Whatever crawled out of the crater barely looked like Natalia. The illian was hunched over, breathing heavily, eyes so bright Ingrid couldn’t look directly at them. Her severed leg and destroyed hand were replaced with a mass of roiling energy that looked more like flames than light. Her hair was in a similar state. Her wings were as big as ever, the closest thing on her to looking normal. They weren’t. Another set of wings were present, attached at her lower back. Guards were already backing away, spears leveled at her. The only ones to stand their ground were Lilith and Berith. Berith no longer looked as annoyed at Ingrid’s escape. Dealing with whatever was happening to Natalia almost certainly took precedent.
“Fall back, this is beyo–”
Lilith’s orders were interrupted as Natalia surged forward. Berith rushed to meet her. The illian stopped short, throwing her wings forward. Viscous globs of light flew off of the feathers, raining down onto the guards as well as the twins. Lilith dragged her armored fingers together. The screeching of metal formed a barrier around her. Berith dodged between the droplets, blocking any he couldn’t with his gauntlets. The guards weren’t so lucky. Wherever the light struck, it melted through like acid, filling the room with the acrid scent of burning flesh. Four guards fell limp without a sound. Seven more had a chance to scream.
“I said fall back!” Lilith shouted, blasting Natalia into the far wall with the sound. Armor clanked and rattled as the rest of the guards rushed out of the room, only managing to bring a few of the wounded with them before Natalia roared in anger and launched herself into the air.
Bringing a finger to her mouth, Lilith blew into it. A shrill, sharp whistle forced Ingrid to cover her ears. Natalia swooped to the side, the ceiling behind her cracking like it had been hit with something. The whistles acted as projectiles, forcing Natalia on the move as she was peppered with a barrage of them. She ducked and dodged around the room, moving too fast for Lilith to get an accurate shot in. Berith was faster.
In the split second Natalia moved too close to a pillar, Berith leapt up and threw himself at her. The two crashed to the ground. Berith managed a swift punch in her face before diving to avoid an attack. Normally, Natalia’s attacks manifested as beams or orbs. There were no geometric irregularities in them. This was more like a chaotic stream, flickering and widening as she swept it down. The top half of the throne was melted in an instant. A burst of sound from Lilith caused her to stagger before another threw her back. Berith rushed her again, taking advantage of her blind spot as she held her ground. White flames erupted from Natalia’s hand. To Ingrid’s shock, the illian gripped them before whirling around.
Berith stumbled, caught off guard by the flaming axe Natalia swung at him. He managed to block it, but the light-fingers of her other hand dug into his side. They began to glow intensely before she tore them out, a chunk of flesh coming with them. Another explosion hurled Natalia into a wall as Berith took a moment to recover.
“Are you hurt?” Lilith demanded.
“Little bit. Fuck! That burns,” Berith hissed, glaring at the wound. He steadied himself against a wall as he rose to his feet. “Didn’t know she could make weapons with it.”
His sister looked like she was about to say something before Natalia emerged, a flaming sword in each hand. She soared forward, swinging at both of them. Berith knocked the blade away. Lilith grinded her fingers again to create another shield, dispersing the light. Natalia didn’t stop. She shoved her hand through, the vibrations destroying bits and pieces of it that were quickly replaced by more of the radiant fire. Everything froze as the sound stopped. Natalia gripped Lilith’s wrist. Before the elf could attack, Natalia squeezed. A scream of pain echoed throughout the room as Natalia tore the woman’s hand off, tossing it aside. Berith swept a kick around, decking Natalia in the side of the head. She tumbled across the floor, scorching the bodies she rolled over.
Ingrid’s heart leapt as the fire came dangerously close to Malori’s body. She gulped, trying to survey the room as Natalia hurled herself back at the twins once more. Alice was nowhere to be seen. Kallen was hiding behind the remains of a collapsed balcony, her coat torn off in an attempt to staunch her bleeding wounds.
“Mattias?” she realized how terrified she sounded. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
He shook his head. “I’m not. You are though! So is Kallen! And Alice, wherever she is, and–” he looked at Natalia for a moment before averting his eyes. “I don’t know who the white haired one is either. I’m sorry.”
