by L. R. W. Lee
Three suns later, we flew back to the palace of sand maidens. Kovis carried Velma. Our guards were vigilant and overly protective the whole way. I knew we would stay for only this sun, so I brought with me mixed feelings as we returned.
After hearing our plans from Amelia, Mema had called a family dinner and all my sisters, brothers, and even Grandfather showed up. Throughout the meal, my brothers kept peppering Kovis and me with questions about Wake and what it was like to actually live there. I shared my biggest surprises, and Kovis told tales of riding Alshain across open plains and of wielding his magic. He got them all laughing when he told tales of me learning to use mine—hitting Kennan in the side of the head as just one. With each tale, excitement blossomed in Velma’s eyes. She was ready to embrace this new adventure. Alfreda looked to be at peace.
When the end of the meal arrived, my sisters hugged me tight and shed more than a few tears. My brothers said their goodbyes with checked expressions, but most had silver-lined eyes—such males. While sadness dogged both Grandfather and Mema, they shared their dream that we might see each other again—we’d done it once after all. I shared their hope—if Kovis and I could figure out how to fulfill our promise to my aunts, we’d see it happen.
So parting, while sad, didn’t fill me with the same emptiness that it had that first time. I’d have two sisters with me to experience it all. And I’d once again see the family-of-sorts that I’d started in Wake—Haylan, Hulda, all my friends. I was looking forward to deepening my relationship with them as I revealed everything about me and my past. I giggled to myself, thinking about Hulda’s sure-to-be-exaggerated expressions when I told them. I felt blessed to have people I considered family in both places. And of course I had my Dreambeam.
So Kovis—again carrying Velma—Alfreda, and I, surrounded by a dozen guards, headed back to Selova’s.
All was in readiness when we arrived back at the palace of sand. Selova had practiced with Velma for several suns and felt certain she could send us to Wake.
So we soon stood in a circle in Selova’s rooms, anticipation making my stomach feel like butterflies fluttered about with abandon. Velma and Alfreda looked anxious. Kovis did his best to look unconcerned, probably for their sakes, but his heart beat a bit faster than usual.
“Let’s hold hands,” I suggested. My sisters forced smiles but seemed to appreciate the grounding.
“Are you each ready?” Selova asked, looking around the circle.
Alfreda nodded, eyes big. Velma’s face held resolve as she brought her head down just once. I squeezed Kovis’s hand as I bobbed mine.
“Here’s to a new and bright future,” Kovis said, ruffling his wings.
“Very well,” Selova said. Then she closed her eyes and breathed over us.
I bounced on the soft ground, no not ground, on the bed as the world came into focus—Kovis’s bedroom. I stared at the white ceiling and the empire’s symbol, the swooping altairn, emblazoned on the inset. An army of pillows stood at attention just above my head.
Kovis’s landing pushed me upward a heartbeat later, but we settled, rolled over, and looked each other over. Kovis had lost his wings. So had I, judging by the lack of weight on my back. Despite having known I’d probably lose them again, their loss sent a wave of sadness through me. I had my sisters, I reminded myself. Yes, my sisters, the medallion from my aunts, and my ring—the sapphire and diamonds on my finger sparkled in the morning light. At least the transition hadn’t taken this symbol of Kovis and my love from me, from us.
Kovis grinned. “That was a much less painful arrival this time, but what’s this fetish with our clothes?”
I laughed. Indeed. The transition had left us naked once more, but at least neither of us would have to endure the embarrassment I had my first arrival.
I rose to sitting, expecting to see my sisters sprawled on the floor, but no. “Kovis, where’d they go?” My voice rose. I’d never considered that the transition might split us up. Thoughts of all I’d endured when I’d come sent my heart racing. We had to find them. And quick.
“Alfreda might have landed in Kennan’s rooms,” Kovis suggested. “At least if the transition followed the same logic as with you.”
I couldn’t argue, it made sense. And it was a place to start looking.
“My wings…,” Kovis said, frowning as we bolted from bed. “And just when I was really starting to enjoy them, every handbreadth of them.”
