Nua sat propped up against the wall and with her eyes half shut, watching Raya tending to the wounded. The priestess unwrapped a whole array of elixirs, bandages, and tools, then proceeded with her craft. Quintus went first since it was of utmost importance to stop the bleeding. There was an unmistakable glow of ether as Raya sewed the wound. Using Anki’s wording, it was a technique, and not a spell; the priestess was reinforcing her own medical skills to perform flawlessly, and perhaps amplify the healing process.

The girl kept glancing at Lykomedes, who was pale as a piece of chalk, his breathing fast and shallow. An uneasy feeling lodged in her stomach and it didn’t let go until Raya started tending to the young warrior. The priestess cut off the straps tying his leather armor, then, unceremoniously, got rid of his shirt. She kept muttering and examining his shoulder and ribs for a while, then she poured an elixir down his mouth. Lykomedes sighed.

“How is he?” Nua blurted out.

“Stable,” Raya was fixing the arm in a sling. “Broken bones, severed tendons. But he will live. He needs surgery as soon as we get back upstairs.”

The warrior’s gaze was becoming clearer.

“Am I going… to ever use that arm...?”

“I cannot tell. It would help me greatly if I had some more ether.” Now Raya was looking directly at Nua. No mistake here. The girl swallowed.

“So, what’s the deal with you, exactly?” Zaina seemed too tired to get angry. “I need to focus to see auras, but what you just did was beyond a simple enhancement. And don’t give me the crap about the medallion. If Hessa could afford a medallion like this, she would bathe in goat milk in her own marble pool, while being served fresh dates by nude attendants. Daily.”

“That was oddly specific,” Quintus raised his brow. After Raya wrapped his leg in a neat bandage, he grabbed a ceramic cup and now he was sipping mint tea, steeped in the water that Zaina heated on an improvised stove with the oil lamp. Nua didn’t know if her ability with fire was supernatural, or she just didn’t realize how much time had passed since they sat here to rest. Oswald, of all people, also propped up a stove and he was cooking a deliciously fragrant bouillon made of stock he had brought – and judging from his focused look and the carefully added spices – prepared himself.

“Oh, she’s a baby Forsaken,” Raya made a dismissing gesture. “She just forgot to mention it before we went in.”

Zaina frowned. Quintus spat out his tea. Oswald’s spoon stopped midway to the pot.

“All right,” Nua sighed. “I’ll explain. First, I am not a baby. I’m around the same age as Lykomedes, so if I am a baby, or a kid for that matter, he is one as well.”

Lykomedes scoffed faintly.

“Second. Using ether does not make me an Autarch any more than you, Raya.” She glared. “It’s just people tend to kill us for it, so we hide our skills. Third, “Forsaken”… is kind of offensive. Outside, calling them otherwise is politics, but since we’re in their temple, let’s be nice. You never know who might listen.”

Anki gave her an approving look.

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“Thank you, Nua. This was unexpected and much appreciated.”

“You are more than a regular user, Nua.” Raya shook her head. “You know, I can see auras just fine. Until now, you’ve burned through at least five elixirs worth, on several occasions. If I’m correct, you fought along Hessa in the canyon, too. You are wasting more ether than you are actually putting to good use, but you never lack for it. You have awakened – very recently, I’d guess - and you’re making it on your own.”

Quintus whistled.

Nua wrapped her arms around herself.

“So what if I do.”

“Well, the youngest awakened sorceress I know personally is fifty. She had a lifetime of experience and training. Now, prodigies do exist, but they’re usually trained by powerful tutors, or at least their academic talent and access to resources make them unparalleled at what they do. You had none of it. If no one told you so far, I’ll be the first - it is possible that you carry the blood of the ancient god-kings.”

The blue spirit of a king, who casually settled on Raya’s ingredient bag, gave his student a serious look.

“Do not get your hopes up. The contagion was very thorough. If there was anything in your lineage, it would be diluted beyond importance. Talents like yours are rare, but not unaccounted for.”

Nua acknowledged Anki with a blink, then she closed her eyes. She wanted to tell Raya that she was not all that glorious. But the actual truth was even more frightening. She was not awakened and she wasn’t a baby Autarch; she had a ghost of a real one speaking in her head, with all of his ether and knowledge at her disposal, and a revenge mission to go with them.

Her voice trembled. “So what do you want to do with me?”

“Nothing.” Raya was clearly talking down to her as if she held onto an offense.

“A nascent Autarch is an Azurian problem,” Oswald added. “As you’ve probably noticed, we are not involved in local matters.”

“I’m local,” Zaina muttered. “So try not to get a bounty on your head, kid, ‘cause I might get tempted.”

“What Raya wanted to say,” Quintus threw in, “Is that if you are making ether, we would strongly suggest you share. It would make our journey back much easier.”

“I agree,” Lykomedes whispered.

Raya nodded, her expression serious.

“Before you wriggle out of it, tell me about the extent of your skills,” she added. “As Zaina said, you have an ability connected to jumping, but I am also interested in your perception. You know more than you can see or hear, even considering your Unsaggan senses.”

“I’m sorry, Anki. My answer will be a bit disrespectful.”

“Well, I guess we cannot help it. I appreciate at least giving me an apology in advance.”

“There’s not much to it,” Nua answered the priestess. “It’s a similar skill to the Muses. It doesn’t use much power, so it’s not making an aura. In a certain range, it can show the way forward and the monsters. Unlike the Muses, it has trouble seeing in complete darkness.”

Quintus was nodding along. “My ability doesn’t tell me anything about the living creatures. We could combine the information.”

Nua hesitated.

“Also… if we have to open any more doors… we don’t need my blood. Not really. It’s actually ether that does the trick. Blood is a workaround for anyone who is not a user.”

Anki whirled in place.

“For Heavens sake, Nua,” he hissed.

There was another moment of dead silence. The mercenaries looked at each other. Then, Quintus spoke up.

“I can see how you could become a problem.”

Nua frowned.

“Why now?”

“Because of your…” the warrior poet stumbled on a word. “Ethnic origin and potential or whatever, you probably pick up ancient mysteries unaware and then casually drop bombs like this. Don’t. Idris said that the blood trick is an Antiquarian secret. This is even worse. It could get you killed regardless if they know what you are.”

“Noted,” Nua sighed, seeing as two different people were scolding her, with Quintus not even knowing about Anki. Deep down, however, she was glad of getting rid of the need to cut her own finger just to open some doors. “I get it, stop. I want to help Lykomedes and share, just tell me how to do it.

“Just checking - are you going to be able to use your ability and plan for the exit afterward?” Quintus asked.

“Don’t worry, I have plenty of ether left,” she answered, ignoring Anki’s meaningful glances. Oh, just you wait, you Autarch bastard. You owe me some explanations yourself.