Kingdom of Scourge and Shadow (The Sightstone Series #1)

Chapter Twelve: Alina

"It is my professional opinion that the Saroviyan empire has overstretched itself. Its territory is too vast, its population too varied, and its system of government antiquated and ineffectual. Epidemics of disease ravage its population, which has insufficient access to healthcare, and wars rage on every front, demanding too much more than its military can give. It seems only a matter of time before the empire collapses or a change is forced, most likely in a violent manner."

-Lord Bennington, former Caedish ambassador to Saroviya, in a dispatch sent to Queen Sara

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Trigger Warning: mild mentions of sex/adultery, nothing too graphic

 Alina stared in awe around the sterile lab that had been set aside for her research far beneath the palace. All around, Healers in their olive-colored uniforms bustled about with quiet purpose, making the air practically hum with energy.

The lab was stark and blindingly bright, with whitewashed walls lit to brilliance by the floating glass orbs called mage lights that had been developed by Saroviyan Inventor mages to replace the candles and oil lamps that most people used. They were brighter and steadier, and lasted longer, than any other light source.

Long, white counters lined the walls, with fancy glassware from the best glassblowers in the kingdom cluttering their surfaces. Desks with stacks of paperwork on them were scattered about the middle of the room, and glass windows looked into observation rooms where patients could be kept to be monitored.

"Lina!" Nikolai called, and Alina turned just in time to see him weaving his way through the organized chaos towards her. "What do you think?"

"Oh, so you're in on this, too," she made herself joke, but unease at Lord Zima's words still haunted her. "I suppose I should be surprised, but, well..."

"Hey!" Nikolai said, feigning hurt. "I'll have you know that, until you came along, I was the best Healer in Kirovburg."

"Yeah, yeah," Alina said, waving him off and trying to match his joking tone, despite the whirling thoughts in her head. "So you've said. Repeatedly. Now, are you going to give me the grand tour, or am I never going to make it past the door?"

"Oh!" Nikolai yelped. "Right, sorry! Let's go."

Alina laughed. "I didn't mean..." she began, feeling her cheeks heat as he turned a confused glance on her. "It was a joke. But, yeah, let's go."

"Alright, sure," Nikolai said dubiously, and Alina realized that she'd put her foot in her mouth. When had it become so easy to misspeak to Nikolai? Or was she just still shaken because of Lord Zima's warning? The latter, right? It had to be the latter.

"Well," Nikolai went on, gesturing to a cluster of desks and workspaces where a group of Healers bustled about with a purpose Alina envied. "They're analyzing blood samples taken from the patients, trying to figure out just what we're dealing with."

Alina shuddered. The thought of the disease Lord Zima had described left her cold.

"Is it as bad as they say?" she asked, lowering her voice so the other Healers wouldn't overhear. They already looked down on her enough; she didn't want them to know just how much this Scourge scared her. They'd probably think her weak for it, condemn her for not wanting to get her hands dirty, as if she'd chosen to spend her life smoothing wrinkles and vanishing warts instead of working in hospital wards or medical tents in faraway warzones. As if any of this had been her choice.

They said it was an honor, being chosen as the king's personal Healer, but, to Alina, it felt more like a curse. This... this was what she'd trained for, what she'd hoped for from the moment she'd learned she was a Healer, before she'd even known what Altering was. She'd dreamed of being useful, of saving lives and making miraculous medical discoveries, but she'd long ago given up on it as a foolish child's foolish dream.