A large, strong hand slid across his shoulder and squeezed. He looked up to find Eno standing right behind him, a reassuring smile on his lips. “You can do this. The goddess believed in you enough to give you this gift. You must embrace this.”
“Yes, but why couldn’t we begin with someone else or something smaller?” Rayne’s brow furrowed and then he brightened with an idea. “Why don’t you stab Drayce for me? Let me practice on him first.”
“Hell, no! You’re not stabbing me or practicing on me. You’ve already got a patient. You don’t need to create a new one!” Drayce cried, darting across the room to put as much space between him and Eno as he could.
“Rayne,” Caelan started again. This time his voice was tired and the joking was gone. It was time for Rayne to quit stalling and face this. Eno was right; he needed to embrace his new gift.
He’d tried to heal Caelan before they’d trekked back through the catacombs, but Rayne couldn’t get anything to happen. There was a faint tingle of energy that pricked the tips of his fingers, but that was it. No grand surge of power or greater instinct directing him how to heal his king. A tingle, though he wasn’t telling anyone what he felt. He’d never hear the end of it from Drayce.
“Place your hands on my chest,” Caelan directed. At least he sounded calm and confident about this.
Rayne ignored his shaking hands and followed Caelan’s instructions, trying to lay his hands near Caelan’s ribs as gently as possible. The man still winced at the contact, but he didn’t make a sound of pain.
“Now close your eyes and tell me what you feel.”
“Nothing,” he answered even before his eyes fell shut.
“Do you want me to send Eno and Drayce away?”
“No.” There was no point in this. If he was going to be of any use, he needed to get accustomed to using this power when there was chaos happening around him.
“Want me to tell you what Tula was like?” Caelan’s voice had dropped near a whisper and become so very soothing. “She was life, Rayne. The beating heart of a forest. When she appeared to me, her skin was green moss, and her limbs were slender willow branches. Flowers flowed down as her hair, and she was wrapped in vines and leaves. When she spoke, it was like listening to a nightingale sing.”
“Magical,” Rayne breathed. He was getting swept away in Caelan’s voice. The image formed so very clearly of this magical creature as if the forest itself was coming forward to embrace him. Could this really be what she looked like? Could he see her because of this connection they now shared?
“She said that she likes you. She thinks you’re the right mix of sneaky and compassionate. I have to agree with her.”
A deep breath from the bottom of his soul slipped between Rayne’s parted lips and a swirl of energy leaked out of his heart to dance within his chest. It steadily grew, lighting up nerve endings with an intoxicating warmth. Was this the touch of Tula? It felt so gentle, like the brush of a kitten’s fur against the back of his hand.
So very carefully, he directed that energy to his fingertips and into Caelan. He sent the energy seeking pain. With his mind’s eye, he followed the warmth, sending it around cracked bones and filling bruised lungs.
“You did it,” Caelan suddenly announced, breaking into the almost meditative state he’d fallen into.
Rayne lifted his head and blinked slowly as if waking from a dream. Caelan smiled at him, his color already looking better. He drew in a deep breath without wincing and let it go.
With a flush, Rayne pulled his hands away, dropping them to his sides. The energy from Tula buzzed through him still, but it was starting to settle, as if crawling into a place near his heart. It was true. It was all true. He’d been blessed by a goddess and given a special power to heal. Did that mean he’d also be able to cast the same protective spell Caelan had placed on their camp in the Ordas?
“Great job!” Eno boomed above him. The hand on his shoulder moved to cup his elbow, helping him to his feet. The bodyguard shocked him further by wrapping his arms around Rayne’s chest in a brief hug before releasing him again.
The arms fell away too fast. It was on the tip of Rayne’s tongue to demand he keep holding him and never let go, but they couldn’t. No one would think anything of a brief hug from Eno. He was a touchy-feely guy when the mood struck him. Rayne was not outwardly affectionate. Caelan and Drayce would notice if he lingered in Eno’s arms.
Instead, Rayne sat on the edge of the couch Caelan currently occupied. Drayce hurried across the room now that he was unlikely to be stabbed in the name of magic practice and perched on the arm of the sofa closest to Caelan.