Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
“We are blessed to receive any help you can give us,” Lisette replied with a warm smile.
Sora mixed up the next potion he needed for the rotator cuff, glancing up now and again to study that dark head of hair, the injuries he couldn’t immediately treat. He thought of what it must have been like, five hundred years with no option but endurance. And it was all so pointless. Any healer worth his salt would have been able to mitigate this damage right from the beginning. The very healing ability that his clan took for granted.
And King Alric hadn’t even thought to ask for help because he was past hoping at this point.
It saddened Sora, it truly did. He felt like he’d made a huge contribution to this clan by reaching out to this good king. These people didn’t have a single healer to call their own. And wasn’t that a sad state of affairs, when his clan had many? Sora knew some of them would come to Burkhard to help, but for how long? There wasn’t a dedicated timeline, not yet.
Wouldn’t Sora’s abilities and talents be better used here?
He shook off the thought, as he couldn’t be distracted right now.
“Alright, hold still, please. Just one good swipe, and then we’ll let that settle in for a while. Good. Now, let’s call up my father and tell him he’s got a challenge to tackle with me. That should go over well, as he likes nothing better.”
Cameron asked anxiously, “How are you feeling, love?”
“Better than I have in years,” King Alric admitted freely, a broad grin on his face. “I literally can’t wait to see what else Sora is going to do.”
Cameron pressed in for a quick kiss, tears of joy in his eyes. “Good. And me neither. Sora, wow us.”
“Oh, I intend to.” Sora winked at them both, already calling his father on the phone.
Ryu answered with an absent sounding “Yes, son.”
“Tou-san, want a challenge of the healing variety?”
“Oh? Did you find something fun?”
“Five-hundred-year-old compressed c-spine with nerve, muscle, and tendon damage. I could use a little assistance for surgery.”
“King Alric?”
“That very one.”
“Oh, you can bet I want in on this. Where are you?”
“Sitting with the man himself in Mage Lisette’s workroom. Do you know where that is?”
“I do, indeed. I’m coming right up. Don’t you dare tell your mother about this! She got the last challenging case. It’s my turn.”
Sora chuckled, shaking his head. His parents really were a trip some days.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Sora nearly jumped when North jogged up beside him in the long, empty hallway, a strange grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. He’d not spent a lot of time with the mage, but he struck Sora as a sweet, outgoing person who’d spent too much time suppressing his true self. He’d been reserved on their first meeting, but with each encounter, he seemed to open up a little more. His mate, Warin, was good at drawing him out.
“Hey, Sora. You busy?” North started.
“Not at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Nope,” North replied, his grin spreading even wider. “I was just wondering if you were up for a little adventure.”
“Really?”
“Yep.” He leaned a little closer to Sora and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Outside the castle.”
Sora’s eyebrows jumped to nearly his hairline. While they weren’t prisoners, getting out of the castle, even for bread and milk, was something of an ordeal. If they weren’t worried about the Jaeggi, then they were battling the reporters.
As if sensing he had Sora’s complete and undivided attention, North motioned for Sora to follow him. “The dragons are getting ready now.”
Oh, now Sora was definitely interested. He started to ask if they should tell Ravi, but North was already running down the hall, and Sora had to hurry to catch up. They took a sharp turn down a hallway Sora had never ventured through and down a back set of stairs. At the end of another hallway, they came out at a secluded part of the courtyard that seemed hidden from the front gate as well as most of the castle windows.
And in the center of the small space were Warin and Ravi in their dragon forms. Both of them were wearing what looked to be leather harnesses. Specifically, harnesses that allowed mages to ride safely on the backs of dragons. Sora’s heart flipped over his chest. Was he finally going to ride with Ravi? The wind dragon had offered, but the opportunity had not presented itself yet.
“Really? We’re flying out of here?” Sora gasped.
“You’ve flown on a dragon before, right?” North asked with a cheeky grin.
“Y-yes, but not with Ravi. We haven’t had the chance.”
“Do you trust me?” Ravi inquired, wide chocolate-brown eyes watching him closely.
“With all of me,” Sora said without hesitation.