Ingrid ignored the lump in her throat. “Can you try to get her and Kallen up here?”
He bit his lip. Ingrid hated asking it of him. Anyone other than him doing it would be a death sentence. Wordlessly, he faded away into shadow once more.
Looking over the railing, Ingrid saw her brother materialize next to Kallen. They exchanged a few words, inaudible past the sounds of Lilith’s magic. Mattias grabbed her hand before both of them vanished again. They appeared next to Malori, then immediately teleported back to Ingrid’s hiding place. Kallen grunted as she slumped against a demolished chair.
“She winning?” the human grimaced, gasping for air.
Ingrid took another look at the battle. More wounds littered Natalia’s form, all being filled in by light. Lilith and Berith were both starting to look winded. The illian manifested a greatsword the size of Shiva’s before trying to slam it down onto Berith. Ingrid didn’t look to see if it did anything.
“I don’t know. They both look bad, but so does she.”
Kallen glanced at Malori’s unmoving form. Ingrid knew what she was going to ask next. Not giving her the chance to, Ingrid crouched down before the girl’s limp body. It hurt her heart to even look at it. She just looked so small, frail. The little esper was curled into herself, drying tear tracks lopsided on her face. If it weren’t for the black veins spider webbing out from her cheek, Ingrid could have mistaken her for simply being asleep.
Waving her staff slowly over the dying girl, she gently tapped it to the ground, channeling magic from the world around her. It focused in her staff, and she pulled it forth into her hand. She ran her glowing fingers over the cut, hand shaking slightly as the vitality transferred from her into Malori. Her magic flowed into the girl’s body, sealing the cut without issue. It wasn’t deep. It was only done to infect her. Ingrid gritted her teeth. She was going to kill Berith.
The cut was barely even an obstacle. The poison was so much worse. Magical poisons were complex, painstakingly crafted to dismantle the target’s immune system. She had a bit of experience with them, but this was nothing like what she knew. Her brow furrowed, trying to understand what she was even trying to counteract. Her immune system was untouched, internal organs as healthy as ever. Fighting off poison was first a battle of defense, locating the attack and trying to strengthen whatever the target was. What was she supposed to do when there was no attack? She didn’t even know what the poison was doing. Could she call it poison? She shook her head, trying not to get distracted. The last thing she needed was to panic.
She tried not to panic, but as she searched and searched, she couldn’t find anything. Every muscle group, nerve, organ, and bodily system was completely fine. Was this the same poison that affected her? It was from Berith, so her gut was telling her yes, but she couldn’t fathom how Malori had managed to cure this in Lhanbryde. What did the esper see that she didn’t? She gasped for breath, forcing more magic into the girl. The frail little body spasmed as healing energy was poured into a form that needed none of it and could only take so much. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Why wasn’t it working?
As she took a deep breath, preparing to send another surge into the unmoving body, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she locked eyes with Alice. There was pain on her lover’s face as she glanced at Malori. Ingrid’s heart sank. She looked back at the esper. Any perceived ‘peace’ had been dashed by the misguided attempts at healing. The girl’s face was contorted in discomfort, like she was diseased. Her limbs were splayed out wildly from her spasming, showcasing the disheveled and bloody mess of her clothes. Ingrid let out a sob.
The tears flowed freely as she pulled herself into Alice. She gripped her lover’s shirt, head pressed to her chest as she screamed in a mix of anger and despair. Why couldn’t she do anything? Why was she so useless? What had she even been able to do in these fights? Fighting the skolopen had felt good. She made a plan, she supported her allies, she could do something. She had somewhat of a contribution against the dragon. Natalia had been able to escape because of her. The first fight with Berith? Against Alviss? Here? The best thing she could do was be a minor nuisance towards Lilith while praying that Alice could land a decent hit. Without her little brother, she’d have been turned into red paste against the wall. Now Malori was dying, and there was still nothing she could do.