I snickered despite the situation. “Such a male.”
“What?”
“You know what.”
He grinned. “What can I say? You’d be disappointed any other way.”
We reached his closet and threw on the first clothes we both found—for Kovis that was undergarments, a gray shirt, and black slacks. I found one of my green healer’s robes and slipped it on over underclothes. No shoes, slippers would have to do.
“Ready?” Kovis asked.
My hair was a wreck, but no one would care. We headed out the bedroom and crossed the sitting area. Kovis had just reached for the door handle when I heard it and squeaked.
“What?” Kovis asked, turning.
“Your thrum is back! Kovis, your magic…”
He paused, and I could see him inventorying his powers—ice chilled the air, water misted a nearby plant, then air brushed through my hair, making it flutter.
I tasted his powers too, just a little, and found their eager response to me. “Mine are back too. I wonder what powers Velma and Alfreda will get?”
“Speaking of which…” Kovis pulled open his door.
“My… my prince,” Allard stammered. The guard was unable to hide his surprise at our appearance.
“You’re back, my prince,” Cedric added. They both were clearly trying to puzzle out how they hadn’t known of our presence.
No one stood guard across the hall at Kennan’s door.
“Where are his guards?” Kovis asked.
“Shouts came from inside his room just now. They went to investigate,” Allard explained.
Looks like we found Alfreda, I said.
“Cedric, call for Jathan. Kennan’s going to need him,” Kovis commanded, clearly remembering how my coming had caused him a massive nosebleed and splitting headache.
“Yes, my prince.” The guard bowed and dashed off.
I crossed the hall and grabbed the handle. Kovis followed. We had to save Alfreda from what I’d endured.
“Wait, my prince. It’s not safe,” Allard cried.
“Unless I miss my guess,” Kovis started, “it’s Ali’s sister who has caused the disturbance. She’s no danger, trust me.”
The guard furrowed his brow but didn’t question. “Then let me at least go before you. In case, my prince.” He drew his sword from its holster.
Kovis invited him to lead the way with an open palm.
Nothing had changed. Books, paintings, easels, and musical instruments cluttered nearly every surface. Well, he’d moved a few paintings around, but the overall look was the same. The layout of the suite was a mirror of Kovis’s rooms, and we rushed past the desk and sitting area toward the commotion—through the bedroom’s double doors. I followed Allard, and to my horror, a guard I’d never seen before held a blonde-haired woman at sword point. Alfreda trembled where she lay on the floor in a pile of sand, eyes wide, trying to shield her sand-covered, naked self.
I’d forgotten about the sand I’d landed on. I hadn’t landed on sand this time, neither had Kovis for that matter. Was it the manifestation of a sand person being born anew? Selova’s creations must start life similarly. I pushed my errant conjecturing aside. “Alfreda!” I cried, drawing the guard’s attention.
Kennan lay in bed, but his eyes shot open at hearing my voice—dark circles beneath them told me he hadn’t gotten much sleep. He opened his mouth but a roar was all that came out as he fisted his hand so his knuckles turned white.
“Stay back!” the unknown guard warned.
“She’s my sister,”
I insisted.
Kennan moaned. Blood flowed from his nose, beneath his hand, onto his sculpted chest. He squeezed his tea-steeped brown eyes tightly, his brow furrowed in pain. His tattoo—a flaming, arrow-pierced altairn—glowed red.
“Markett, call Jathan!” the unnamed man commanded of another guard I only now spotted. He’d been standing behind one of the doors.
“On my way!” Markett replied.
“He’s already been called,” I informed, bringing him up short.
“Put your sword away,” Kovis ordered.
“But, my prince…”
“What’s your name, soldier?” Kovis asked.
“Canter, my prince.”
“How long have you been serving Prince Kennan?” Kovis inquired.
“For a moon, sir. He added me to his personal guard after he was returned, Markett too.”
I looked back at my sister. Like me, Alfreda had gotten smaller in the transition and no longer sported her beautiful black wings. But her face was the same as it had always been—stark black, almond-shaped eyes, and full eyebrows—blonde now—to match her thick waves with a tight but small chin and long nose.
