Cam walked to the windows and looked out. "Hard to believe it's almost Winterstide. Last year, Tris and the others were in Principality, in exile. Now-everything's changed. Maybe by next Winterstide, all of this will be behind us, and things can go back to normal."
Tice set his glass aside. "I hope things are more settled by next Winterstide, but I fear they will never be normal. Too much has happened. I just pray that whatever comes, the new balance will bring peace."
Cam turned from the window. "I guess we'll know when we get there, won't we?"
M'LADY, YOU'RE TIRED. Please, rest now." Lisette pulled at Carina's sleeve. Carina looked out over the long line of villagers who still waited for treatment.
"I've been here since sixth bells this morning, and the line isn't any shorter now than it was then," Carina gratefully accepted a cup of kerif. From sunup to sundown, mortal servants assisted Carina. Come evening, she and Lisette worked late into the night. Word had spread of Carina's talent. Her patients came from within the manor house, the village, and from several days' ride away. That the sick and injured people-braved Principality's harsh winter storms to come was testimony to how much they needed a healer of true power.
"You sound like Lord Jonmarc, always pushing for more."
"Stubborn, willful, driven, and damn good at what we do. Nothing in common," she chuckled.
"Hmm?"
"Something Jonmarc once told me. You're right. But they've come so far, and the need is so great."
"If I see to it that those you don't treat tonight have a warm place to sleep in the stables, will you stop after another candlemark? Lord Jonmarc was quite clear that I'm to watch over you." She-grinned. "But perhaps between the two of us, we can keep some small secrets, no?"
Carina laughed. "All right. Let's see if there's anyone who is in real danger out there. I'll see them tonight. We'll make the rest as comfortable as we can. Sweet Mother and Childe! I won't be surprised if their number doubles by morning."
Lisette made Carina eat a bit of cheese and meat and finish the rest of her kerif before going to triage the waiting villagers. While she waited, Carina stretched, trying to relieve the knotted muscles in her neck and shoulders. She couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Probably just exhaustion, she told herself. She'd been working long hours, expending a lot of energy. But it wasn't just fatigue. Something was changing in the magic itself, something that made healing more difficult. The longer she stayed at Dark Haven, the more she could feel the imbalance in