CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

The next day, Casapiia'an allowed me out of the infirmary and discharged me into L'eiito's care. I was still somewhat weak and woozy from the blood loss I had suffered, not to mention greatly affected by the side effects of Healing Magika. Most people didn't suffer from them, but, unfortunately, I was one of the few rare cases who did so, and I always felt awful afterwards.

L'eiito escorted me back to my rooms in the Coven, my arm through his as he helped me up there. As we reached the stairs to go up, I felt a cold chill as I looked up and saw a familiar figure walking down towards us. It was the last person I had wanted to see today.

L'aena's flowing, fluid movement, long and lean figure, perfect raven hair, porcelain skin and coldly clear amber eyes had turned most Mages in the Coven to mush the moment they entered into her vicinity, regardless of love-preference. I seemed to be only one of very few who wasn't completely spellbound by her – in fact, I resented her cool, manipulative and obviously flirtatious behaviour towards everyone. I especially disliked how she gave particular attention to L'eiito, who was specifically targeted whenever I was around.

"Hello, handsome," she purred, sashaying down the steps towards us. She stopped next to L'eiito and brushed her fingers down his arm, offering me the briefest of glances as she did so. "I have been meaning to say I am so very glad to hear that you all managed to escape the bandit attack unscathed. It is strange they all believe it a profitable thing to attack Mage camps, and so close to the Coven, too."

"We did not all get away unscathed," L'eiito replied pointedly. "We did, however, all escape from the ambush alive, which is certainly fortunate."

Another cool glance was sent my way. I gritted my teeth and clenched my hand, unthinkingly digging my fingers into L'eiito's arm as I did so.

"I must escort Ana to her rooms for her to rest." L'eiito glanced at me, mildly raising an eyebrow at my reaction. "Please excuse us."

The cold gaze in L'aena's eyes froze for a moment in displeasure, but she immediately turned it into a disingenuous smile.

"Of course." Her eyes lingered in him, as did her hand. "I shall see you around, L'eiito."

She slid herself past him, ensuring she brushed right up against him as she did so. Her snugly-fitted long Mage's dress flowed and swayed as she sashayed on her way to wherever she was heading.

"Subtle," I muttered grumpily, watching her go. L'eiito turned back to me questioningly. "Oh, please tell me you didn't fall for that nauseating charade of niceness and flirtation?"

L'eiito gave an amused chuckle. "I am not quite so naive as that, Ana. I would have hoped you would have a higher opinion of me and not believe I could be taken in by such... posturing."

We slowly started back up the stairs.

"You always seem to be quite enraptured by her."

L'eiito gave another low chuckle. "I am hardly enraptured by such unabashed attempts at seduction. It is always preferable to be polite, even to people like her. It is unfortunate that there are some who do think her genuinely pleasant company... Of course, perhaps she is perfectly pleasant towards them."

"I find that difficult to believe – that you aren't actually enamoured by all her purring."

"I cannot imagine any reason how that could be so. I am hardly about to be duped by such obvious and obsequious behaviour."

"Intriguing... I'm amazed your intelligence is that high."

I received a mock-glare and a sharp elbow in my side. I laughed at him and he pretended to pout as he took me to the top of the stairs and along the long walk to my rooms.

The Coven was a vast underground building, easily about as unimaginably large as an enormous castle and sprawling college combined. I had been here over three years, but was still yet to see it all, or know my way around it completely. There was enough space in the ^accommodation area for each Mage to have their own small suite of rooms, and L'eiito helped me up to mine on the first floor. I had a pretty enough bedroom with a surprisingly comfortable bed, a little ante-room that I used as a makeshift dressing room, and small alchemy practice lab for mixing all basic potions all Mages learned. It was all especially welcoming when I was still recovering from the effects of Healing Magika and I was glad to see it again.

L'eiito unlocked the door for me and took me through to lie on my bed. He had already put my things away that I'd had back at the camp: My pack, which I wore buckled just below my waist and sat heavy on the back of my hips, carried food, a water pouch, my twin blades and sheaths, and any other little things like potions, was tucked away on the floor by my closet. Alongside it was my shoulder strap, which was just a long leather strap that I carried across my shoulder and chest, and that still held my tightly-packed bedroll and tent. My once-torn and bloodied clothes were amazingly already mended and cleaned, folded neatly on a set of draws.

For all the ways he could be annoying, there was a reason I always thought L'eiito as my best friend.

There was a knock on the door. L'eiito went to answer it. He returned with Saebastiia'an and En'nii in tow, looking to check on me again. Saebastiia'an came and sat on a chair he pulled up to the bed, then proceeded to check me over thoroughly. As he worked, I could just how much his beautiful features were still marred by the exhaustion of the healing process – with someone like me, who did not respond well to the Healing, it took more far effort and energy to heal and so drained the Mage completely. This time I was able to take more notice of him and I was unnerved by how ill he still looked. His usually bright blue eyes were more a dulled grey, his pallor was still very pale, and his usually light blond hair was now a harsher straw-colour and pulled back in a tie-band. He was not himself at all. I felt horribly guilty.

He worked quickly but gently, warm hands checking the areas my wounds had been on the outside, and subsequently hovering over me, feeling inside with glowing soft, red Healing Magika to check all internal injuries were also staying healed. His expression was of pure concentration as he worked; the only time I ever saw Saebastiia'an being openly serious, and studious, devoid of mirth or teasing. He took his role and his gift immensely seriously.

Once he was done, his eyes met mine intently for a long, lingering moment. One more time, one amongst many, I was subjected to that lingering, smouldering gaze that turned the girls into quivering wrecks, all breathless and blushing. However, this was aimed at me, knowing it made me smile or outright laugh. On this occasion I tried to outdo him by giving him my own version, but neither of us lasted too long before the façade broke and the giggles started.

