“I’m used to it.”
“Oh,” I said quickly when I noticed she was heading for the door. “One more thing. Myra said I will have the ability to be a seer. When will that start?”
Another shrug. “Depends on many things.”
When she said nothing more, I tilted my head at her, and my brow rose. “You do realize how frustratingly vague that is, right?”
Hilda shrugged. “I am an Oracle. It is my place to be vague. Otherwise, people would not think for themselves. I will not take someone’s free will to make something happen that is supposed to happen. It will either happen, or it won’t.”
The Oracle stood and gave me a warm smile. “You are a good match for him. The gods knew what they were doing when they chose you for him and him for you.”
I wasn’t sure how true that was, considering how much we bickered with one another.
“I must be on my way before the jarl realizes that I’m missing. I gave him the slip back on the beach. Men panic when you start talking about the flow of a woman. Little did he know that I am much too old to even have such a problem anymore.” She laughed as though it were the funniest thing ever. And I couldn’t help but smile.
She left quickly, giving me a brief hug, and I wanted so desperately to ask her to stay. For some reason, she made me feel as though I could handle anything and everything that was headed my way as if I was easily capable. Hilda’s presence had reassured me that I was not in this alone; she was like me and understood what I was going through with the new bond with Torben. But I knew I could not come to rely on the comfort and strength of another too much. There might come a day when I would need to stand on my own two feet, just as she had done for so many years without anyone to aid her.
“I have fought many battles, few of them worth the effort. But now I have found a battle worth everything. For Allete, I would destroy any enemy, cast away any darkness, and willingly lay down my life. Winning her heart is worth all of that and more.”
* * *
~Torben
I spent the rest of the night pacing in my room, thinking of all the things the Oracle had told me, especially my ability to use my magic to harm others. The idea still rested uneasily on me, but I couldn’t deny the usefulness of the power, should I ever need it. Every time I considered the possibility of using my magic to cause pain, Cathal’s face seemed to subconsciously jump to my mind.
It was early the next morning when I suddenly felt the pull. I was just about to change out of my sleeping gown when my heart sped up and my soul began reaching for the injured being outside the castle walls. Somewhere out there, in the early dawn hours, someone was hurt. I slipped into a light overcoat and hurried to my chamber door. I paused, unsure of what I should say to Torben and Brant. But as the urgency in me intensified, I knew I could hesitate no longer. I pulled the door open and met Torben’s eyes.
“I have to go,” I said as I hurried from the room. I rushed past him and felt the heat of his body as he followed closely behind me
“What do you mean you have to go?” he asked as he followed close behind me. His long legs had no trouble keeping pace with mine and I could hear Brant next to him, stepping in time with us.
“Something is wrong. I need to help someone,” I explained.
“Wait. This could be dangerous,” he growled. “You don’t know what you’re walking into.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t ignore an injured being. I have to help; it is a part of who I am,” I explained.
I could sense that he wanted to tell me to stop. I could feel his need to keep me safe, but he knew that I was a healer. There was no changing that. I couldn’t stop being a healer any more than I could stop being a woman.
“Do you know where you’re going?”
“No, but my emotions, the magic inside of me, has connected with the person. I do not feel any maliciousness or evil. Just pain—a lot of pain,” I explained, wondering if I was making any sense whatsoever.
I rushed through the castle corridors until I reached the kitchen where I hurried out the side door. My mind was being swamped with the emotion of the one calling out to my magic, which was something I’d never felt before. The cool night air caressed my skin and the quiet, stillness in the air seemed to hold its breath as it waited for me to act. I was shocked when I turned a sharp corner and my feet led me straight to the door of Cook.
I knocked on the door as fear overwhelmed me. I didn’t want anything to be wrong with Cook. She was not only a worker in my home, whom I’d known my entire life, but she was a friend. I knocked harder and there was still no answer. I attempted to push open the door but it held fast, locked from the inside.
“Step back,” Torben said suddenly and gently pushed me aside. He reared back, pulling his leg with him, and then slammed his foot onto the door putting all his force into the kick. The door splintered as it flew inwards and there was a collective shriek from inside.
“Cook!” I called out as I entered the dim room. “It’s just me, Allete,” I reassured. “Is something wrong?”
“Allete?” A shaky voice came from the back of the room, beyond the small kitchen. “Is that you, child?”
“Yes ma’am. I felt something wrong. Who is injured?”
“Come back here quickly. We have need of you.”
I followed the sound until I reached the rear of Cook’s small living quarters. She sat beside a bed that held the body of a small boy. He couldn’t have been older than twelve summers. His eyes were glazed over, and his breath was very shallow. He had a sheet pulled all the way up to his chest but I could see a red spot staining the linen, growing larger as I looked down at him.
“What happened?” I asked, moving forward to the other side of the bed. I pulled the sheet back and gasped. There was a gaping wound on the right side of his chest. I could only see part of it through the tear in his tunic. I glanced up at Torben who looked ready to jump into action. “I need clean water and dry cloths. I will need to clean it before I heal it so there is no infection afterward,” I told him. He nodded and then proceeded to search out the things I needed.
“He was running an errand for me,” Cook began explaining. “He was in the castle grounds, I don’t worry about him none when he stays in the castle grounds, with all the guards and such walking about.”
I nodded at it her to continue while I gingerly moved the tunic around, trying to get a better view of the gash in his chest.