The Healer Of Light And The Prince Of Darkness

22. The Blood That Doesn't Matter

The test results appeared pleasingly enough as the boy was officially accepted into the Temple. He was brought to the dormitory where about twenty around his age were already training as future-to-be healers. To say the boy was excited was mild to say. He was with people like him at last and...

A strong hand reached his shoulder squeezing it hard. That was the one thing standing between him and the others. And his beautiful and successful future.

The man leaned and said, "Don't forget what I said, you hear me?"

The boy nodded quickly wanting to enter the dormitory immediately. The hand, though, didn't let go.

"If a word about the things, happening in the Temple, escapes from your mouth, even I won't be able to help you, Matthew?"

Don't you ever tell anyone what you're going to see and hear... And do.

Matthew was new to this place and knew nothing about the Temple, except for the basics but...

For the first time the boy asked himself if there was actually something so important to be hidden in the largest and the most famous temple of all.

There was a time when the pain felt unbelievably strong. So, she set some tips for those times.

1. Shut your mouth and keep this way to the end (unconsciousness).

2. Control your expression.

3. Be stronger than it.

Those proved useless the moment it all started. Tasia thought she needed something to keep going, so she set them. It could be helpful, right?

Well, she had to add a fourth. Try to endure the pain in the throat too. After all the physical and psychic stress she felt her throat dry and painful.

And, well, she didn't actually follow the tips.

"Here you are," someone handed her over a glass of water before her hands.

Her hesitation didn't pass unnoticed.

"What? It's not poison, don't worry."

And then he mumbled something like, "I'm not that stupid."

They had informed her she was asleep for fifteen hours. It was the late afternoon of the fourth day and she felt pretty much fine compared to a few hours ago. And she couldn't complain as she was more than curious towards the person gifting her the glass as if holding not water but flowers.

"Aren't you going to take it? Hmph... What do you expect? A royal service?"

"Actually, in some ways it is such one."

The man frowned far from happy.

"Spoiled..."

"She's not spoiled and let me remind you she was the one to accept you, although she's still under the weather," the other one in the room said and then added grimly, "Don't you dare cross the line."

Tasia sighed. She and Cassian were such siblings they could argue for weeks for just a simple thing but sometimes he showed how much he resembled his father, who was famous for less talking and more action. Tasia found out in Hares that he was the previous spec interrogator appointed by the king himself before replaced by Tara, the chancellor's  sister.

It couldn't be helped that Tasia was pretty dangerous if she was angered too.

The man smiled bitterly and said, "You two... I take back my words. I do NOT want to spend more time with you than necessary."