Fangirl

Chapter 14 Martha

Spring awakened the fire of life in everything. Trees and shrubs were budding and turning green. Along the rocky slopes bloomed poisonous yellow forsythia. Magnolias were blossoming out in the academy park. The deep purple and violet flashed mystically on the dark bare branches. Emerald green goosefoot crept stubbornly along the slab-lined paths.

Phillip was happy filled with spring. The wind had freshened up, and Phillip was inviting to go out for a walk in the air more and more often. When the mountain trails dried out enough to be walked along, he suggested going higher on rest days.

I agreed. I would agree to anything if he wanted me to. Spending more time with him was the only thing I desired. Those days were the best days of my life. I didn't want our time to end. Spring had never been so beautiful.

All my thoughts were consumed with Phillip. He became the foundation of the world: its main reason and meaning. The more I looked at him, the farther his light wind of tenderness carried me. His charm was impossible to resist, and I didn't want to.

His reverent touches on my hand, his heart-stretching glances. The translucent blush that kissed his cheeks when he lingered on me. The weightless, barely audible sighs held back in my presence. I had never seen anything more beautiful. The world must have existed for Phillip to live in it.

***

I was distracted by a knock at the door. I rose from my desk, putting aside my report on fourth-level spells.

It was Lana.

'Maxim asked me to call you,' she said peering over my shoulder, as the witch's room was still a household name.

I closed my room and walked along the passage to the common hall of my course. Lana was walking ahead. She turned to her friends, who looked at me carefully from the corner until I was at the front door of the hall.

'Hey,' Maxim nodded at me. 'Phillip is waiting for you in the Artifacting room.

I hurried in that direction satisfied that I didn't have to wait until morning to see him again.

I felt something wrong as I approached the door. It was open, and someone was calling Phillip by his name.

What I saw a moment later, when I found myself standing beside a body stretched out on the floor, was my Phillip.

There wasn't a living spot on his face. Blazing abrasions and cuts, bleeding lips and nose, split eyebrows and cheekbones. One eye was already swollen shut. His ear is torn, his throat had the imprints of someone else's fingers. His clothes were a pile of bloody ripped rags.

'A peace spell,' I said turning to Kirill who froze on the floor on the other side of Phillip.

Kirill immediately put his hand on Phillip's shoulder putting his friend to sleep.

Water benders, like all elementals in general, were characterized by virtuoso performance of particular spells. Water calmed anxiety, so anything that had to do with calming was best left to them.

There were also many healers among the water mages. I asked Kirill to restore the flow of fluids in Phillip's body: to stop external and internal bleeding.

While Kirill focused on the case, I warmed Phillip, slowly helping the tissues to heal. The vessels and skin responded best to fire magic. Half an hour later, Phillip looked noticeably better: the swelling was gone, his skin regenerated.

'Get Gregory. If you meet Maxim on the way, call him too. If not, we'll find him later.'

Kirill understood why the earth bender was needed — it was necessary to mend the bones. There was no need for a fire mage, I had already done my best.