Her eyes went wide, and she yipped then froze, her mouth half open where she lay.
Kennan moaned again.
“Alfreda!” I pushed past the guards and fell to the floor. I tried to lift her head, but she was completely stiff. Like I’d been for a short time when my bond with Kovis had locked into place.
“Get her a blanket!” Kovis ordered.
Alfreda convulsed, and I pulled her into my arms.
“Ali,” she whispered.
“It’s all right. We’re here,” I soothed.
She pulled her hands to her head and cried out at the same time as Kennan. Gods, help her, help them. I knew that pain. Excruciating didn’t begin to describe it.
Master Lorica appeared in the doorway, Cedric following.
“My prince, Ali!” the master exclaimed at seeing us. She bowed to Kovis who asked her to rise. “I didn’t realize you’d returned. Jathan just took ill, violently so. He’s unable to attend Prince Kennan. How can I help?”
Kennan and Alfreda moaned in unison, and Lorica glanced between the pair. “This is what Jathan…” She shook her head, not finishing her sentence, and began barking orders to prop Kennan up.
Allard returned with a blanket, and I helped cover Alfreda, then stroked her back in an attempt to comfort.
Several heartbeats passed before my brain kicked in and I wondered aloud, “If she touches him, will the pain ease?” Master Lorica looked to me, and I said, “She needs to touch him.”
It was only a theory, but if I’d gotten to touch Kovis when I’d first landed, might both of our pain have stopped?
Allard looked to Kovis and then the healer for confirmation, but Lorica nodded, so he scooped her up and laid her beside Kennan atop the fluffy covers. Kennan now held a bloody rag to his nose, but his eyes travelled over her. He knew she was my sister; I was betting he remembered me telling him she was his sand maiden. His lack of protest told me he did.
Kennan reached over and gently took one of Alfreda’s sandy hands in his. She looked at their clasped hands, then up into his eyes, and smiled. They both did. She actually smiled. I hadn’t seen her smile since before… in a long time.
Kennan’s shoulders relaxed. He drew his free hand to his head and took a deep breath. “The pain… it’s gone. Just like that.”
“We need to find Velma,” Kovis reminded. Then turning to the healer, he asked, “You said Jathan exhibited the same symptoms as my brother?”
“That’s correct, my prince.”
“What is Jathan’s middle name?” I interjected.
Lorica gave me a questioning look but replied, “Thaddeus, why?”
I nodded at Kovis. Jathan Thaddeus or JT for short. I’d never guessed.
“We’ll be back in a while,” I promised Alfreda, who barely spared me a glance before returning her gaze to Kennan. They’d been through so, so much, but they’d experienced it together. Would they be able to help each other heal? It seemed so. I prayed so.
Lorica had things well in hand, so Kovis and I left Kennan and Alfreda in her care. We headed down the hall, then spiraled down all six flights of stairs, took a right at the bottom, and strode past the kitchens and dining hall.
Swete, a fellow apprentice, let out a cry at seeing me, raced around the circular desk that marked the beginning of the healers’ suites, and threw her arms around me.
“When did you get back?” She stepped back and only then realized her slight. Her petite face blanched, and she fell into a bow.
“Rise, please,” Kovis said, unfazed.
“We got back not long ago. I’ll catch you up later, but can you tell me where Jathan is?”
“He’s not feeling well.” She bit her lip.
“I know. Master Lorica told us. But where is he?”
She pointed to one of the treatment rooms. Myla, another of my apprentice friends, exited the room wearing a concerned expression and carrying bloody bandages. She lit up when she spotted me but excused herself immediately to attend to her duties.
There was no easy way to explain, so I just asked, “Did you happen to find a maiden wearing nothing at all around?”
Swete gave me a long look. “No, and why…?”
“Maybe she’s in his rooms?” I suggested to Kovis. Turning to my friend again, I said, “Thanks” and waved. We turned and headed to the stairs leading to the healers’ private quarters up on the third floor of the wing.
