Soft-hearted. Not liking what she was doing, but accepting she had to. What would have happened if the two Claires had simply packed their bags and left Tyrland rather than take on the Black Queen?
"I never thanked her."
“You went with her. She liked that.” Sebastian leaned back, eyelids sagging. “She liked you for not trusting her. It helped, just as saving you helped. All those little choices which kept her someone she can live with being.” He sighed deeply and fell asleep, head tipped awkwardly back. Days enchanted in the Eferum didn’t add up to much rest.
Kendall sat listening to the noises from the other room. The attendants clucked like hens, voices rising and falling with each new excitement, making it hard to tell real disaster from stupid fussing. Occasionally the healer’s voice could be heard, never hurried, not loud enough to make out any words.
"Lord Montjuste-Surclere."
The couch heaved under Kendall, and she realised she’d been leaning on Sebastian’s shoulder. Muzzily she sat up, rubbing at her eyes. The tall healer was standing in front of them.
"How is she?" Sebastian asked, his voice small and tight.
"We have stabilised her," the healer said, choosing her words with a judicious air. "Ordinarily I would give her a fair chance of recovery."
"But?"
"There are two areas of concern. This wound on her throat – I’m told it is an Eferum-Get bite?" Without waiting for Sebastian to respond, she swept on. "There is some property to the wound I cannot unravel. Perhaps a mild toxin which is resisting removal. That may have an impact on her recovery. There is a more immediate issue which I would appreciate your help with."
"Anything."
"Your sister appears to have been physically worn down before being injured, and then has suffered major blood loss. Replacing the blood has exacerbated the exhaustion. The major injuries – bruised organs, and badly broken ribs piercing one of her lungs – have been caulded and she is no longer bleeding internally. It is very important that she lie still and rest as much as possible. And she will not."
"Ren’s awake?"
"Not lucid. We removed the creature on her wrist, of course, and immediately she began to resist our enchantments. We even resorted to drugging her, a thing I would not ordinarily approve with a subject in such a depressed physical state, and this held her barely longer than the casting. She is counteracting everything."
"Ren’s casting in her sleep?"
The way Sebastian leapt to his feet, almost shouting, told Kendall just how bad a thing this was. Even the graceful healer looked disconcerted.
"Thus far we have seen no effects outside her continued waking," she reassured him. "But I must ask you to try and calm her. She is killing herself. If she can see you, hear your voice, she may cease to fight against our castings."
"Maybe she thinks it’s the demon’s spell," Kendall said pragmatically, then pulled a face and followed Sebastian as he ran into the next room.
The bed made Rennyn look small. Nor was she moving about, but lay neatly tucked up and totally still. Kendall could feel the itch of magic, but could not tell what was the healer’s work and what was Rennyn.
"Is she casting?"
Sebastian leaned close over his sister. "I think so."
"That’s bad because she might melt the room, or something?"
"Yes. A Thought mage should never cast except with absolute deliberation. You can’t get drunk, or smoke that Haze Weed. Fevers are best avoided, though I haven’t heard of sleep-casting before."
"Stay with her," said the healer. "Talk to her. Even in sleep she will hear you and be reassured. Above all, keep her still."
As the healer left the room, Sebastian obediently picked up one of Rennyn’s hands and began murmuring to her. Kendall edged around the side of the bed for a closer look. One side of Rennyn’s face was a single, huge bruise with a scratch through the centre. Her cheeks were sunken and her bones stood out beneath the skin.
"She doesn’t look like she’s been healed at all. What does caulded mean?"
"Holding wounds or bones together. You can’t just fix a person with magic. Well, some healers have managed it, but more have killed their patients trying. Even if this one was arrogant enough to try, Ren’s too weak to stand it."
"Patch her up and wait, huh?"
Sebastian looked up, then felt around in his pockets and produced a square of crumpled, inky cloth. He was just the sort who would carry a kerchief. Kendall ignored it, wiping at her face.
Rennyn shifted on the bed. Kendall watched her, then peered closer to see beads of sweat on her face, though there was no flush to the skin. "She’s waking up."
Sebastian had already noticed, squeezing Rennyn’s hand as if that would help. "Can you hear me, Ren? It’s me. It’s over. We’re safe. You can rest, it’s all over."
Rennyn’s head turned toward his voice, her eyes opening to dark slits.
"Ren!" Sebastian said gladly.
But there was no recognition in Rennyn’s swollen face. Instead of being calmed by his words, she continued to turn her head, then tried to sit up, barely managing to raise her head.
"What’s she looking for?"
"Ren? You’re safe." Sebastian tried to stop his sister from moving. "Lie back. It’s over."
This didn’t help at all. Even though she didn’t have the strength to lift herself, and trying obviously hurt a lot, Rennyn kept struggling to move. Kendall looked about for the one of the healers.
"Did she just say something?"
Sebastian leaned over his sister, but when he lifted his head he just looked puzzled. "Liddan? Is that a place, a person?"
Kendall shook her head. "Something undone that’s worrying her? If she knows you’re alive, and that the Black Queen is dead, is there anything she needs to do?"
"Our – Solace’s second son," Sebastian said reluctantly. "Not in our original plans, of course, but I don’t think we can leave him out there. We’re going to have to deal with him."
"His name’s not Liddan."
"No. But there isn’t anything else." He tugged the blanket back toward Rennyn’s chin. "She was looking forward to that so much. To not having to study, to letting herself indulge useless whims. To travel and read novels and sleep in every day. To not have this huge duty sitting over her. She doesn’t want to be responsible for anything ever again, won’t even admit to worrying about the political consequences for the Kellian."
"Are they going to be all right? Sukata and the others who were there?"
He bit his lip. "They should be, since they survived the end of the casting. But we had no way to test it, no way to be sure if there would be any side-effects."
"And none of them are called Liddan either," Kendall said, adding doubtfully: "Captain Faille’s first name is a bit like that. Lieutenant Danress told me it once."
"Really?" Sebastian blinked, then looked worriedly back at his sister as she shifted and then caught her breath. Broken ribs.
"Stay with her, will you?" Sebastian said, and strode abruptly out of the room. Startled, Kendall could hear him speaking to someone outside, and then one of the healer’s assistants came in, already chalking on his slate, and brushed Kendall aside so he could cast some more spells.
"Even the pain suppressors are being countered," the assistant said, clicking his tongue. Then he noticed that Sebastian hadn’t followed him back into the room, and looked scandalised. Kendall pretended not to notice, and eventually the assistant finished his spells and went off, no doubt to say nasty things about heartless boys.
Rennyn was so still Kendall went back to the bed to check her. She felt almost as tired as Rennyn looked, and it made it worse that she had to lean close to be sure the woman was even breathing. But the bruises didn’t make her any less the person who’d shown up at Kendall’s door in Falk and told a pack of lies to get Kendall to do what she wanted.