Stella
Voices erupted around us, overwhelming my senses, but I focused on the girl.
Find the injury. Fill it with light and guide the mending.
The mother tried to jerk my hand away, but Bolin shouted something and she let me continue. My golden light healed the cracked skull, the bruised brain tissue, and knit the muscle and skin back together, leaving nothing but a small scar.
I removed my touch with a gasp. Fatigue pressed against my consciousness and I sank onto the steps, blinking against the dizziness threatening to throw me down the rest of the way.
The little girl opened her eyes and gazed at her mother. She sat up with a grin, blissfully unaware of what happened.
Bolin
My stomach thumped, sending unpleasant gurgles up my throat as my newly acquired ward finished pouring golden magic into the now whole child. Stella swayed, but seated herself before it was too noticeable. Because of her fall, I thought she was an air wielder and lost control before plunging to the ground. I never would have guessed healing abilities.
“The woman who fell from the sky,” someone near me said.
“She’s a healer!”
“Thank the Divine!”
I crossed the few steps between us and stood behind Stella, glaring at spectators until they retreated to a more respectful distance.
Mine. My body communed without words. I didn’t need height to assert myself. A certain, hard glare always got the point across.
She wasn’t mine in a sexual way. No, she was mine in that only I could study her. These onlookers had no business touching her, observing her, or trying to understand her. That was MY job.
As soon as I heard about the mysterious woman who crashed from the heavens had not only survived her injuries but also spoke a language no one understood, I’d negotiated a deal with King Sartorius of Astralind and High Priestess Imani to provide for her needs in exchange for allowing me to study her, until her family claimed her. My reputation as a gifted linguist, my public partnership with my husband, and my production of three dictionaries for languages made me quite popular in the intellectual realm and proved my trustworthiness. I doubt they would have allowed any other man access to her.
Stella didn’t notice when I crouched beside her, nor the crowd as she stared at her hands with a blank expression.
I leaned over and entwined my fingers around her palm. She jumped slightly and her ice blue eyes met mine.
The Celestia words jumbled in my mind, but I managed a simple phrase. “Come with me.”
She rose and grimaced, as though the movement caused discomfort.
The priestesses assured me she was physically fine, but I had my doubts. I paid for all the treatments they administered, and I assumed she’d require much more throughout her stay in my care.
“Are you …” I tried to remember the word for pain or hurt but settled on, “injured?”
She looked at me like I was an idiot.
“Of course, I’m injured.”
I loved how she enunciated the words. She had no discernible accent, which meant finding her family would prove a challenge, unless her speech changed as she recovered.
“Come,” I repeated, tugging her to standing and leading her down the remaining steps.
She hesitated, but followed with slow, jerky movements.
I spoke ten languages and studied many more. That her brain chose to only remember Celestia intrigued me. It was a dead tongue, and the powerful clan had become integrated with other peoples in the region decades, even centuries ago. I couldn’t wait to analyze her unique presentation more thoroughly.
The people in Astralind yearned for knowledge. Linguists, scientists, philosophers, writers, and mathematicians flocked to the great city, Astranople, where nobles funded our studies for the mere recognition of being involved in intellectual progress.
I tightened my grip on this woman’s hand as I led her toward the Cowan estate, a modest home where I lived with my partner, Patrick. We did well with our teaching, research, and selling dictionaries, but the potential boost in our status made the butterflies in my stomach worse.
Don’t vomit, Bolin. Stay calm.
Stella jerked against my hold and pointed at the sky, her eyes wide. “What is that?” Her voice trembled.
I followed her gaze, but nothing adorned the heavens beyond the midday sun and a few fluffy clouds.
I fumbled with my response. “What do you see?”
“Everything,” she whispered.
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