like that. Given his age, it might be easier to cut your losses. He can live without an arm.”
“Shut up, Killi,” Kade ordered. His brow furrowing as he felt over the wound. “I can do it. Come here. I need you to hold him down.”
Killian curled his lip at the thought of getting blood all over his clothes, but obeyed.
He nearly had to climb on top of the old elf to keep him still.
Killian planted his knees on Mylla’s shoulders and used his hands to hold the old elf’s arms down.
Tora was sitting on Mylla’s ankles, nearly as pale as his grandfather.
“Keep him steady,” murmured Kade. “This may hurt.”
By the way Mylla squirmed, moaning and groaning, it did.
Kade used his palms to push the edges of the wound together, the flesh matched unevenly from the way the plow’s blades had ripped Mylla apart. Slowly, the blood running rivers into the soil began to ebb and the flesh began to meld together again.
Every so often, Killian could see sparks of gold streaking through the air where Kade’s skin met Mylla’s, there and gone again in the corner of his eye. Their en intertwining as Kade called on both their energy to heal Mylla from the inside out.
Killian could only see hints of it, when it was strong enough, his sight and magical affinity too low to do much else.
He caught glimpses of the golden energy coiled around the heart, where any living being’s en is most concentrated.
For Killian, any attempts of channeling en for healing or otherwise was met with a stubborn and cold resistance.
Killian couldn’t even begin to imagine what Kade saw when he tapped into his magic and opened his eyes to the flow of en around them. How the world would look, lit up with the en of every living being in sight, plant and animal and elf alike. It must be beautiful, and overwhelming.
Mesmerized, Killian could do nothing but watch.
Kade’s entire body was taut with concentration, beads of sweat dripped down his face. His hands moved carefully, the skin stitching together in their wake.
Mylla’s thrashing slowed to the occasional spasm, his body finally able to relax as the pain seeped away with every passing second.
After several long moments, Kade sat back on his haunches, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. The skin was badly scarred, red and bumpy, like two poorly welded iron flats. Too thin, the skin was molded over the bone, large chunks of flesh missing.
Mylla had escaped death with his arm still intact, which was more than Killian had expected.
Village healers, even with their wells of knowledge, could rarely do much for such injuries aside from amputation. Though not weak by any means, their wells of magic weren’t deep enough to take on such a task.
Kade’s magic was strong, stronger than most, but the scars he left showed his inexperience.
Kade left gold trails in his wake as he trailed his fingers over the healed wound. Patching up whatever else he could to ensure Mylla was stable.
“It’ll scar, but he should be in the clear now.” Kade stood and moved towards Mylla’s daughter. He called over his shoulder to Killian, “Take him inside. He’ll need to rest for a few days to get his strength back.”
Killian did as he was told, carrying the elf to his bed. Tora, having gone with him, then took over and tucked Mylla under the covers, laying a cold soothing towel over the old elf’s arm and another on his brow.
When Killian rejoined Kade, the younger was promising to return in a few days to check Mylla’s condition.
Mylla’s daughter sent them off with food, kisses to each of Kade’s cheeks, and a few coins pressed into his hands; drying tears on her face and endless gratitude on her tongue.
A pleased flush on his cheeks, Kade’s smile was unlike any other.
Later, when they were home and had cleaned up, Kade bullied Killian into a chair next to the table full of herbs. He watched as Kade puttered around the table, bottles clinking as Kade searched through them.
Kade looked so at home amongst the chaos of his work table, so sure and confident.
The same as he did when he was knelt over Mylla.
It hit Killian again, how much Kade had changed from the last time Killian was in Turell.
Kade had just come of age, celebrating his fiftieth birthday a few months before Killian had been taken away.
Now, passed his hundred and sixtieth, he was so much more than Killian ever could have imagined.
The villagers, even Sila, seemed to hold a respect for Kade that Tyr and Pella had never garnered.
“What are you smiling at?” Kade asked as he poured the contents of a bottle onto a clean cloth and then stepped close. He leaned over Killian, wielding the cloth like a weapon.
Killian leaned back in the chair so he could look up at Kade, awe clear in his eyes. The smile still plastered on his face. “You were amazing today.”
Kade flushed, the tips of his pointed ears turning an adorable pink. “It was nothing.” Then, Kade gently pressed the cloth against the swollen, discolored flesh of Killian’s jaw.
Killian winced.
“Hold that there,” Kade said quietly. He popped the top of a lid and worked a greasy salve into the scratches on Killian’s hand.
