Honestly, I was starting to wonder what kind of doctor interrogated her patients right after they’d been in a week-long coma. She had this intense, almost unhinged energy that made my skin crawl.

And the worst part? We were now alone.

After barking some order at Mari to fetch warm water and a thick towel, the maid slipped out, leaving me stuck with this woman—who felt less like a physician and more like an angry boss about to fire me.

She crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. “I suppose you really don’t remember a thing, do you?”

Before I could answer, she reached out and tapped my forehead with one finger. I blinked, more surprised than anything else.

“No. I don’t,” I said. “Sorry. Uh… maybe you could tell me what happened? Before I—” I searched for the right words. “—fell unconscious?”

Her lip curled. “You really want to know, you crazy little freak?”

I nodded slowly, though even that sent a sharp ache crawling up my neck. Seriously—what the hell was wrong with this body?

“Alright, then.” She cracked her knuckles. “Let’s start from the top.”

She paused dramatically.

“I was in the middle of something—an experiment. Medical, you could say. But forget it. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

…Okay? That wasn’t ominous at all.

But her attitude—blunt, no-nonsense, and vaguely chaotic—made me think of someone. Maya. Except this woman? Somehow more blunt. And I hadn’t even thought that was possible.

“Anyway,” she went on, “I was working when the whole estate went into a panic. Someone came running, screaming that the head son—” she pointed to me with zero subtlety “—had just jumped out a window.”

I froze. “Jumped… what?”

She jabbed a finger toward the window across the room. The same one I’d been sitting near earlier.

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“That window.”

I stared at it, my eyes widening.

This kid—my body—had jumped out of that window?

I thought this kid had some kind of illness — figured that’s what made his body this way. Turns out I was only half right. And half very, very wrong.

The doctor clicked her tongue, shaking her head. “Tsk. Crazy, right?”

She turned her back on me, walking to the window — the same one this kid supposedly jumped out of. Her hands rested on the sill, but she didn’t look out.

“You’re too eager to throw your life away,” she said quietly. “You treat it like it’s cheap. Disposable.”

She let that hang in the air a second, then turned her head just enough for me to catch the edge of her profile.

“But let me tell you something, featherweight.” Her voice dropped lower. “I’ve held more dying hands than I can count. And not one of them wanted to let go. Not one. When the end comes, you’ll beg for one more breath. One more second. So stop acting like you’re ready to die when you haven’t even figured out how to live.”

The room went silent.

Her words hit like…one of those you don’t feel right away, but the ache blooms after. I didn’t know the full story of this kid or his reasons for… whatever led to that fall. But the weight behind what she said sat heavy.

Still, I didn’t know how to respond. I opened my mouth — maybe to nod, maybe to say something stupid — but thank God Mari chose that exact moment to walk back in.

“Here’s the water and towel, Lady Elowen,” she said, bowing as she offered them up.

Elowen. So that was her name.

And from the way Mari treated her — deference, respect, maybe a little fear — it was pretty clear Elowen wasn’t just some estate doctor.

Was she some kind of mistress in this estate? No… probably not. But the way Mari tiptoed around her made me wonder.

“Elowen, has House Malvern met with the head yet?” she asked, fishing a towel from the bowl of water Mari had brought.

“The meeting is currently happening, Lady Elowen,” Mari said, voice low, eyes down.

Elowen dipped the towel into the water, then—wait. Did she just… blow on it? Was that some kind of prayer? I had no idea.

And before I could figure it out, she pressed the warm, soaked towel straight onto my stomach, her cool hand following right after. The contrast was jarring — heat and ice at once — and then… something changed.

I felt it.

Not just the warmth of the towel or the chill of her fingers, but… deeper. Like something inside me was stirring, sluggish and heavy.

“The head and the Madrona aren’t aware their second son is awake?” Elowen asked, her hand still resting on my stomach.

Mari’s head dipped so low I thought she might hit the floor. “I-I deeply apologize for not informing them, Lady Elowen. The blame is mine. Entirely mine.”

Elowen waved a hand, dismissive. “It’s fine. They wouldn’t care even if you did.” A thin, bitter smile tugged at her mouth. “Politics always come first.”

The weird feeling in my stomach got worse—like my insides were twisting, coiling in on themselves. My hands—thin, shaky things—clawed at the bedsheets without me even realizing it.

“Kid, relax,” Elowen said, her voice calm but firm.

Relax? Was she serious? My gut felt like it was trying to tie itself into knots, and she wanted me to relax? And what was she even doing—

Then her hand pressed a little harder on my stomach, and everything changed.

A weight settled there—not just physical, but something heavier, deeper. And then I saw it.

Green light.

It bled out from under her hand, swirling like smoke. But then… it shifted. Darker tendrils wrapped through the green, twisting and corrupting it until the color deepened into something dark and violent—violet.

My body jerked back on instinct, slamming against the mattress. I couldn’t help it.

“Hey! I said relax,” Elowen snapped. Then her voice softened, almost pitying. “Look at all that toxin you’ve built up after just a week. No wonder you feel pain all over.”

Toxin? What was she talking about? And that smoke—what even was it? My breath quickened, heart pounding as I stared at the dark violet haze rising from my skin.

Was this some kind of trick? A hallucination?

I glanced up at her. She had her eyes closed, lips moving in a whisper too low for me to catch. Whatever she was saying—it wasn’t normal.

And then her eyes snapped open, and she hissed, “Mother’s mercy!” like it was half a prayer and half a curse.

And me? I just lay there, completely dumbfounded. Because there was no way—no way—this woman was just a physician.

…was that a magic?