Chapter 11

Brew

I sipped from my cup of weak tea, relieved when it restored some of the depleted magic in me. It had been a long day which wouldn't have been as much of an issue if we weren't rationing tea. I hoped the merchants would visit soon or that we could strike a beneficial alliance with Grower's Cove. While I could survive just fine without tea, a life without the magic that was second nature to me seemed somewhat bleak. And that was without considering the effect it would have on the infirmary.

And therefore on life at Purple Oak.

Everyone at the infirmary was trained in basic medical aid, but none of that could compete with what we could achieve with magic.

A knock sounded on the door and Hayley popped her head around the door. "Hey, how are you? That last patient looked like it took a lot out of you."

"It did," I confirmed, holding back a groan when I got up from my seat. "But I'll be fine. No need to do your thing."

The empath mage gave me a concerned look. "Are you sure? You know what happens if you let your emotions take over."

"It's fine," I assured her, and not just because I didn't want her using her empathy magic on me. I didn't fully understand how it worked, but I knew it did wonders for some of the patients here, and I'd rather she saved her strength for them.

"All right," she agreed. "But if you want, I can go get one of the others to finish up for you. There's only one other person in the waiting room."

I shook my head. "They've been healing for hours too. I've got this." I cracked my neck and tried to ignore the strain in my body. In reality, it was probably better if I didn't use any more magic. I'd been drinking tea all day, so if I felt this bad, then there was a good chance I was heading towards overexertion myself. But there was always so much to do and I didn't want to be the one who let it slip past me unnoticed.

"If you're certain," Hayley said.

I nodded.

She gave me a concerned look but didn't say anything as I made my way to the waiting room. It was always calmer towards the afternoon and got busy again when night came. But that was going to be someone else's problem. Earl would be here to take over for the night shift along with Grey Steeper, and I could get some rest.

My gaze landed on the lone person sitting in the waiting room, and concern filled me, stopping my ability to think straight.

Katie .

I hurried over, trying to get a hold of my emotions and failing miserably. It was like admitting how I felt about her the other night had unlocked a new level of worry inside me when it came to the dog ward.

"Katie? Are you hurt?" I asked.

She looked up, her whole face softening when she saw me. "No, not me. I'm here with Oliver. More training scratches from Howie."

Relief washed over me but I still felt a bit dizzy. I hadn't seen her since I admitted my feelings to her and this was not how I expected our next conversation to go. Though I wasn't exactly sure what I expected, or what I even wanted. I should have lied about my feelings to her, then things could have just gone back to normal. But the way she'd asked had made me think that she wanted to hear the truth.

And the selfish part of me had really wanted her to know.

But I shouldn't be focusing on that right now. If Oliver was hurt, then he needed my full attention. "Where's your brother?" I asked, looking around for my best friend. The last thing I needed was him walking on me making a mess of things with his sister.

"Oh, Hana is treating him now," Katie said, waving vaguely towards the room Hana saw patients in. "I'm just waiting for him."

"You're a good sister." I resisted the urge to pat her on the head like we used to do as children. I might've done so last week but I didn't want to make her uncomfortable now she was aware of my feelings. I would only be overstepping.

Katie let out a thoughtful hum. "Am I though?"

"Of course. The bond you two have is so strong and I would know, I'm kind of the expert on sibling bonds," I attempted to joke.

She chuckled. "You do have plenty of them."

The conversation stalled and for once, I wished there were other patients here so I had something to do. Instead, I stood in awkward silence while Katie fumbled with her shawl.

Memories of the night outside the tavern flooded back and I vividly remembered how warm it had felt to have her smell wrapped around me. And the care with which she'd put it on. She'd been so close to me that it had been hard not to kiss her.

Except that kissing her when she had no idea how I felt would have been all kinds of wrong.

"I don't think I've ever seen it so quiet in here," she said eventually, breaking the growing silence between us.

"It's unusual. We saw lots of patients earlier." I waved towards the chalkboard with lots of names crossed out behind the nurse's station.

"Long day?" Concern entered her voice as she looked me over, almost as if she was trying to check on my well-being. I had to admit that I liked it, even if I was trying to be careful not to read too much into it.

I nodded. "You could say that."

"You should make sure to relax later. There's the weekly bonfire. I was planning on having a drink or something. Are you going?" A strange expression crossed her face.

"I wasn't planning on, I'm really tired," I said before realising she might be extending an invitation. "But I suppose I could swing by. Maybe a nice drink after work is exactly what I need."

"It is." She got up from her seat and bridged the distance, pausing right in front of me. "If you work too hard, you're going to need a healer yourself." She put a hand on my chest, making my heart race.

Was this her way of showing concern? That in itself wasn't so strange, we'd been friends for a long time, and I was fairly instrumental in the successful running of the settlement. There was just something in the way she was looking at me, head slightly tilted and eyes narrowed, like she was really seeing me.

As much as I wanted to think that it was more, the rational part of me was trying to remind myself that she could just be being friendly.

Or maybe she wasn't as impervious to my feelings as I thought and had come to see me. Good sister or not, she wasn't Oliver's keeper and he didn't need hand-holding for a few scratches given to him by his familiar.

Hope swelled in my chest and I took a hesitant step closer, my heartbeat quickening. "Katie..." My voice cracked as I said her name. "Are you worried about me?" I put my hand over hers, hoping she wasn't about to pull it away.

Her cheeks flushed red and she quickly averted her gaze. "Well, it wouldn't do anyone any good if you hurt yourself. You're important. I mean, your role here at the infirmary is important."

I couldn't help but smile. She was so adorable and she'd never been a very good liar. I didn't want to jump to conclusions but she certainly looked a little flustered. If I'd caused that, and it was good flustered, that would make me a very happy man.

The door opened behind us and Oliver stumbled out of the examination, yanking me down to earth. I'd almost forgotten the main reason I’d stayed away from Katie.

She jumped back, putting some distance between us that was probably entirely necessary if I was going to regain the ability to actually think.

He smiled when he saw me. “Hey, Brew. Funny running into you here, huh?”

I chuckled. “Yes, what a coincidence. How are your arms?”

“Oh, it’s not my arm this time.” He turned around, exposing the scratch marks on his neck. “I tried to get Howie to land on my head. Stupid idea, don’t know what I was thinking.”

As a healer, I shouldn’t judge people for how they got their injuries. As Oliver’s best friend however, I got to judge him hard which was exactly what I was doing right now.

“You’re an idiot,” I said affectionately.

Katie cleared her throat. "If you're all fixed up, we should go."

"I'm ready," he said.

She turned to me and gave me a small smile. "Later?"

I knew she wasn't asking about a hypothetical time ahead. I nodded, causing a smile I didn't think I'd seen from her to spread over her face.

I waved the siblings out, doing my best to keep my usual composure when Katie passed right under my nose. She even touched my arm on her way out and smiled in a way that made my whole stomach flutter.

And just like that, all my reservations melted away. There'd been plenty of reasons why I hadn’t pursued Katie but that was when I thought she wasn't interested.

But she wouldn't have suggested any of what she just did if she wasn't. Not when she knew how I felt which meant there was now a possibility that I could have everything my heart had desired for as long as I could remember.