“Mara feels warm when you touch her.” Several days had passed, each one the same. I felt like I was completely surrounded by snow. My body was cold, but not so much that I would die from it. The only time I felt warm was when Mara held me in her arms at night.
I lifted a hand to my chin. “Uhm… kind of. It's not just that she feels warm, it's almost the same as walking barefoot on stone tiles that have been warmed by the sun.
Catherine finished her checkup on my arm and swiped away the magic threads. “That makes sense. It's because of her Mana. Your body is really low on it since it isn’t flowing through you normally anymore when you’re near her your body is naturally sucking it out of her.”
“That… doesn't sound good.”
“Well, don’t worry about it too much, that problem will be fixed when you fix your gate. As for your arm.” She waved her arms back and forth quickly and in an instant the cast split in two.
I inhaled sharply, feeling the magic bolts in the bone tug slightly, but it didn’t so much hurt, as much as it just felt… wrong…
“I wouldn’t say good as new, but you should be able to use your hand to a certain extent now, it will help it finish healing.”
It ached every time I moved it like it was sore from severe growing pains combined with the workout of my life. Compared to the pain from when I first woke up though it was nothing.
“Siya.” She said my name placing a hand on my shoulder and looking directly into my eyes. “Go easy on it ok.”
“O-Ok.” I looked back down at my hand, wiggling my fingers. “Not like I’ll have a choice if they make me do something crazy though…”
She shook her head, poking the pendant that hung from my neck. “Just keep this on you and you shouldn’t die at least. If you’re alive I can heal you. How about that?”
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I grabbed the pendant holding it in my hand. ‘That reminds me.’ “What has he been up to anyway? You’ve been training him right?”
She laughed, a smile appearing on her face that was honestly a little scary. “Don’t worry about him, he’s doing great.” She lifted a finger in front of her lips. “Don’t tell him I said that though.” Her gaze slowly shifted to the window. “Actually he should be back from the western forest soon.”
A chill went down my spine. “The… western forest you say? What’s he doing out there?”
She smiled again. “Training, what else.”
I let out a nervous chuckle. “In the western forest though?”
“Well… I mean, he wanted to be a monster hunter right? I figure he might as well hunt some monsters.”
I looked down at the pendant, the energy in it seeming to swirl and glow brighter every day. ‘I wonder if this is related somehow.’
Catherine rolled her eyes. “Don't worry, He’ll be fine.”
She seemed confident at least, but the monsters of the western forest were vicious. Their claws could go through thickened armor, and their teeth could rip off limbs.
Of all the places on in our territory that was the most dangerous, and it was actually the official excuse for why the lord's family was living out in the middle of nowhere.
She let out a soft sigh, changing the subject. “You should get on your feet again too, Your blood vessels look like they are healed up as well.”
Without another word I jumped up to my feet, exited to finally stretch my legs, feeling the stiff joints ache as they supported my weight for the first time in too long.
“Feel good?”
I groaned squatting down to stretch my knees. “Pain…” I said, leaving it at that. “Does this mean I can go outside now? I've been inhaling the scent of burning wood for days, I need some fresh air.”
She raised an eyebrow. “It feels pretty cold outside right now.”
I just brushed it off. “Everything feels cold right now.”
She let out a small disapproving groan. “That’s why it’s dangerous. You’re not able to feel when your body is getting too cold, you won’t even notice if you get hypothermia.”
‘I mean… Is it really that easy to get hypothermia from just walking outside?’ “Is that a no…?”
She sighed again. “Do what you want I’m not your mother.”
I heard myself snort, trying to hide a small laugh before I left. “Thanks, Cathy!” ‘I’ll just have to make sure I’m not outside for too long.’
I made it to the door, threw on the boots Elsie had given me, and headed out into the snow.
Surprisingly I was right, I felt no change in temperature at all, it felt just as cold and frigid as it did inside, no matter what temperature my body was.
I was a little disappointed, but also a little glad that I didn’t get colder at least. ‘Maybe I should walk over to the archery range. I bet Airsidh and Lu are still at it.’
I started casually walking over. ‘I probably shouldn’t fire a bow yet, but maybe I could do some exercises to help my arm.’
As I admired the brisk morning air, the peace and quiet made it all too easy for me to hear the deep sigh coming from behind me. “Siya, what are you doing? You shouldn't be out in the cold dressed like that.”
I knew who it was even before I turned around. It was Nillous, the second in command of the castle's guards.