What happened to druids being powerful? Why had she heard so much about how terrifying a druid could be in battle when she was less impactful than her teenage brother? The despair and helplessness in her chest gave way to anger. She was doing something wrong. She wasn’t processing something correctly. Alice wrapped her arms around the sobbing woman. Ingrid gritted her teeth. One eye opened, looking back at the dying girl that she’d failed. This couldn’t, wouldn’t continue.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a blazing axe of light soaring over her head. Alice ducked down, covering Ingrid as best she could. The barely solid form flickered and melted away into abstract ooze that splashed and melted the wall where it made contact.
Ingrid peeked over the railing again. Natalia’s form looked to be equal parts light as it was flesh. She attacked with reckless abandon, hurling weapons and blasts of light at a scarred and burned Lilith and Berith. Lilith blasted her with sound that barely managed to stagger her anymore. Berith ducked in and out of attacks, clawing and slashing away chunks of flesh that were instantly replaced with flickering white light. The illian’s wings burned as much as her hair, shearing through stone like butter as she whirled them around. The light around her burned so brightly that her skin looked nearly pitch black in comparison. The longer Ingrid looked, the less Natalia looked human.
Already, she’d clearly not been a normal person. Yet she’d taken such pride in her humanity. It hurt to watch almost as much as it did to look at Malori. Ingrid found herself almost agreeing with Lilith as Natalia dove at the woman again. She looked like more of a feral animal than a person.
“Can we… help her?” Mattias asked quietly.
Ingrid didn’t know if she could respond without crying even harder.
“I dunno, kid. I think at this point we’d just be collateral,” Alice grimaced.
Kallen stayed silent, holding the worst of her injuries as she overlooked the fight. Another swing of a flaming polearm was blocked by Berith’s gauntlets. He didn’t manage to stop the feathers that sliced across his side. He howled in pain as she raised the claw to finish him off. The final blow never came as an especially strong blast from Lilith sent her careening away.
Ingrid blinked. Did Natalia just nearly kill Berith? The thought barely computed. She didn’t have the chance to consider it further as the giant wooden doors flew open. A massive woman sprinted far too quickly across the length of the room. She leapt into the air, greatsword held high as she swung it down at Natalia. The blade cleaved into her collarbone, digging into and stopping at her waist.
King Gertrud placed a foot on Natalia’s chest, wrenching the blade from her abdomen. The King raised an eyebrow as the fissure sealed itself, bound together by blazing light. Natalia roared angrily, flames swirling around her. Before they could consume the King, a shelf of ice cascaded along the ground, trapping the illian.
“Lilith?” she boomed.
“The illian is undergoing a partial apotheosis,” she explained, sounding far too calm, “Wounds are patching, potentially regenerating. Magic is responding, it’s volatile and unfocused. She’s pushing herself beyond what she should be capable of. Any other species likely would have burned themselves to ash by now.”
“Noted. The others?”
“One dead, three wounded, one too slippery. In addition, we’ve confirmed the identity of the light elf.”
Gertrud raised an eyebrow, hefting her sword over her shoulder as the gnome from Colette’s retinue approached the two. Berith limped over, clutching his burned side.
“She entered the palace armed. Bluewood armor. Ironwood staff.”
Ingrid’s heart raced as Gertrud’s grip tightened around the greatsword. The King visibly gritted her teeth.
“Bloody Cordelians,” she growled, making her way towards the frozen Natalia. Already, the icy prison was melting away. Water mixed with the blood of the dead, spreading the pool around the throne. “I’ve grown complacent, haven’t I? You were given the benefit of the doubt. My guards lay dead, my Archmage is dead, and an attempt has been made on the life of my son because I listened to his pet project rather than my instincts.”
Natalia was unable to move. The tips of her wings blazed free of the ice.
“I should have had your heads the moment you entered my palace.”
The scream of a young boy echoed throughout the room. Ingrid’s heart leapt as Mattias gripped the burning feathers. As soon as he’d appeared, both him and Natalia vanished. A wave of heat washed over Ingrid as the two crumpled to the ground in front of her. Mattias clutched his hand, an angry burn reddening the entire appendage as blood and skin fell to the ground.
Natalia rose to hurl herself back into the fray, only for Kallen to throw herself at her. Natalia’s rage met its match in Kallen’s brute strength, holding them both in place.
