If Stratagor Ziras doesn't kill me, my training program will!
Every day I wake up and go through the motions, but they've figured out that I'm not a Knight. I can't ride, I can't fight, I can't do magic, and worst of all, I can't see whatever it is...
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I got more information than I bargained for, so I decide to make a loop around the town square before I head back to my room.
Trelix intercepts me in the street as I'm walking back to the castle. "How are you today?"
"Much better. It's like my brain has turned back on. Thank you for helping me that day and yesterday."
He shrugs. "Good, I'm glad to hear it. I was looking for you and I thought I'd find you with your pegasus. I'm glad to find you here. Did you want to see Solara, because she's asking about you?"
I cringe. "I'm surprised she would want to see me. She has every right to hate me."
"Don't be absurd. She was doing her job." He ends the conversation by turning his back to me and leading the way.
The hospital is a good distance from where he found me, so he fills me in on the latest castle gossip while we walk. He's a terrible busybody, but his stories are so funny and good-natured that I can't help but enjoy them.
The hospital is more like a small castle than a medical building, and has just as many twisting turns and weird alcoves. When we reach Solara's room, I have no idea how we got here.
"Do you want me to go in with you?" he offers.
I had assumed he was going to go in with me, so his offer comes as a surprise. I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants. "Um, no. That's okay. I guess I can do it."
"Great. I'll see you tomorrow," he says with a smile as he leaves me by the door.
I stare at his wings until he rounds the corner. I want to call him back. I want him to at least wait outside the door in case I need him. My heart is racing. I can't face her. What should I say?
I take a deep breath and turn the knob. No going back now.
The room is small but lavishly decorated in bright, happy colors. It's more like an expensive hotel suite than a hospital room. I peer out one of the three windows overlooking the village and watch the townspeople while I find the courage to face the guard who risked her life for mine.
She's lying on a large, soft bed propped up by numerous colorful pillows. She has a bandage around her head and another on her arm. A thick blanket covers everything else. I recognize the ridiculously curly yellow hair and remember her as the guard who spoke to me on the wall when I was almost kidnapped by the ésú.
"Hello," I whisper.
"Hi," she whispers back.
Without her helmet and armor, it's easy to see her dainty features. I can't believe that someone so tiny could kill those massive gryphons.
"How are you?" she asks with a bit of a smile.
"I'm fine," I say, stretching out my arms as if that would prove anything. "How are you? They told me you broke a lot of bones?"
