Sunstone's Secret Page 2

  Last winter, no one was more surprised than Natalie when her former teacher and teenage crush, Healer Juliers Rayvenwood, volunteered to join the Royal army fighting the war with the invading country of Lorelan. Jules returned that spring, his right hand amputated above the wrist. Unable to Heal alone, he and Natalie had been paired together to fight a deadly epidemic decimating a nearby city. Natalie grasped one shoulder with her opposite hand as if she might brush off the memory of human ashes falling on her like snow. She swallowed bile as the scent of the sick and dying filled her nose despite the stone hallway she strode through.

  It was on their journey to stop the epidemic that Jules told Natalie the truth; he’d not lost his hand in the war. The amputation was a result of Healer Aldworth abducting Jules and using him for a horrible experiment.

  Natalie hit the stone wall, not caring a bit for the pain that radiated from her palm to her shoulder. Tears welled up in her eyes and she bent over under the weight of the memories. All the times she’d lost her temper with Jules. How she’d slowly come to know him and he’d learned to trust her. The feel of his lips on hers and his hand running through her hair, pulling her closer to him.

  Natalie shook her head. They stopped the epidemic—but not before it killed Da. Natalie’s hand flew to her stomach, trying to calm her gasping breaths. She now lived in a world where her father didn’t exist. The unfathomableness of it opened before her like a great abyss.

  When all was said and done, Aldworth captured her and Jules to and brought them to trial. Well, a farce was what it was. Aldworth was only too happy to find her guilty of several perceived crimes. But I’ll never forget Jules pretending to take all the credit for what we did to devalue my role in our work. He risked his life so I could escape.

  But Jules taking the brunt of Aldworth’s vengeance didn’t stop him from stripping her of her Healer status, exiling her from Ismereld, and forcing her to leave Jules in the council chamber alone. She’d left Ismereld via boat in the dead of night with Jules’s friends, Anli and Onlo, for their home Isle of Obfuselt.

  No one knew what had happened to Jules.

  And now Aldworth has him again; I must do something. I won’t rest until I can help him. Stomping up a gray stone stairway lost in thought, Natalie found her face planted into the luxurious burgundy silk gown of the person coming downstairs, nearly knocking its owner off their feet.

  “I’m so sorry, I—oh, hello, Princess.” Princess Charlotte Fairisles was the sixteen-year-old daughter of King Gerhard and Queen Phillipa, the current monarchs of the Isles. When she was a young teenager, the princess had discovered her Attunement to Ismereld’s emerald megalith. Knowing that the upper strata of Roseharbor society looked down its collective noses at Healing as a profession, Charlotte kept the knowledge to herself.

  When the sweating epidemic hit the capital city of Roseharbor, and Charlotte took ill with the disease, her family had fled. During her recovery—her bout of the sweating illness was fortunately light—Charlotte had made another discovery: she had mage powers. No one else in the world had such abilities; the last known mages died out two thousand years ago during the time of the Five Mages who had founded the five Isles.

  Natalie had read stories about some pretty terrible royals; luckily Charlotte didn’t seem to be one of them, especially considering she’d just run into her head first.

  “Please, just call me Charlotte.”

  “All right … Charlotte.” Judging by the temperature of her cheeks, Natalie figured her face matched the color of Charlotte’s gown. She twisted the end of her braid, wondering if she should just walk along to her room, leaving the awkward silence in her wake. Instead she apologized again. “I’m sorry I ran into you. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  “No harm done, Natalie. How are you feeling? Has your stomach healed after the journey from Ismereld? You were looking better but now you look somewhat … worse for wear.”

  “Oh, yes, there was a fire down at the docks. I helped Heal some burn victims. Well, really, I just put salves on the burns and bandaged them.”

  “But you were able to help.”

  “Hey, with the proper training, you’ll be able to help, too,” Natalie said after studying the morose look on Charlotte’s face.

  Concerned what would happen if her family found out about her Healing and mage powers, Charlotte ran away, back to Roseharbor seeking help from the Healers treating the epidemic there. The first Healer she found was Natalie tending to Jules, who was ill with the sweating fever himself.

