Half an hour later, Kiva wondered if hatred was too kind a word for how she felt toward Caldon, especially as she vomited for the third time into the bushes bordering the training yard.
“I told you not to drink all that water,” he said, not even winded.
“It wasn’t the water,” she half moaned, half panted. “It was the sadistic asshole of a prince —”
“Language,” Caldon tutted.
“— who wouldn’t let me stop even when I said I was about to die.”
“And yet, here you are, still alive,” he said. “How’s the head?”
Last night’s head wound was the least of Kiva’s troubles, the rest of her body screaming after being forced to run around the expansive training yard three times, pausing for only a minute between laps — just long enough for her to expel the contents of her stomach.
Rather than admit how miserable she felt, she turned the question around on Caldon. “How’s the shoulder?” she asked, having seen him press a hand to it during their second lap, grimacing as their rapid steps jolted his upper body.
“I’ve felt better,” he admitted.
Kiva moved closer. “Let me see.”
Caldon didn’t object, shifting his collar until his blood-splattered bandage was revealed.
Pulling back the dressing, Kiva was relieved to find that he hadn’t ripped his stitches. She was careful not to touch the raw skin with her unwashed hands, only prodding the swollen edges to check for infection.
“You’re fine,” she told him. “You’ll be tender for a while, but if you keep it clean, you should heal quickly enough.”
“It’s not my first stab wound, Sunshine, or my worst,” Caldon said, reminding her of the older scars she’d seen on his torso last night. “It likely won’t be my last, either. I know what I’m in for.”
Kiva quashed the alarm she felt and began to rewrap the dressing.
. . . Until her hands started glowing.
No.
Her nausea returned with a vengeance — this time prompted by terror — as Kiva urged the magic away, praying the bright sunshine was enough to keep anyone from noticing. Caldon, thankfully, was focused on a nearby sparring match, unaware of the golden healing light flowing from Kiva’s fingertips right under his nose.
No, no, no.
Kiva gritted her teeth against the tingling sensation, her hands trembling as she fought for control over her power. It was an effort of sheer will to keep from panicking as she made herself methodically finish bandaging Caldon’s wound, the light fading just in time for his attention to return to her.
“You have the magic touch.”
Kiva nearly fainted. “What?” she breathed, heart thundering in her chest.
Caldon rotated his shoulder. “Whatever you did, it’s already feeling much better. Thanks, Sunshine.”
“I —” Kiva cut herself off, before weakly saying, “I really didn’t do much.”
In truth, she hadn’t done anything at all. Nothing mundane, at least. But . . . her magic . . .
Kiva wouldn’t think about it, fearing that doing so might encourage the golden light to return.
It was a fluke, she told herself. Last night and today, both unfortunate coincidences, the result of fatigue and stress, and nothing else. For ten years, she’d managed to hide her power. There was no reason to fear that anything had changed, not when —
“How was your first day of training?”
Kiva gave a quiet yelp as Jaren stepped up beside her, even sweatier than when she’d last seen him. Unlike how she felt, he appeared invigorated from his exertions, his hair damp, cheeks flushed, and eyes crystal clear in the morning sunshine.
For once, Kiva wasn’t distracted by his appearance, instead studying his face to see if he’d witnessed anything strange on approach. He was looking at her no differently from normal, so she pushed away her magical misgivings, reassuring herself that it was nothing a good night’s sleep couldn’t fix.
“She gets top marks for staying,” Caldon answered Jaren. “But there’s definite room for improvement.”
He was being generous, Kiva thought, fully aware of how much work she had ahead of her.
“Ready to get out of here?” Jaren asked her.
“You have no idea,” she replied, meaning every word.
“Same time tomorrow, Sunshine,” Caldon said, unsheathing his sword and, heedless of his injured shoulder, starting off toward where Naari waited with her own weapon ready. He winked back at Kiva and finished, “It’ll be the highlight of your day.”