Consuming Shadows

Chapter 7

Claire's arm was threaded through his as they walked. Her cheeks were flushed from laughter as Raina once again recounted Hadrian's numerous failures at the procedure, with vindictive glee. He allowed the girls to continue to mock him – with more leniency then he usually would – because it made Claire happy and that was all he wanted for the moment.

Hadrian knew that while she had forgiven him for not telling her truth about his relationship with Jacob, she was still hurt by it. He did not think that she was jealous, merely that she was upset over the situation itself.

Which was why he had specifically waited for her this morning so he could escort her to breakfast and ensure that she was in a good mood.

It was just his luck that Raina had tagged along. They might not be friends, but they both had a common interest in Claire, and both wanted her to be herself again. So for now, they would tolerate each other for their friend.

"I only failed three times," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I succeeded in the end, before most of the class if you remember." He gave Raina a pointed look, causing her to flush. While Raina's cactus might not have exploded, it had taken her a substantial amount of time to correctly remove the juice without rupturing the plant.

Raina quickly recovered from her embarrassment, and shot him a goading smirk. "It is the fact that you failed at all that amuses me. The great Hadrian Evans – beaten by a simple cactus. You do realise how quickly this will spread, yes?"

"Now Raina, it's not Hadrian's fault." Claire said, still smiling. "That was a difficult procedure to learn. It is not supposed to be used unless a patient is poisoned with something particularly potent and there is no other option available to remove it. We are not even supposed to use it by ourselves it's that dangerous."

Claire turned her smile up at him and squeezed his arm affectionately. "You need at least four healers to properly balance the spell. The fact that any of us could manage it at all is impressive."

Hadrian snorted, "So says you, you completed the spell your first try Claire."

She blushed at his offhanded praise. "There is still a significant difference between a cactus and a human body. I doubt I would manage it so easily if it was an actual patient. You have to be mindful of everything – their heartbeat, their breath, wounds; and not to mention you need to know the properties of the poison itself – how fast-acting it is, what it does." She shook her head, "No, I would probably rupture something doing the extraction on a person."

Hadrian once again marvelled quietly at the girl. She truly would make a remarkable mediwitch one day, should she wish to. Her innate understanding of the human body was extraordinary, and her ability to master these healing spells rivalled his skills in duelling.

It was one of the reasons he was not bothered by Claire beating him in Medical Studies. She deserved every ounce of praise.

"It's still impressive," Raina insisted, "and I know for a fact that Madame Maxime is talking about getting you an interview with Healer Alexis."

Claire gasped loudly, and even Hadrian was taken by surprise. Healer Alexis was one of the leading mediwitches in Europe, and was known to occasionally mentor students – but only those that displayed unparalleled proficiency in the healing arts.

If what Raina said was true – and it would be, Hadrian knew, she would not tell Claire otherwise if there was any room for her to be wrong – and Claire was taken under Healer Alexis' wing it guaranteed that she would be able to work at any medical facility across Europe.

It also spoke highly of how Madame Maxime and their professors viewed Claire's abilities.

Hadrian removed his arm from Claire's and wrapped both of them around her waist. He quickly picked her up and spun her around, the hallway echoing with her bright, startled laughter.