Life - Life & Death Book 1

Chapter 13 - Part 1 - Zivena

The next morning I walk past the lady at the reception desk. It looks like she worked through the night — her hair's tousled, coffee cups litter her desk and dark circles ring her eyes. Her and me both. Sleep had come last night, eventually.

Going through one of the doors, I step into the corridor that leads to the healing ward — it's a sterilized white. Windows line one wall and looks out onto the courtyard. Other students are already up and about, soaking in the weak morning sunlight before training starts.

The ward is enormous. Beds line the walls and an operating table sits in the middle of the room.

"Zivena," I see Airmid on the other side of the room. Her blue eyes don't look up, focusing on her patient.

The man lying on the bed is missing a leg. His breathing's labored. Airmid places a finger on his forehead and his torment eases as he drifts off to sleep.

"Who's this?" I ask.

Airmid turns around, her black hair pulled into a bun. "A hiker had a lapse in judgement and fell off an outcropping nearby. Even if he had been flown to the nearest hospital, he wouldn't've made it there alive. I made the executive decision for him to be healed here."

I gape at her, "What if he says something about his... treatment?"

Airmid chuckles, cleaning up the bloody bandages, "He won't remember a thing." She points to a small aerosol can on the bedside table. The label says 'Spray & Forget'.

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Pomegranate flavor?"

Airmid just smiles and nods, removing her white surgical coat and hangs it up over her office chair. I shake my head.

"Where's Flora?" I ask.

"Through that door," she points to my right.

I push the door open and see Flora sitting up in bed, eating. She still looks pale and tired, but at least she's herself again.

"I love breakfast in bed. It reminds me of when my mom used to make it for me when I was sick," Flora says as a way of greeting.

"How are you feeling?" I walk over to a chair next to her bed and sit down, trying to forget what I figured out. I pinch a piece of toast from her stack and start nibbling on the crust.

"Tired. My powers haven't fully come back yet."

"Do you know what happened?"

Flora sits there, thinking for a moment.

"All I know is that it felt like something was being pulled out of me and then I was on the floor and you were leaning over me," she says. "Why did you look so upset, by the way?"

"I..." I stutter. "I could feel you yelling at me to help you, and I tried. But I couldn't." I stare down at my hands.

Flora starts to giggle. "Why should you be sorry? You only started yesterday! And I didn't yell at you to help me, you muppet. I wanted you to be with me and that's exactly what you did." She smiles at me, her cherry blossom eyes lighting up like spring in Japan. "Vulcan told me that you glared at Forseti so hard he was actually scared!"

I have to laugh at that. Imogen always told me my glares could give someone a heart attack. "I'm sorry, Flora. For everything. You were nice to me the moment I arrived and all I did was get annoyed at you."

Flora smiles and shrugs, "Not many people can handle my level of enthusiasm, as my brother likes to put it."

I sigh, guilt weighing me down. "I really am sor-"