“You can’t decide if you want to read Zenith Online first, which Jacob, Cove, and even Ava seem to think will be the next world, or The Basics of Magical Medicine, so you know how magic works when treating injuries?” Leala asked, leaning forward on her fist.
My head bobbed in a nod.
“I can see why you’re having trouble deciding.” She took a few seconds to study my face. “Cove is reading Zenith Online?”
I nodded again.
“But you already know basic first aid?”
“Yes.”
Tactfully, she said, “Cove is very powerful. He’s also proficient in most types of magic, including healing. There’s been a few occasions where he’s…” she trailed off, taking a glance at my face. Her hand lifted to rub the back of her head. “Aaaand you’d rather hear this later. Sorry.”
Leala cleared her throat and continued, her cheeks dusting a light pink. “Average mages are almost better off using traditional first aid methods. Cove will have to heal any major injuries for you. I recommend you read Zenith Online first since you’re worried about feeling useless again,” she looked horrified by her words as soon as she said them, her hands flying to her mouth. “Not that you actually are useless–I just–I mean–”
Hearing my thoughts come from someone else’s mouth hurt a little. I cut her off with a plastic smile. “Thanks.”
Her hands smacked down onto the floor, her face bright red with frustration. A pebble skidded off to the side as she ranted. “I said what you were thinking. I don’t actually think that you’re useless. I would never–” she stuttered as she spoke, flustered.
Suddenly exhausted, I rose to my feet, cutting her tirade off again. When I spoke, it was with unintentionally sharp words. “Thank you for the advice. We leave in a few days…”
Leala jumped to her feet, her long curly black hair bounding against her back. “Wait! When you get back, let’s meet here and talk about the differences between being raised in Chicago and Ventosus, alright?”
“If I have time,” feeling off-kilter, I found a forest-inspired room of my own to sit in, falling bonelessly into the beanbag chair and carelessly tossing my tote bag to the side. I stared up at the ceiling, thinking. Although I wasn’t the best at catching others’ emotions, even I knew that Leala’s words hadn’t been intended to cause harm. And yet, they only served as a reminder, once again, of the vast differences between Cove and me. Not only that, but the mention of ‘being raised’ brought up memories of childhood that I’d just managed to rebury.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
My chest burned, and my stomach felt hollow.
I closed my eyes to a blur, scrunching them shut as I hastily reburied the memories once more. My hand slid off the back of the beanbag, landing on the rough canvas of my tote bag. Robotically, I dipped my hand inside, lifting out the modern plastic-covered book Zenith Online, and began reading.
The book did a better job of making me forget than simply burying the memories had.
I headed home when my stomach growled, taking it as a reminder to do something outside the realm of books. I cooked and ate, freezing my leftovers just in case. I wasn’t sure what I’d have time for the next day, but I’d rather have to defrost the leftovers than waste them.
Ani, furious at being left behind for the day, kept attempting to climb onto my lap and shove his paw in my face. I defeated his efforts until the evening when I logged back into the computer game version of Zenith Online. His presence on my lap meant I had to reach around him as I played and received a few nips and grabs as he decided my moving hands meant playtime, but it wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
My phone alarm, which I’d set in preparation for such an event, interrupted me in the middle of a fight, causing me to miss a stroke of the key and Blaze to fall in battle. The Game Over screen hung above his head, and I tapped along the keys without pressing them as I debated retrying the fight.
I closed the program with a sigh. There would always be some reason or another to continue playing.
As I lay in bed that night, I stared at the blinking cursor in the blank text message I was typing to Ember. Slowly, I typed, ‘Going out of town for work again the day after tomorrow; I’ll let you know when I return,’ and tapped send. Ember wouldn’t be happy, but that was a problem for me of another day.
In the morning, Ember’s responding text message told me I was right. She wasn’t happy. While she’d refrained from explicitly stating so, instead of her usual “kk,” or “got it,” she’d responded with a clipped “K,” that previous experience told me was a bad sign.
Well, I’d done my duty and told her.
The day leading up to our next trip passed similarly to the previous day, with the morning spent training with Cove and the midday/afternoon spent finishing Zenith Online in the library. I flipped the final page over and slammed the book shut. Unlike Heirs, where I knew the barest of details, or What Lies Ahead, where I had to rely on Cove, I would finally be in the know and be able to plan accordingly.
I slid the book into my backpack that evening after ensuring there was space with everything else I packed. The salve from the nurse was zipped in the outer section, secure yet within easy reach.
And then, it was the morning of departure. Cove was waiting for me in the training room, his backpack slung over his jacketed shoulders. Ranch, scarfed around his neck, lifted her head in greeting when Ani and I arrived. Jacob was distinctly not there. Ani crawled up my leg, begging to be carried. I picked him up, babying him against my chest.
I clutched Cove’s wrist, and the familiar darkness swirled around us.