"A cut," she replied, giving Kheir a stern look when she approached the counter and he followed. "A bad one—it's been open for weeks now, and tonight it started bleeding a lot more than normal."
Heron raised his bushy blue eyebrows. "It's a wonder you've not got an infection and died if it's been unhealed for weeks."
"I'm a tough cookie," Maia said with a smirk. "So can you heal me, or not?"
"Yes and no," Heron replied, his silver eyes gleaming.
"Alright," Kheir sighed heavily, crossing his arms over his chest, straining the sleeves of his jacket. "How much do you want?"
"An exorbitant amount," Heron replied cheerfully, jumping down from his stool. The man was lucky if he was five feet tall, but he had enough personality for someone twice as tall. "But that's not what I mean. I can likely heal the cut, but that wing." Heron nodded his blue head at Maia's injured wing as he rounded the counter, and she tucked it protectively against her.
"There's nothing I can do for that. Nasty business, crucifixion." Heron fluttered his fingers, and a dozen jars and bottles leapt off the shelves. "There's a reason it was banned across the empire."
Maia swallowed. She preferred not to think of the moment she'd been pinned to the rug in Ismene's reception room, with Lord Erren stabbing her wing with blinding pain. It was easier to push that memory away and fill her mind with everything that had happened since. The claustrophobic moment of being trapped and hurt, unable to escape, was too terrifying to bear.
"Draw that blade, your highness, and you'll find yourself with a nasty case of pustules in averyunappealing place," Heron warned casually.
Maia blinked, realising Kheir had pressed close to her side, his hand on the pommel of his long dagger. Az was close on her other side, Ark and Jaro arranged protectively too. Well, as protectively as they could when the room was five feet wide and crammed full of clutter.
Kheir inhaled sharply. "You know who I am."
"I do," Heron agreed with a smile, catching the floating jars out of the air. "For two reasons—one, you have a very memorable face. Distinguished, very handsome."
"Hey!" Maia huffed.
"And two," Heron went on, "I'm not acompleteshut-in. We get news out here. And the news is V'haiv is getting their armies ready for a significant trip." He aimed a sly grin at Kheir. "I wonder where to."
Maia's eyes widened and she spun to Kheir, who shrugged, secretive. Maia wouldn't press for answers here, with the healer watching them eagerly, but she wouldn't let this drop forever.
"I figured you couldn't be in V'haiv, or you'd have been spotted among their fighters, but no one's seen you since the ruckus at the Delakore palace."
"The ruckus," Maia repeated in disbelief.
And then, "Shit."
"Oh, yeah," Heron agreed, pushing aside the smoking mortar on the counter to dump his assorted jars in the vacant spot. "I knowallof you. Well." He looked at Ark. "I have no idea who you are, but you lookverystrong. Welcome to Heron's Healing," he added in a slow purr.
"Stop trying to steal my mates," Maia huffed, unable to hold in a laugh.
"Not a chance," Heron replied shamelessly. "Show me the cut; I need to know what I'm dealing with."
"Now you want to ogleme, too?" Maia quipped, smiling crookedly.
Heron snorted, dumping a good amount of a dried plant into the mortar and adding drops of a yellowish liquid. "You're gorgeous, your highness, but rather lacking in my favourite department."
At Maia's confused look, Heron smiled so wide his fangs poked free and patted his crotch.
Maia rolled her eyes. "You don't know what you're missing, Heron. I'm acatch." She looked at her mates. "Tell him I'm a catch."
"Maia," Azrail groaned.
"She is," Ark agreed with her, and Maia beamed at him—but gasped when pain sliced through her ribs again and warmth slid down her stomach.
Great.
"When did it get worse?" Heron asked, noticing her pain. He added several other ingredients to the mixture and tapped it with a finger glowing abruptly green.
"This afternoon," Maia sighed, her teeth gritted. Even Ark's touch didn't ease it completely. "I did a lot of walking; that could be why," she suggested weakly.