  A memory suddenly popped into Natalie’s head. “You know, a few weeks ago, I promised that I’d teach you Healing, didn’t I?” A small ember of hope came to life in her heart. She missed her students from the Abbey terribly and longed to teach again.

  Charlotte arched a silver eyebrow. “You did. We’ve been a bit preoccupied since then.”

  A corner of Natalie’s mouth lifted. “Yes, yes we have.” Looking around the stairway, she sighed. Ebenos Point Keep was most certainly not Bridhe of the Isles Abbey, where Natalie had studied Healing for five years. Natalie had no resources with which to teach even the basic foundations of her profession. And at sixteen, Charlotte had three years of catching up to do.

  “I desperately wish we could return to the Abbey and give you a proper education. But it wouldn’t be safe.” Aldworth was still on the Council of Healers, and he’d killed the Abbey Headmistress, Gayla. The jagged hole in Natalie’s heart left by her loss throbbed; she folded her arms over her chest as if she might stop the bleeding.

  Okay, focus. I have an untrained Healer and I need to teach her as best I can. She needs a mentor—and a good one. I can be that.

  Sifting through her memories of being a student and, later, her time as a teacher, she hastily cobbled together a plan. “Okay, let’s see if Onlo can find us a room where we can meet each morning. We’ll visit the markets and get paper and some ink. I’ll teach you everything I remember.”

  Charlotte hugged her. “Thank you, Natalie. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then?”

  Her affection surprised Natalie, covered as she was in soot. But after everything that had happened the past few weeks, she hadn’t realized she needed a hug until just now. She squeezed Charlotte back with equal fervor.

  The anticipation of being a teacher again kindled the ember of hope in her broken heart into a small flame. Perhaps she couldn’t rescue Jules right now. In the meantime, maybe she could reclaim another part of herself she’d lost.

  Onlo told Natalie not to expect word from Anli for at least three weeks. Grateful as she was that Onlo’s trusted partner led the search for Jules, it didn’t ease the feeling of wanting to crawl out of her skin, or the sheer desperation of wanting to know if he was still alive and whole.

  Every time she became overwhelmed—which was nearly every waking moment—Natalie threw herself into teaching Charlotte. She had thought about seeking Asha out and taking her up on her offer, but she decided to train Charlotte to a point where she would be a useful medic first. That way, assuming Asha still needed help, Charlotte could get some practical experience treating patients; some things are best learned by doing.

  They settled into a routine, meeting every morning in a small room that had no windows and a rough-hewn table and chairs. By the light of torches and candles, Natalie taught the princess the basics of Naming diseases and injuries, demonstrating as best as possible what it would be like when Charlotte accessed the ley lines emanating from Ismereld’s megalith. Memories of Jules teaching her Naming, and when she was older, learning how to Name patients as a duo drifted up before she had a chance to clamp them down, and she spent. She spent the entire lesson on the verge of tears.

  While Charlotte took careful notes, Natalie kept her own journal of what she needed to teach—everything from the magical things like Activation of herbal medications to mundane subjects: symptoms of different diseases, history of Healing, herbology, epidemiology and
anything else that came to mind. The black leather-bound book quickly became the successor to her old Healing diary she’d lost the day Aldworth’s men captured her and Jules in Roseharbor.

  Biting the end of her quill one day, she reflected that these pages contained quite different knowledge from the diary she’d lost. That had contained snippets of information assembled by a young girl—a student. This was the journal of a teacher. A teacher trying to find her way without the support system of the Abbey.

  Charlotte was an exceptional student, anxious to learn how to help others. Thankfully, she was patient with Natalie as she tried to recall every bit of information she needed to impart.

  The worst thing was Natalie couldn’t teach her anything about plants—her greatest love next to Jules—because there were no plants in Ebenos Point. Everywhere she went, the sun blasted down with no mercy and there was no shade. Just brown dirt everywhere. I can’t even find a single tree on this stupid island. Where do these people get food?

