ATASHA’S POV
55 vouchers
His words made my stomach turn. “A Fae stone? You mean… like the one Eron used just now?”
“No.” Agape shook his head sharply. “That one shields. It silences. This other one does the opposite. It calls. It hums into the ground, into the air, into every living thing nearby. The beasts hear it, feel it, and it drives them mad. Stronger. Faster. They should fear your walls, but instead, they crash against them without hesitation.”
The words sank deep. I thought of thest two nights, of ws raking stone, of men being dragged into the air, of the frenzy that never seemed to break even when dawn came.
“You’re telling me something inside this outpost is making them fearless?”
“Yes.” His eyes locked on mine. “And if it is not destroyed, every wave will be worse than thest. Until nothing you build here stands.”
The faint glow from the small stone on the wall dimmed, leaving only the firelight between us. For the first time. I realized my hands had curled into fists against myp.
A lure. Hidden inside the outpost. Drawing death closer every hour.
I swallowed, my throat dry. “Where is it?”
Agape didn’t answer immediately. His silence stretched, heavy. Then his gaze flicked toward the stone walls of the cabin itself, as though he already suspected.
“It is here,” he said atst. “Somewhere on these grounds. And whoever ced it did not want you to survive
the tide.”
“Can you point out the exact location?” I asked.
Agape shook his head. “If the soldiers saw us wandering the outpost, the strangers rescued by the Lord himself, they would start asking questions. Suspicion would follow, and that would only make matters worse.”
The meaning hit me quickly. “That’s why you told me instead.”
He shook his head again. “No. I could have just reported this to the Lord himself but that would be useless. The reason I chose to speak with you is because… you should be able to sense where it is. And you should be able to destroy it. This is something that only you can do.”
I stepped out of the cabin still trying to make sense of what Agape had said. ording to him, I should be able to sense the stone’s presence myself. He described it as something heavy, suffocating, pressing down like a weight in the air.
He believed that if I focused, I would feel it drawing me toward its location. What unsettled me more was his certainty about where it was. He imed the source was somewhere on the western side of the outpost.
Grace’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “I’m d to see you doing well, mydy.”
7:44 Thu<b>, </b>Sep 18
<b>93 </b>
55 vouchers
I nodded, then my eyes caught the heavy bandage wrapped around her arm. The cloth was darkened, spots of wetness showing through. Without saying a word, I turned and gestured for her to follow. “Come with me to the infirmary.”
She didn’t argue. Grace knew about my ability, so she must have already guessed what I intended to do. Quietly, she fell in step behind me.
The infirmary was smallpared to the one in the northern territory, but busy. Two assistants moved between beds, tending to wounds, while Mendez worked over a soldier with a blood–soaked shoulder. When he saw me, he immediately stopped and bowed.
“My Lady,” Mendez said. “These are the physicians here, Katya and Ramona.” The two women gave me a low bow in response.
Katya had clear blue eyes and shoulder–length brown hair tied back in a loose braid. Ramona, standing slightly behind her, had freckles scattered across her cheeks and nose. Both looked to be in their thirties, worn from long hours of tending wounds but steady on their feet.
I gave them both a brief nod before looking back to Mendez. “Take us to your study.”
He didn’t question me. “Katya, Ramona, with me,” he said instead.
They followed us into the adjoining room, a cramped space with shelves of jars and a table pushed against the wall. When the door shut, I turned to Grace. “Remove the bandages.”
“Mydy, it’s not wise,” Ramona spoke quickly. “The wound is poisoned. We’ve kept it wrapped to stop it from spreading to others. If it’s opened-”
Grace had already pulled at the cloth, ignoring her. The bandage fell away, and the wound beneath was worse than I expected. The gash was swollen and angry, skin red and torn. ck blood seeped out around the edges, mixed with pus that carried a sharp, sour stench.
Both women recoiled. Katya covered her mouth while Ramona muttered a curse under her breath.
Ignoring their reactions, I looked at them directly. “The fact that Physician Mendez brought you into this room means we can trust you. What you see here doesn’t leave these walls. What I’m about to do, only a few people know.”
Before they could respond, I reached forward and pressed my hand lightly against Grace’s chest, close to the wound.
Grace hissed as the skin under my touch warmed. The poison in her body began to react. Pus and ckened blood welled out of the wound, running down her arm. Grace’s teeth clenched as the pain surged.
“It’s going <i>to </i>hurt,” I told her firmly. “Your body is pushing the poison out. Bear with it.”
She gave one sharp nod, sweat gathering at her brow.
The others watched in stunned silence as the wound began to close from the inside out. Almost immediately, the angry swelling receded, the edges knitting together. More ckened blood spilled until suddenly, there was none left. The skin smoothed over, pink at first, then fading into nothing at all.
7:45 Thu, Sep 18
<b>93 </b>
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When I lifted my hand, Grace’s arm was whole. No scar or any trace of the wound that had nearly imed her life.
Grace exhaled sharply, steadying herself, and murmured, “Thank you, mydy.”
I nodded.
“You— “Ramona stared openly, freckles stark against her pale skin. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Meanwhile, Katya’s blue eyes went wide, her hand still pressed over her mouth as if she needed to keep herself from gasping too loudly. Both of them were frozen, caught between disbelief and shock.
Seeing their reaction, Mendez finally broke the silence. “They’ve lived in the North for more than ten years, mydy,” he said as though he meant to reassure me that their shock was expected. “In that time, they’ve seen things most people wouldn’t believe. Witches and the curses they leave behind. The way they twist blood and bone into their tricks. They know the signs when they see them.”
“But-“Ramona finally spoke, never taking her eyes off me. “She isn’t a witch.”
Mendez nodded once. “No. She isn’t.”
Katya lowered her hand slowly, still staring at Grace’s healed arm. Then her expression shifted, relief mixed with something almost desperate. “She–she could save them,” she whispered. Her voice rose, carrying more strength the second time. “She could save them! Did you see that, Ramona? She could definitely save them!”
The sudden joy in her tone startled me. She looked at me not with fear, but with something close to hope, her blue eyes shining in a way that made my chest tighten.
田