Laughing hurt, but it was so good to get it out… To feel it again. As Saebastiia'an constantly pointed out to me, when I was in recovery, dying didn't always have to be so serious.

Once he had calmed his laughing enough to recover, having cheered us both up, he offered a warm smile and took my hand after he had finished checking me. I squeezed it back gratefully.

"Thank you," I said again, with great warmth and affection. "I know it's always very difficult to heal me, and I'm really lucky to have you around to do it."

"Yet, you insist upon getting yourself nearly killed at every opportunity." He raised an eyebrow and gave a weaker than usual teasing smile. He brushed back my hair, before softly kissing my forehead with gentle, soft lips that always offered the warm comfort of familial care. "You must get better at this if you're going to insist on continuing to be decoy bandit fodder for the Coven. With your Magika blood incompatible with the Healing power, it's going to be continuously difficult to treat you."

"Why does she become so ill with the Healing?" En'nii asked him. She stood behind him, her arms wrapped around herself from uncertainty and fear, keeping her concerned gaze on me. Her long and frazzled blonde hair stood out against the rumpled plain dark brown frock and white blouse she wore, all making me feel even more guilty for putting one more person through such concern. "Is there nothing you can do to help her?"

Saebastiia'an looked up at En'nii and shook his head wearily, as she looked down to him. "I do the best I can. But she does not just have the usual kind of Magika in her blood. We are trained for this, and trained very well I assure you. Resistance to Magika Healing is rare, but it is not unique to her, either. However... Ana is the worst level of pure outright rejection against it I have ever come across. All we can do is do our best with her. The rest... Well, it is always up to the will of the receiver, and the Will of the Divinity A'aegiia, how they fare afterward."

"A'aegiia?" En'nii repeated, lost. "Is that a... Mage God?"

"The Divinity A'aegiia is the Divinity of Protection. We look to them to keep us safe from harm, or at least mortal ruin. If it is Their Will, we stay alive, but only if it is our own will, too. No Mage can be saved if they do not want to be. And they can only prevent us from leaving a body that remains functional — once the body comes to the point of not being able to sustain life, The Divinities have no choice but to accept them into Eall'yysiiaem." Saebastiia'an shrugged. "So far we have been fortunate the Divinities have smiled so favourably on her."

En'nii looked down at him fearfully, with great and grave concern. "But why Ana?"

"Ana has a rare and powerful form of Magika in her blood, where she is able to control many of the Elements, far more than Mages are supposed to be able to wield. Instead of specialising in one, at most two, in the way that most Mages do, she has control over four out of the Six Elements of Magika Mage blood has... access… to. Such a thing is almost entirely unheard of, outside of being born High Sorceresses, and Ana is not one."

Saebastiia'an was very patiently attempting to explain to En'nii, a non-Mage, something that not even the most accomplished Healers of Note were truly able to understand or decipher. I had it, and even I sure in all Faeh'rron and Nehvadi'iaa didn't understand any of it, except it was the rarest form of Magika for a Mage who was not a High Sorceress, who were able to also wield four of the Six Elements. But, unlike me, they were born to be one of the highest forms of Mage closest to Divinity there could be. I was undoubtedly just a Mage.

"She is capable of manipulating multiple forms and levels of very powerful Magika to a level almost unheard of," Saebastiia'an continued to explain to her. "Ana is able to wield extremely brutal Fire power, has the ability to conjure both Lightening and Ice from the powers, can create strong Protection barriers capably, and has an Elemental Energy-Force kick I have never seen before in anyone without a single purely-dedicated specialty in it. Tellingly, she does not have access to Healing, but even stranger, this is because her Magika Powers actually resist it. This makes her resistant to the Healing because its process contra-indicates this kind of extremely potent Magika, thus the side-effects make her very ill and weak, on top of whatever is already making her ill or injured enough to require it. Until her blood recovers from having the Healing power forced into her body and blood, her body struggles until the Healing has worked. After she will be weak for several days."

"So… she will always suffer this?"

Saebastiia'an looked back to me with a hard look. "Yes, unless she becomes far more adept at fighting."

En'nii lowered her head and shook it with despondency and concern, laying her forehead in her hand and clearly willing away tears. She had led a completely sheltered and comfortable life, had no real idea of the world outside her happy and cosseted existence. She had received an incredible shock to see what life I had undertaken after disappearing from her family's home so many years ago, and still could not fathom why I put myself through it. She wanted to protect me, like she had when we were children, but now she could not. I had fighting immensely powerful Magika and I was usually perfect in my swordsmanship – what else was I supposed to do with myself now, except wws?

"Come, En'nii," Saebastiia'an said quietly, getting up and placing a hand on her shoulder. "We should leave her to rest. It will be a day or two more before she will be back to herself again."

L'eiito had stood to one side until they left. Then he looked back at me and fixed me with a potent stare.

"Just so we are clear, I do not care for L'aena and her games. I tell you this for the sake of my arm." He then gave me one of his rare, half-amused expressions of mild joviality as he came close and pulled up his sleeve to show me the marks where I had dug my nails into his otherwise perfect skin and hardened biceps there. I could clearly tell by his expression he was attempting to take my mind away from my concerns, but he unfortunately only made me think about different ones instead. "You have no need to fear I will be taken in by her entirely insincere façade – I require no protection from her, I assure you."

If only he knew the truth. But this was a better assumption, so I did nothing to dissuade his belief.

"I don't believe any man is capable of resisting her charms," I retorted. L'eiito smiled his usual small smile of amusement at me and shook his head.

"Let me know of you require anything further," he offered. "I shall leave you to rest now."

I was about to call him to stay, but he turned and immediately left before I could. I sighed and closed my eyes, wondering just how long it would be before all this trouble and hiding blew up in my face.