  “From trade with other Isles,” Onlo explained when she asked him outright. He’d come to check on them, as he often did throughout the day.

  “Goddess,” Natalie blanched. “And what happened to all the trees? This Isle isn’t that much farther south than Ismereld. Certainly trees can grow here.”

  Onlo told her that Obfuselt’s shipbuilding industry accounted for the loss of so many of the trees; Indeed, a Solerin expert was helping reforest the Isle. Solerin, the Isle to Obfuselt’s west, specialized in growing and maintaining plants in the same way Natalie’s home Isle, Ismereld, specialized in Healing.

  “Well, I need to teach Charlotte to identify plants for Healing. Where can we go?”

  “Tomorrow, I will take you.”

  Ensconced in a bay window seat, Natalie sipped a cup of tea and stroked Jake’s head absentmindedly. The window overlooked the Keep’s training yard and, in the distance, sunlight sparkled on the ocean. She alternated between watching for incoming ships and the people sparring in the arena below her. They moved with a grace and strength she would never possess. Besides, when she attained her full Healer status, she swore not to harm people. She was more than happy to leave the fighting to people like Anli and Onlo. It was just one more way the Isles looked out for one another.

  Her thoughts drifted to when Jules had taught her how to hunt. Everything he knew, he learned from Anli and Onlo, he had said. He had even excelled at archery before he lost his hand. She wondered what he had thought, at the time, of learning how to use a weapon like the people below her. Did he hesitate because he was a Healer?

  “There you are.”

  Natalie jumped out of her skin. Her best friend, Emmeline Arnold, approached the window and sat beside her. Natalie and Em had been best friends since their student days at the Abbey, staying up late studying, or more likely whispering their way past lights out and sneaking down to the kitchens to grab an illicit snack. Em had listened to teenaged Natalie gush about her handsome Naming professor and been a great help when Jules came back this past spring and she had to figure out how to be his colleague. Em insisted on following her into exile, standing with her when the Abbey cast her out.

  “Hey, you. What have you been up to?”

  “Being a Healer, believe it or not. Someone came asking if I really was a midwife. Turns out there’s a woman here who’s twenty-four weeks pregnant who has hyperemesis.”

  “Oh, Goddess.” Most pregnant women threw up once a day for the first thirteen or so weeks of pregnancy. Women with hyperemesis vomited several times a day while pregnant, many times until they delivered the baby. “Are you able to do anything?”

  “Well, if I had access to some raegle leaf, that might help.”

  “Onlo promised to take Charlotte and me out to find plant life tomorrow. We’ll look for some. The height of summer is just the right time for it; hopefully it grows here.”

  Em nodded. “I’d appreciate it. The raegle is a shot in the dark, though. For many women, it doesn’t help. The most important things we need to do is keep her hydrated and occupied since she’s bed-ridden.”

  Natalie sat bolt upright. “Can you show me where she lives? I want to help care for her.” Please, I’d give anything to be useful.

  Chapter 3

  W

  ith her shirt soaked through and the top of her head baking in the heat, the verdant hills were a sight for sore eyes. As a girl who grew up on an apple tree farm, Natalie shook her head in disbelief that she now lived in a place where she had to ride in the blazing sun for an hour on horseback to get to the nearest patch of green.

  The sound of her horse’s hoof beats softened as they entered the forest. Natalie closed her eyes, tilted her head up and welcomed the shade and the smell of leafy green forest like long-lost family members.

  At first, Natalie dashed from plant to plant, calling out the name and caressing the leaves as she held them up for Charlotte to see. It wasn’t until Charlotte laughed and said, “Slow down, Natalie,” that she realized she needed to introduce Charlotte to the forest in a more organized fashion.

  “Okay, let’s see if we can find the raegle leaf for Em’s patient. Raegle is a partial-shade plant, so we’ll need to look for spots in between the trees where the sunlight is able to come through.” After a few minutes of wading through the greenery, Natalie called Charlotte over. “Here it is.”