“Ingrid! Your hand!” Mattias cried, holding his injured hand out to her. She didn’t hesitate to grab it.
“There!” the gnome shouted, pointing to their position. Lilith took a deep breath, preparing to shout them to pieces.
Kallen grabbed Mattias’s other hand. Ingrid looked around.
“Alice?” she cried.
“Here!” her lover yelled, grabbing Ingrid’s free arm. Ingrid didn’t have a chance to look as the feeling of weightlessness overtook her.
Ingrid collapsed the moment she felt gravity again. She didn’t know where they were, but she chose to trust that her brother would bring them somewhere safe. At least safe enough for her to close her eyes and rest for a moment. She was incorrect.
“They’re gone! We’re gone! Would you please calm down?” Kallen shouted.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
A roar of anger caused Ingrid’s eyes to snap open, taking in her surroundings. They were in the middle of a snowy forest, surrounded by leafless trees and snow covered bushes. The only sign of civilization was a small, worn down wooden shack behind Natalia.
Natalia.
The illian was still covered in white flames, drool and blood being flung from her mouth as she struggled against Kallen’s grasp. Ingrid scrambled away, not eager to be turned into a charred mess. Burns covered Kallen’s right side, yet she held fast.
“Natalia! Look at me!” she cried. She forced Natalia to the ground, getting on top of her. “Look at me! It’s Kallen! The fight is over!”
The woman’s chest heaved as she stared up at Kallen. Her face only spelled hatred. The human let go of her arms, placing her hands on Natalia’s face. She froze. The look of hatred vanished as the realization of what she was doing seemed to sink in. Her body went limp, flaming wings no longer flailing wildly. Her hair returned to its normal texture, and her feathers ceased melting everything around them. Even as the effects of whatever was happening faded, the second set of wings remained. As white and pristine as the upper pair, they splayed out on the snow under her. Her eyes closed as her head slumped back into the snow, greedily sucking in air like she’d been holding her breath. The golden sections of her body didn’t vanish, but they stabilized. They no longer looked like chunks of white flame filling in wounds, instead becoming more solid. Flecks of golden light began to radiate off of them. Ingrid’s eyes went wide.
Her wounds were regenerating. Lumikinesis was supposedly a magic that healed. Spending so much time around Natalia had almost made her forget about that.
Ingrid grabbed a nearby tree, using it to haul herself to her feet. All things considered, she had gotten out of the fight mostly unscathed. Depending on how much work the odd regeneration did, Natalia would likely be fine too. Kallen was in bad shape. If she didn’t get medical attention, there was a chance she’d bleed out or succumb to her injuries. Then of course, there was…
Her head snapped to the right, panic rising in her throat. It quickly subsided as she saw Alice looking exhausted, bruised, but ultimately okay. She glanced at the ground where her lover was kneeling. On the ground in front of her was the unmoving form of Malori.
“Alice, did you…?” Ingrid trailed off.
The dark elf bit her lip. There was a pause. “Felt wrong. I was part of the reason she was so miserable there, yeah? I… It felt wrong, just to leave her there.”
Her voice was frail and quiet. Ingrid knelt in the snow in front of the esper, brushing a few stray, bloody hairs from her face.
“I’m sorry, Malori,” she choked out. Alice didn’t say anything, only putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“We should probably get her inside,” Mattias said sheepishly. He gestured to the shack.
He was right. With the heat from Natalia fading, she was realizing how painfully cold it was. Malori didn’t even have a coat. Ingrid moved to scoop up the tiny girl. Alice stopped her.
“I can do it,” she murmured.
Ingrid didn’t say anything as Alice picked her up, holding her as gently as a parent would hold a child. Regret was etched into her face. Mattias cast Ingrid a quick glance before following Alice inside.
“Are you two alright?” Ingrid asked, turning to Kallen and Natalia. Kallen had fallen off of the illian, her burnt skin pressed directly into the snow.
“Been better!” Kallen said. Still as cheerful as ever. Natalia didn’t say anything. Her wings and arms were still splayed out along the ground, staring directly into the sky. Tears steadily ran from her eyes, accompanied by an unreadably neutral expression.
