36. Thirty-Three

Thirty-Three

Healing the King

" A nd make sure the sage is dry. If you bring all of that here, I can make up the potion for both Asher and his father," Lily said to Nina. She was propped up on some pillows, just enough to relieve some of the pressure from her side, and Percy was curled up next to her, snoring loudly. "On second thought, I can just go with you." She grimaced as she tried to sit herself up.

Asher walked in just as Nina told Lily to lie back down.

"Already causing problems, hm?" he said.

Lily smiled at him. He looked regal with his white hair and mismatched eyes, even if he did have a bandage on his head and seemed to be favoring his left leg.

"She was just giving me the list of ingredients for her healing potion. It isn't any different than what we use for healing salves, so I shall return rather quickly." Nina looked at Lily as though to tell her that she needed to stay in bed.

Lily shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't think I can."

Nina nodded with approval, then turned to the prince. "Do you need anything, Asher?"

"No. Thank you." Asher nodded to her, then sat on the edge of Lily's bed.

Nina closed the door behind her.

Asher's eyes scanned Lily's face and then body. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm exhausted," she admitted. "I've been thinking about how I can be more helpful, though. Before all of the chaos of coming here, Wester had me heal a horse. It was my first time being successful with the spell, but I wonder if I could use it on you."

He raised his brows. "You truly think you could?"

"The horse was fine, as far as I know."

His eyes darted and then he reached out and touched one of her braids. "How do you like it?"

Lily watched him, noticing that he didn't answer her question. "It will take some getting used to. But I like it. I really would like to speak with your father, or anyone else, to see if...if I really am from Vasha?"

"I would like to know too."

She scrunched her eyes. "You're being short in your answers. What's on your mind?"

He shook his head. "A lot. I've got to spend the day with my people, preparing them for the humans. I'm worried about you. I'm glad Percy found you, though." He grinned and reached across her to give his head a scritch.

Percy turned his head, one eye opening just enough to check who it was before closing it again, then tilted his head so Asher scratched his chin.

"When I'm feeling better, would you show me your land?" Lily asked.

"Of course," he replied without hesitation. He straightened and looked down at her like he wanted to say something else.

Lily opened her mouth to demand Asher just speak like they had the past several days, but was cut off by the door flying open and a young boy running into the room.

"Hi! I'm Bashton!" he announced. His hair was a wild orange color with about three large black spots on one side of his head.

Asher heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry. My family has been dying to meet you. I tried to tell them to let you rest..." He turned a non-threatening glare to Bashton.

The young boy didn't seem to notice, or noticed and didn't care. "Father told us about you. Asher said you use magic. Can you change me into an animal other than a cheetah?"

"Bashton," Asher warned.

"I turned a puppy into a ladybug once," Lily answered.

Bashton's eyes lit up, and his lips spread into a big smile that looked very much like Asher's. "You did? Is it still a ladybug?"

She chuckled, trying not to laugh out loud because any movement like that hurt her. "No. I fixed him." She ruffled Percy's head.

Bashton gasped. "It was Percy?"

The puppy's head shot up and he looked around at his name being called.

Lily nodded. "Yes. And you can see he's completely fine." Her brows dipped and she glanced at Asher. "The boy, Sand, is he all right too?" she asked.

"He saved my dad!" Bashton said loudly. "He did say Percy wasn't his. We've been playing with him lots and lots."

"Bashton, you're being too much." Asher stood and took Bashton's arm.

"I don't mind," Lily said softly.

Bashton stuck his tongue out at Asher.

Asher sighed and tilted his head, glanced at her, and then looked down at Bashton with utmost seriousness. "Be careful, please. She has a bad injury, remember?"

Bashton bounced up and down. "You used to work in a castle! Did you like it? Do castles look like they do in pictures? Do you have a big bed with lots of blankets?"

A boy between Bashton's age and Asher's age stepped up behind Bashton and flicked his ear. "Shut up and let her talk!"

"Zeb," Asher warned. He looked down at Lily. "If it's too overwhelming, please tell me."

Lily couldn't help but smile. "I don't have siblings. This is rather refreshing."

"You lived all by yourself in a castle?" Bashton gasped.

"No, you cucumber," Zeb grumbled. "Are you really that stone-brained?"

"Ease up on the insults, Zeb," a girl said as she pushed her way into the room with a younger girl holding her arm. She must have been the girl the family adopted, because she looked nothing like the others. They all had the same shaped slightly slanted eyes while hers were big and round, and they all had broad smiles while hers was smaller.

"That's Tara, and the little one is Falu," Asher said, gesturing to his sisters.

Falu walked over and wrapped her arms around Asher, who pulled her onto his lap.

"I was an apprentice to the wizard, so I lived in the tower with him," Lily said, answering Bashton's question. "The castle was very cold because it was built out of stone."

"Did you know the prince?" Tara asked, her eyes dreamy. "I've always wondered what human princes look like. Was he handsome?"

Lily looked around at them. They were a royal family, but they acted very differently from Prince Liam. Prince Liam was so formal, smiling and speaking only in the politest way. "Yes, I knew him," she finally answered. "He was handsome. He was also mostly kind to me. He did get upset when he found out I was going to help free Asher."

"What did he look like?" Tara asked.

Lily glanced at Asher. But before she could answer Tara, Zeb cut in.

"Asher said your hair changed when you got to Vasha," Zeb said.

Falu clasped her hands together with excitement. "You're one of us?"

"We don't know that," Asher quickly cut in. "I was just speaking with father."

Bashton jumped up and down again. "They think you're the lost daughter of Rose and Khalil!"

Lily's lips parted in surprise.

"That's enough for now." Asher waved both hands, shooing his siblings from the room. "Out. Give her some space and quiet."