  Both Natalie and Charlotte had brought their journals so they set aside sections for medicinal, edible and poisonous plants. Once they’d sketched a plant, Natalie showed the princess the proper way to harvest it, filling the two large baskets she’d tied to her horse with all sorts of specimens. She liked having a good stock of herbs on hand to be prepared for any injury or illness. Plus, she could quiz Charlotte on them later.

  Tongue lolling out, Jake bounded through the greenery, lifting his leg on every bit he could. Natalie paused every so often to give him water from her canteen, smiling as he ran off to explore.

  As with all her other subjects, Charlotte was a quick study with plants. Natalie quickly discovered that working one-on-one with a sixteen-year-old, especially one so intelligent, was quite different from working with a class of younger children. She could impart knowledge faster, plus she could see right away if Charlotte had not grasped a concept and adjust how she explained it.

  Even so, Natalie desperately missed her students from when she’d taught Naming at the Abbey. Teaching had been hard, but she dearly loved answering the bizarre, yet perceptive questions only young children could come up with, watching comprehension dawn on their round faces. She prayed someone with a firm hand had taken over for Gayla; someone who could keep the students safe from Aldworth.

  The sun significantly lower in the sky, Natalie, Charlotte and Onlo mounted up and began their journey back to the Keep. Natalie surveyed the baskets overflowing with greenery. “Thank you for bringing us all the way out here, Onlo. I’m very grateful.”

  He glanced at her, his eyes dancing. “My pleasure.”

  As Charlotte chimed in her thanks, Natalie ran through the species they’d collected in her mind and began to plan precisely how she wanted to hang each herb in her room. As for preparing the tree barks and harder berries … a wave of longing for her perfect greenhouse and drying room at the Abbey with all the supplies she could possibly need washed over her. A sigh escaped her lips; just like with everything else, she’d have to make do here in Ebenos Point.

  She’d start by borrowing more money to buy a mortar and pestle. Onlo had already given her some to buy her journal and quills. For all that she found living on Obfuselt an inconvenience, Natalie was forced to admit they’d taken her in with just the shirt on her back, fed her, clothed her and helped her get back on her feet. How would she ever return such huge favors?

  That evening, Natalie went along with Em to visit the patient who needed the raegle leaf. She only wished Charlotte could join them. A delegation had arrived from Roseharbor to purchase weapons
for the war against Lorelan. The princess couldn’t take the chance of being recognized and thus stayed in her room.

  Natalie’s heart filled near to bursting at the prospect of being a Healer again. Jake trotted beside her, carrying a stick in his mouth and his tail held high as they wove through Ebenos Point’s colorful neighborhoods. The small wooden houses, built so close to each other that some were touching, each had doors and walls painted in a wild variety of colors. Outside, lines of colorful laundry fluttered in the breeze.

  They knocked on a brilliant blue door, and the patient’s husband, a lanky man with sun-kissed skin and a mop of sandy hair let them in.

  “Good to see you again, Shepherd. We wanted to check on Mysha. This is my colleague, Healer Natalie,” Em said.

  Natalie couldn’t hide her huge grin as she shook Shepherd’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Welcome,” Shepherd said. “You know where to go,” he gestured for them to come in.

  The wooden planks of the house, painted vibrant green on the outside, were exposed on the inside. A light gray substance Natalie couldn’t identify sealed the cracks in between the planks. Handmade chairs and a couch covered in worn, but clean burgundy fabric huddled around a wooden table. A larger table for taking meals sat near the largest, most complex cast-iron stove Natalie had ever seen. A benefit, she figured, of living on Obfuselt was always having access to the newest technology. Iron and wire artwork dotted the walls, except the back wall, which was dominated by windows.

  Em made a beeline for a wooden door and opened it, revealing a dimly lit bedroom. In the bed, covered with a light homemade quilt lay a woman with dusky skin and dark curly hair. Curled on her side around the swell of her stomach, she pressed one hand against the bed, eyes wide. “Oh, Goddess.”

  Em reacted faster than anyone, darting forward to grab the bucket next to the bed and getting it in place in the nick of time. Natalie hurried to the woman’s side holding her hair out of the way.