It was quiet as we strode down the hall—everyone was working downstairs or sleeping after a night shift. Jathan’s chambers were at the end. I’d never been in his rooms, but Haylan had pointed them out when I’d first become an apprentice. I glanced at my old door as we passed. My nameplate still adorned it despite my lengthy absence. Was it their way of hoping I’d eventually return? So much had changed since I’d first slept here.
No guards stood outside the chief healer’s abode, and it took Kovis only a heartbeat to freeze the lock. I gave him a long look when he punched it, shattering it into several pieces.
“You prefer to wait for someone to come unlock it?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head as Kovis pushed the door open.
“Velma!” I called, and Kovis echoed.
“Ali?” Her voice sounded faint, strained.
We rushed through the living space. A sofa stood before a fireplace with a desk to one side. Stacks of books and papers had been arranged neatly around the perimeter of its top. Shelves and shelves overflowing with books adorned two walls, floor to ceiling.
“Ali?”
Velma’s voice emanated from one of two doors. We passed the one to a bathroom and entered the other. A modest double bed filled most of the space, a navy quilt overtop, bookended by two nightstands. An ample dark wood wardrobe stood to the right against one wall.
“Velma!” I fell to the floor and hugged her despite her being covered in fine sand.
She’d also changed in the transition. Like Alfreda and me, she sported golden locks. The wings Selova had crafted for her hadn’t made the crossover, but she’d kept her facial features, including a distinctive mole on her upper lip. I still didn’t understand why the transition kept some features and banished others—not that it mattered.
Velma clutched her head, eyes squeezed tight, and moaned. We had to get her to Jathan.
“Where’s Alfreda?” she ground out the heartbeat the pain eased enough to talk.
“She’s fine. She’s with Kennan. And we need to get you to Jathan.”
“I hope you’re right,” Velma groaned.
Kovis rummaged through Jathan’s wardrobe and found a blanket. He brought it over and covered her with it.
I grinned. “So Jathan is your charge.”
“Yes, why?” Another spasm rocked her body.
I ground my teeth until it ended then continued. “He’s the chief heale
r. I work under him. It’s just odd is all.”
“What happened to Jathan?” she repeated, panting.
“Do you remember telling me that my connection with Kovis would break when I came?”
“Yes,” she managed.
“Well, you were right. And when it does, you and your charge are in extreme pain. You need to touch him to make it stop.”
“Take me to him. My legs don’t work.” Despite the pain, her eyes held intensity.
“I know. They’re as strong as an infant’s. You’ll need to exercise and build them up. I had the same problem.”
“Are you ready?” Kovis asked.
“Yes.” It was all she could get out as another wave of pain struck.
Kovis waited for it to ebb then bent down and picked her up as gently as possible. I adjusted her blanket, so she was covered completely. We hastily exited Jathan’s rooms and headed downstairs to find him.
I wanted to try and distract her from the agony, so as we walked, I chattered. “You didn’t recognize me when we first found you. In weaving Jathan’s dreams, did you ever know he treated me?”
She panted after breathing through the next onslaught and gave me a long look. “No.”
“I nearly died.” Her eyes grew large. “Jathan figured out how to cure me by having Kovis send me his magic through our bond. Speaking of which, did your body freeze, like you couldn’t move?”
“Yes. What was that? It wore off, but it was frightening while it lasted.”
The next spasm struck, and Kovis’s eyes grew wide. I waited until it ended to continue my conversation.
“I’m guessing you now share a bond with Jathan. Like Kovis and I do. And Alfreda and Kennan do. I’ll tell you more about the bond later, but you never saw me in any of Jathan’s memories?”
“Not that I remember. Although I must say I had no idea what you looked like, so perhaps I did, but I didn’t recognize you.”
We arrived back at the healers’ suites and headed to where Swete had indicated Master Gavin treated Jathan. We ignored exclamations and surprised looks at our presence.
I pushed open the treatment room door to find Master Gavin and Haylan at his side. Jathan had been propped up on the examining table and held a bloody rag to his nose. Myla, a fellow apprentice, stood by, ready to do whatever asked. Tension filled the room, concern etched in the eyes of the healers as they studied Jathan.