“Natali–”
“Did clouds always look like that?”
Ingrid blinked. She followed Natalia’s gaze. It felt strange, having a dark blue sky. Evening was setting in. The last time they’d been outside, there was a blizzard. They were weeks away from Reach now, but the dissonance still got to her. There should have been heavy gray clouds, not the fluffy white ones she saw now.
“I’m… not sure I follow,” she admitted.
Natalia blinked away tears. “Nevermind,” she mumbled. She rolled onto her side, struggling to bring herself to her feet. Ingrid offered a hand. It either wasn’t noticed or actively ignored. Natalia’s eyes locked on her leg. What had previously been blown off by an attack from Lilith was now a glowing, solid mass of light connected to where the stump should have been. Where the pant leg was cut off, Ingrid’s suspicion was confirmed. The leg had regenerated. Not by much, but new flesh had formed where the golden light faded. A jagged line of metallic gold separated the old flesh from the new.
“I believe your magic is healing you,” Ingrid explained, “Though it could have something to do with your illian blood.”
Natalia wiggled the toes of her new leg. They still weren’t flesh and blood, but they clearly responded to her movements. She looked at her new fingers, and her new pair of wings. A deep scowl formed on her face.
“Let’s just go inside,” she all but whispered, stomping off in the direction of the shack.
Ingrid looked down at Kallen. “Um, do you need help getting up?”
Kallen took a deep breath, nodding. “Burns hurt a lot,” she grimaced. She eagerly accepted the help, using her glaive to steady herself. “Thanks.”
“You’re more than welcome. We should get inside, see if I can’t heal some of your more pressing injuries.”
“I’d appreciate that too.”
“I… must warn you, I’m fairly spent in terms of energy. I can draw on some from the forest, but there will likely be several scars I can’t get to.”
Kallen shrugged, continuing to use her glaive as a walking stick. “Wouldn’t be the first time. I appreciate you making sure I don’t die though.”
The shack was small, the front door opening to a tiny entryway with old, bent coat hooks lining one wall. Beyond that was a dusty living room connected to a kitchen, and a pair of doors along the left wall. One of them was open, the murmurs of Alice and her brother coming from inside. A sofa sat in the corner of the living room. Ingrid helped her friend over to it, blowing the dust away with a wave of her staff before laying her down across it.
She took another moment to look at her surroundings. Aside from the dust, the shack was in remarkably good condition. Where had Mattias taken them? Gods, the question wasn’t even in the top ten that she needed to ask. The fatigue finally caught up with her. It took her a moment to realize that she was on the ground, her head spinning.
Too much.
It was all too much. The lid of the pot could finally be removed and she could feel everything about to spill over. She took deep, labored breaths. It was okay to be overwhelmed. They were safe. They could rest, but for the love of the gods she didn’t want to cry. She’d cried enough. For once, she just wanted to keep herself together.
Alice stepped out of the open room, concerned eyes falling on Ingrid. She frowned, walking over to sit down next to her, back against the wall. Neither of them said anything. Saying something would imply that either of them knew where to even begin. Alice wasn’t always the easiest person to read, but Ingrid could tell that her lover was just as lost as she was.
“Is Natalia in the room?” Ingrid rasped.
“Mhm,” Alice nodded.
“What is she doing?”
“Trying to help Malori.”
Ingrid looked curiously at her.
“Said her wounds are regenerating. Thought maybe she could use it on someone else.”
“Is it working?”
The dark elf gave her a wry smile. Ingrid’s heart lurched. Every time she thought they had a chance, even a glimmer of hope to save the poor esper, it was dashed. Maybe that was what Malori felt like before the poison set in. It reminded her too much of her sister.
“This is all my fault,” Ingrid murmured.
“No, no it isn’t, Ingrid,” Alice placed a hand on her shoulder. “It fucking sucks, yeah. It really does. She asked to be here though. If anything, we shouldn’t have let her come in the first pla–”
Ingrid slapped her hand away.
“What are–”
“That’s your takeaway from this?” she snapped.
Alice looked at her, bewildered. “What are you talking about?”
