The Prince's Gift

Chapter 42.

I heard a quiet knock sound against my door, vibrating through my body as I shoved myself away from it. "Come in." I said hoarsely.

Kora's face poked through, looking down at me before a flash of sympathy crossed her face. "How are you feeling?" She asked softly.

I waved my hand dismissively as I pushed my hair back from my face. "I'm fine. Just too much too soon I think."

She gave me a quick smile as she slowly dropped to sit on the floor beside me, her shoulder side by side with mine. "I know you're unsure of your future, but you don't have to be Ana. We all have your back. We know you're more than you appear, and we will each help you in whatever way we can. You know that right?" She glanced to the side, catching my gaze with her serious one.

I nodded slowly as I smiled. "I'm beginning to understand that, yes. Thank you Kora." I said lowly.

"So come on now. Let's get back to work." She said with a laugh, jumping to her feet and holding her hands out for me.

I gladly took them as she pulled me to stand. I splashed my face with cool water and quickly brushed my teeth before following her out of the bathroom. If I was going to do this, I'd need help. I had to use every ounce of energy and aide I could get. We walked downstairs with a new purpose, knowing there was only one thing on the agenda, and that was to help me become stronger. As I came down the stairs behind her, the rest of the group shuffled to attention, with Delphine at the head of the table.

"Good. Let's get started then." She said with her eyes set to intent as she looked up at me.

I nodded, taking my seat as my newfound family gathered around me. We may be an odd mixture, but in this moment, I couldn't be happier to have these people surrounding me.

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"Ok Adriana. I want you to try something different now. We're going to work on your healing. This part won't be fun, but if you can keep your strength up and work quickly, that's the key." She said, eyeing me with a wary expression. "Healing tends to drain quite a lot of energy from you when you use it often."

We'd been at it all day, working through visions and helping me to focus my mind's eye. It was amazing the detail I could see now when I knew how to find it. I'd learned so much already, but yet here we sat with more to do.

"Ok Delphine. Tell me what I need to do." I said cautiously.

Her brows rose as she looked at those around me. "Well, someone needs to volunteer to become our injured party. It's imperative she practice on a live victim rather than imagine, or work on herself, since she'll need to hold complete focus to best work on her skill. She can heal the very ground beneath her if she sets her mind to it. I know it." Delphine said firmly.

She eyed those around us, and my father was the first to step forward. "I'll volunteer, if it helps her." He said evenly.

As soon as the words left his lips, Ehren pushed ahead of my parents, his shoulders strong and straight. "There's no sense in risking injuring someone so important. Use me. It will be easier for her to focus if it's less significant. Besides, I heal quickly, so it will increase the need for her to work quickly." He said. His words were smooth but I could sense the tension rolling off of him. "Not to mention, if she becomes too tired, I'll heal on my own eventually."