Bashton ducked under his arm, ran over, and kissed Lily on the cheek. "I think you're beautiful. Welcome to Vasha! When you feel all better, I can show you—gl!" He gagged when Asher hooked a finger in the collar of his shirt and yanked him out the door.

Asher closed it once they were all out in the hall and pressed both hands against the wood. "I'm sorry. They were giving me a headache." He turned to face Lily. "So those are my siblings." He ran his fingers through his hair and walked over to her. "I'm really sorry about them."

"You think I'm...the lost sorceress?" she asked hesitantly, but her heart twisted with a dreaded sort of excitement. "It makes sense, though," she added.

"How?" he asked.

"My ears." She pulled her hair back to show him her own pointed ears. "And my hair changing colors. My ability to use magic. Wester has always told me that I had to be taken to the castle because my village was afraid of my ability to use magic. There aren't many wizards or sorceresses that don't rely on artifacts for their magic." She paused there. Wester had pointed ears too, so was he also from Vasha?

She closed her eyes and reached up to rub her temples.

"Lily?" Asher asked. She felt the bed shift when he sat down on it.

"I'm sorry." She opened her eyes and looked at him, only realizing then that her eyes stung because she was crying.

He reached up and ran his thumb down her jaw. For a moment, just a moment, they were silent, eyes locked.

"What if I am this girl? What if this is my home and I have a family?" The prospect was almost overwhelming, and her breath caught in her throat. "That's all I've wanted my entire life, Asher."

Asher leaned down and cupped her face in his hands. "Regardless of whether or not you truly are Khalil's daughter, you do have a home here, Lily. You have a home. And my family will embrace you. You're not alone anymore. Not ever again."

Lily's throat swelled with emotion and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

A home.

A family.

Here, in Vasha.

He kissed her cheek, and warmth enveloped her like a blanket.

"Can I meet him? Khalil?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry. He has been gone for some time and never announces when he will come back."

She didn't want to let go, but she knew he had more important things to do and pulled back far enough to see his eyes.

Asher smiled crookedly and her heart fluttered, making her entire body tremble. He kissed her forehead and then her nose. And she desperately wanted him to kiss her lips. She wanted to feel him close to her.

But he dried her cheeks and straightened. "My father still hasn't recovered from Yoresh's attack. The skin of his leg is dying and they might have to remove it, so I have to fill in. It's also up to me to prepare for when the humans come back."

"Asher, I had Nina gather a lot of herbs so I can make a healing potion. I'll give it to your father so his leg can be healed, and for you," she offered.

Asher took her hand and gave it a warm squeeze. "I'll let him know. But if you can heal yourself fully first and then take care of him, we would be okay with that too."

She rolled her eyes. "You're more important than I'll ever be."

"Don't say that about yourself."

"I just feel . . . you're royalty."

"And if you're really the missing little girl, you're a sorceress. The only one in the land. That makes you more important." He winked.

Lily blushed. "I doubt it. But Asher? Even if I'm not, thank you. Thank you for bringing me here and giving me a home."

Asher kissed the back of her hand. "Welcome home. I'll see you sometime later, okay? Maybe for dinner?"

Lily nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later." She smiled.

Asher winked and left her.

Lily wasn't sure how long she was alone before Nina returned. It could have been minutes or hours. But she did know she had fallen asleep because she was jarred awake from a rather pleasant dream when Nina knocked.

She walked right in with a basket of supplies. "I managed to find everything you asked for in my own stores." She unloaded everything onto the small nightstand beside the bed. "Tell me what to do now. I'm curious if it's any different than what we already do."

Lily tried to push herself up on her elbows but tightened her jaw and grunted against the pain. "Ooh. That's sore." She lay back down and let out a hiss while holding her side.

"I didn't tell you to do it for me. Teach me. I'm rather adept at making salves."

"This is more than a salve," Lily said when she'd caught her breath. "You can mix the ingredients all together. The order doesn't matter. But all of it must be finely ground or it's unpleasant to drink. And then I need to add some magic."

Nina bent over and dropped two leaves of sage into the mortar and pestle and then paused. "How much of each ingredient do I need?"

"Two leaves of sage is fine. And then let's do six petals of the flower."

She continued to guide Nina through the potion until it was complete. Nina then handed her the bowl, which she cradled between her hands.

Closing her eyes, Lily summoned forth her magic. She'd made healing potions so many times she barely needed to repeat any sort of words in her mind. She had it completely memorized at this point. She looked down at her hands as they glowed pink, which then seeped into the mixture.

"That's the secret, then?" Nina said with awe.

"I suppose," Lily answered, not knowing what else to say.

Nina handed her a glass of water. "That may help get the taste out once you drink it."

Lily had never had to drink the concoction herself, and it tasted far less amazing than it looked or smelled. It wasn't flowery like she had hoped. It tasted more like leaves and dirt than anything else, and she made a face after she'd had her share of it. And there was enough for Asher and his father.

"Thank you." Lily drank a mouthful of water, but there was still a dull taste left from the sage. "There is enough for both Asher and the king. I, um...forgot his name."

"King Mardai." Nina smiled. "I am impressed by your abilities. You look just like..." She cleared her throat and began cleaning up.

"Like who?" Lily pressed. "Your sorceress? Rose?"

Nina hesitated.

"Asher told me about her," Lily explained. "He also said there's a chance I'm not that girl. I would be devastated if I'm not, but I'm just grateful to be here."

"I believe there are no coincidences in this life. I believe Asher was captured for a reason. Even if it was to give you a home." She smiled and pulled the blanket up around Lily. "Get some rest."

Lily slipped into a comfortable sleep.