“We shouldn’t have let her come? That’s your solution?”
“I… just said that. But yeah, it is. She was inexperienced. All of this was way out of her paygrade, and we just let her. This never would’ve happened if we’d just told her to stay in Baile Cothrom.”
Ingrid gritted her teeth. She forced herself off the ground, glaring at the dark elf. “Have you considered that maybe it wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t treat her like garbage?”
“Is that really what we need to be talking about right now? Shouldn’t we be spending energy healing Kallen–”
“Why is Kallen your excuse for everything?” she shouted, not caring if she was heard, “Alice, I’m tired of hearing that! You haven’t even tried to hide how much you abhor her, yet anytime something you don’t like is happening, her well being is suddenly at the forefront of your mind!”
Alice looked offended. “I thought you wanted me to play nice with her?”
“I wanted you to do it for real! Not to dodge an uncomfortable topic!”
“Have you considered the fact that we almost just fucking died and maybe I don’t want to think about this stuff? Fuck, Ingrid. Least let me sleep this off first.”
“Why? So you can disappear from bed long before I’m awake? Only come back when there’s no time to do anything but leave?”
Alice winced. “That is not fair.”
“Then how is it fair to me!” Ingrid demanded, “Explain to me in detail how making me worried about you until I feel like I’m going to vomit, then avoiding even a single conversation with me for over a week, is fair.”
“Because you don’t know what you’re even digging into!”
“Of course I don’t! How am I supposed to if you never tell me anything! I don’t know if I should believe what Berith said or not because all of it lines up and you haven’t given me a single piece of information to make me think otherwise!”
“I… I thought you were livid when he said all that?” Alice looked hurt.
Ingrid gritted her teeth, holding her head. “Of course I was! He was hurting you. Why wouldn’t that make me furious! Alice, I’m in love with you! Just because I’m angry doesn’t mean I want you to be hurt! I just…”
“Breathe, Ingrid,” she said, reaching forward. Ingrid slapped her hand away again.
“I was angry with you too, Alice,” Ingrid grumbled, “You didn’t tell me anything. You only wanted to tell me when it was too late. I hate Berith for taking that from you, but I can’t say I’m not irritated that you let it get that far.”
Alice bit her lip, staring at the ground. She placed the tip of her knife in the wood, spinning it around. “I wasn’t ready.”
“If this was about anything else, I’d accept that. How many times have we nearly died because you weren’t ready? It’s just like Malori. You didn’t want to acknowledge what you were actually doing!”
“Malori was dead weight!”
“Malori is the only reason any of us are alive! And look at how we thanked her! You treated her terribly, and I just let you because I was too afraid of fighting with you!”
“That’s not–”
“Alice, if I were to deem anyone in this group as ‘dead weight’ or the least useful, it would be you or I!”
“Ingrid?” Alice looked like she’d been punched in the stomach.
“We’ve both helped, yes, but we’ve been just that; help. Natalia and Kallen were the most important people against the dragon, unless you did something else you haven’t told me about while I was unconscious. They were the ones that held off Berith the first time. Malori stopped him, and healed us when we were dying! Natalia saved your life when your plan went sideways in Kydanthus! Kallen’s glaive is the only reason we could destroy the totems! They were able to beat Shiva when we needed Mattias to save us from Alviss! Natalia saved us again from both Berith and Lilith, and Mattias got us out! You and I helped, Alice. We made it easier for them, but we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Alice didn’t say anything. Her teeth gritted in irritation as she listened. Ingrid almost wanted her to snap. To yell at her or chew her out like she’d done to her. It would at least be a step towards actually talking about all of the things that were bothering her. Things that Ingrid wanted more than anything to help her with, but couldn’t. How was she supposed to help when she didn’t even know what to help with? It made her want to pull her own hair out and scream. Why couldn’t she just say something?
Alice gripped the hilt of her knife as she dragged herself to her feet, using the wall as support.
“I need to think,” she muttered.
Ingrid scoffed. “Running away again?”
