City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [56]
Daine considered. Eventually he said, “I will never forgive Wroann for her role in starting the war. I don’t know if I can ever look at a Brelish soldier and see anything but an enemy. But Cyre always stood for peace and for wisdom. We fought to preserve our nation, not out of a desire for conquest or revenge. If we turn against that now … then we will be the ones who truly destroy Cyre.”
There was a long pause, then Teral clapped his hands. “Well said, Captain.”
Greykell nodded, and even Monan smiled.
Hugal inclined his head. “Indeed. I hope you’ll pardon my outburst. My brother and I enjoy taking the side of the Traveler, and sometimes I take things too far. Obviously it would be madness to spread the Mournland”—he smiled—“even if we could unlock the mysteries behind it.”
Daine studied the twin carefully, looking for any signs of his true thoughts. Had he simply been arguing the side of discord? Greykell was also watching Hugal, and there was nothing but disgust in her eye.
The conversation eventually began again. Teral shared his memories of the court and the last noble queen of Cyre, whom he had advised in the final days of the war. The other two diners were an elderly half-elf named Sallea and her grandson, Solas. They said little during the meal. Sallea occasionally made comments in the language of the Valenar, and Daine concluded that she didn’t speak the common tongue of Galifar. The boy was thin and sickly and picked at his stew. At one point he coughed, and Daine saw a spot of blood. Jode saw it too and quickly moved over to look at the boy.
“What is it, Jode?” Daine asked.
“Flameworms. Fairly advanced. It doesn’t look good.”
Sallea grabbed the child, pulling him away. Greykell frowned, and Teral nodded gravely. “He’s not the first, I’m afraid. I know the main wells are clean, but we’ve lost a number of the children. I’ll have Hulda take a look at him. She should be able to ease his pain.”
Jode looked at Daine, a question in his eyes. Daine nodded. Jode removed the woolen cap he was wearing, revealing the blue and silver spread across his bald head.
Teral’s eyes widened. “Is that …?”
Jode spoke a few words in Sallea’s language. Slowly, he pulled the boy away from her embrace and placed his palms on either side of the child’s head. The people around the table fell silent, and all eyes were fixed on Jode. The blue of his dragonmark began to glow with an inner light. It only lasted a moment, but it seemed to stretch on far longer.
Jode released the boy’s head, and the light from his mark faded. “It’s going to take a few days for him to recover,” he told Sallea. “But he’ll live.”
With that, the spell was broken, and everyone began to talk at once. Teral made his voice heard over the din. “Jold, did you just heal that boy?”
Jode nodded. “Yes. And it’s Jode.”
“So you are a member of House Jorasco?”
Jode shrugged. “I bear the Mark of Healing, but I owe allegiance to no house.” He said this so easily that it seemed perfectly natural.
Greykell broke in. “This is outstanding! What are your limits? I can think of half a dozen sick children, and then there’s Elymer—he’s starting to go blind.”
Jode looked back to Daine. This was why he’d hidden the mark to begin with, why he’d asked Daine before healing the child.
“I can only draw so much power before I need to rest,” Jode said. “Fighting an infection is hard—harder than fighting a battle. You may have had healers in your other units, but most probably used dragonshards to focus their energy. I suppose I can try to treat the children, but I’ll only be able to help one each day. And I can’t do anything for this Elymer, I’m afraid. I just don’t have that kind of power.”
“Then I suppose …” Greykell tapped her eyepatch.
“I’m afraid not.”
“Well, I’m getting used to it. But any sort of help you could provide to the community would be appreciated.”
“Absolutely!” Teral echoed. “This is an unprecedented stroke of good fortune. I had no idea.