“You saved Mylla’s life. That’s not nothing.”
“It was just a farming accident. It happens from time to time.” Kade turned away to put the salve back on the table. “I was lucky, that he wasn’t too far gone that his en faded. I couldn’t have saved him then. My magic alone wouldn’t be enough.”
Killian frowned. It was so like Kade to try and downplay his efforts. “I don’t know. It’s rare to see healing like that from anyone who hasn’t been formally trained. I think even Hokda’s apprentices may have balked if left on their own.”
“Hokda’s apprentices are the best in the kingdom.” Kade took the cloth from Killian. “They wouldn’t balk.”
“Because you would know. Because you’ve met them all.”
Kade pursed his lips and pushed Killian’s face away from where he’d leaned into Kade’s space. “Whatever.”
“Ow,” Killian complained.
“Don’t be a baby.”
Eyes following Kade while he worked, Killian’s gaze traced absentmindedly over Kade’s smooth skin and down his long neck.
Strands of vibrant auburn hair fell around his face, glowing in the sunlight that filtered through the open windows.
His tunic shifted as his muscles rolled under the fabric, the belt around his waist emphasizing the taper of his body.
His trousers fit snug around the swell of his ass…
Killian inhaled sharply when he caught himself staring, too long to be considered polite. He covered it by clearing his throat. “I didn’t know you wanted to be a healer.”
Kade’s movements stuttered, he then tapped the vial in his hands on the table twice before screwing the cork in and putting it away.
“It just kind of happened.” The corners of his lips pulled up.
“There’s still a lot I don’t know. The previous healer passed before she could teach me everything, but she left me her texts.
I look over them when I can. I…enjoy it. ”
“It suits you.”
“You think so?” Kade cut a glance at Killian.
“I do. I’ll gladly be your patient any day, Healer Kade.”
“I’d rather you not,” said Kade. He caught Killian’s chin, holding him still.
Long, slim fingers dug into Killian’s jaw, maneuvering him side to side so he could inspect the bruising.
None to gently either. “Why’d you have to go and get yourself punched, anyway?
You’ve been back in Turell for less than two days. ”
“Everyone just loves me, I guess. Ow!” Killian cringed away.
Kade brought him back with a glare. As soon as the pain had spiked, it was soothed by a warmth that spread under Killian’s skin.
Kade’s magic. Sighing, Killian closed his eyes and let the feeling wash over him.
“Why are you blaming me? I’m the one that was attacked. Unprovoked.”
“Unprovoked?” Kade gave him a withering glare. “Roi is harmless—”
“Tell that to my face!”
“Harmless. You getting punched was your own fault.” Kade shook his head.
Disappointed. “Roi’s helped us a lot over the years, with the farm work and the harvests.
I wouldn’t have been able to do it all on my own.
He’s just angry about father, and about your pardon.
You can’t blame him for that. Whatever their faults, they were friends. ”
And suddenly it was there, like another person in the room. A reminder of what Killian had done. Who exactly he had killed. Killian forgot sometimes that Tyr was more than a monster that haunted Killian’s memories; he was Kade’s father. Kade’s blood.
Killian had to ask. “Are you angry?”
The warmth disappeared, but Kade’s hand lingered, heavy on Killian’s skin. Kade met his eyes, somber and serious. “Not anymore. Not for the reasons you may think.”
Clenching his jaw, Killian bowed his head, his eyes finding the floor to escape Kade’s piercing amber eyes. He heard Kade sigh, and then step away.
Catching Kade’s wrist, Killian forced the words out, even as they felt like acid on his tongue. “I don’t regret it. I’ll never regret protecting you, but I’m sorry for any pain it caused. I’m sorry I never came back.”
Kade blinked against the sheen in his eyes.
“It looks like you didn’t need me though.
You never needed me,” Killian said with a short laugh.
It came out a bit more bitter than he’d intended.
“This life, everything you’ve built for yourself here…
It’s amazing, Kade. Truly. You’ve done so well for yourself.
” Pushing to his feet, Killian smiled and put a hand on the nape of Kade’s neck. “I couldn’t be prouder. ”
Kade looked stricken. “That’s not true. How could you say I didn’t need you? There wasn’t a day, a minute, a second, that I didn’t need you here with me. I just had no choice but to learn to live without you.”
Killian reared back. Emotions he couldn’t name swirled in Killian’s chest. Unable to handle them, he turned away.