“No, thinking,” she snapped, glaring at Ingrid, “This is fucking decades, Ingrid. This doesn’t come apart all at once. So fucking sue me for needing time to think and process. Have I ever once gotten annoyed at you for having a panic attack? No, because those are something you have to deal with and need help with. This isn’t on the same level, but I need this. Like it or not, I’m taking a minute. Follow me if you want, let Kallen’s injuries become permanent. I don’t care if that’s a low blow, but if someone dying is what it takes for you to respect that boundary, then maybe you should do a little self reflection of your own.”
The dark elf didn’t wait for a response as she stormed out of the shack. The door slammed shut behind her, sending a wave of cold air into the room. Then there was silence.
Ingrid used her staff to heave herself to her feet. Not that she liked it, but Alice was right. The longer she waited to heal Kallen, the worse off she’d be. The human looked remarkably at ease draped across the sofa. She’d already fallen fast asleep. Ingrid wondered if she’d even heard anything from the argument. She knelt down in front of the woman, tending to all of the injuries she could.
Prioritizing was difficult. There were so many slices and bruises and stabs it was hard to tell which was worse. It already would have taken her days to heal this much damage. As exhausted as she was? She was going to have to be at Kallen’s side for a while in the coming days or weeks. Deciding to focus on the broken bones first, she channeled her magic. The ankle took precedent, given how many tendons and nerves made their way through. Her collarbone came next, followed by a few ribs, an arm, and most of the fingers on her left hand. By the time Ingrid was done, she felt about ready to pass out. She could ask Natalia to bandage the more bloody wounds that might have caused lasting problems.
Wobbling as she stood up once more, she made her way to the room she suspected the rest of the group were in. The door had closed at some point without her noticing. She winced. Maybe her brother and Natalia didn’t want to listen to her and Alice in a shouting match. She knocked on the door.
It made a creaking noise as Mattias opened it. He looked up at her, a mess of different emotions on his face. Ingrid couldn’t even tell what was what. He looked around.
“Where’s Alice?” he asked quietly.
Ingrid bit her tongue, preventing herself from saying something inflammatory. “She needed a moment. Is Natalia inside?”
Mattias’s expression fell. He nodded, opening the door the rest of the way. Malori was laid on the bed, blankets pulled up to her shoulders. A wet rag lay on her forehead, a few drops of water staining the pillow under her. Once more, she looked peaceful. Natalia stood hunched over at the foot of the bed, eyes closed.
Ingrid gulped. “Did you–”
She didn’t have to finish the question before Natalia shook her head. Ingrid picked up the wooden stool that sat in the corner of the room, placing it next to the bed. She sat down.
Mattias frowned, glancing up at Ingrid. His expression softened as he tugged on Natalia’s arm. “Hey, mind helping me with something?”
“What is it?” she sighed.
“Just come with me,” it was almost comical watching the tiny elven boy drag Natalia out of the room. He gave Ingrid a nod, closing the door behind them.
No sooner than the door making contact with the frame, there were tears in Ingrid’s eyes. She looked down at Malori, her face a mess of black webs contrasted by ghostly pale skin.
“I’m sorry,” she rasped. She reached under the covers, pulling the girl's hand out. It was cold. Ingrid held it close. “I’m sorry, Malori. You didn’t deserve any of this.”
No response. The girl’s breathing was shallow. Ingrid held back a sob.
“You deserved to be treated better. You deserved to be cared for, and be happy. I just… I’m sorry I only realized it when it didn’t matter anymore. All you wanted was to stop feeling lonely. You sounded so happy with Colette. It was a happiness that wasn’t there at the beginning with me. Even when I tried to be your friend. I didn’t do a very good job sticking with it, did I?”
Silence.
“I didn’t think so. I’m sorry I didn’t stick up for you, Malori. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend. Maybe I wasn’t even a friend at all. I… I guess I’ll never know now, will I?”
The words were almost enough to choke her. More tears rolled down her cheeks. She pressed her forehead to Malori’s limp hand. Laying it back on the bed, she squeezed it tight. She leaned forward, resting her head on the mattress as she stared up at the girl. Her eyes drifted closed as exhaustion began to take her.
“The least I can do is make sure you’re not alone at the end.”