an idea of how innocent she really is.
Over the next several minutes, both the Witch and Cowan spirits assess my wounds, and then the Witch sends Xandra off to retrieve the items needed for a healing salve. Witch’s bottles are nasty little things. I cannot believe I did not do a sweep for that magic. I have been in such an agitated state since arriving, I had not even thought of it. An excellent example of how my resentment about being here can affect my safety. If I live through this wound, I will be much more careful.
When Xandra returns with the items she was sent to seek, her mother and aunt begin creating a salve. As they do this, Xandra asks question after question about things she should have been taught as a child, not now. I find I am still annoyed with her ignorance, but I am disgusted with the Witch.
“Have you not taught her anything?” I ask the Witch spirit, who does not appear happy with inquiry . O ther than a dirty look, she ignores me . However, she is not able to hide the regret in her ghostly blue eyes. Good. It is appalling how ignorant she left the girl. Xandra does not need someone to kill her ; she needs someone to educate her. Someone besides me , that is .
After making the salve and placing it over my wound with a towel, the Witch is faced with the onerous task of explaining to Xandra how to add magic to the salve to make it work properly. She already looks overwhelmed with the small amount of information she has been given in the last ten minutes. I fear a ny more may make her brain shut down completely.
After the long explanation, Xandra’s response is, “Okay, but I still don’t know what to do.” My eyes are trying to roll. With all my effort, I force them to stay still. My tongue, as well. The more I make provoking statements, the more it slows the process of my healing.
Xandra moves closer to her mother and holds out her hand, which the spirits holds her hand against. “Close your eyes and imagine his wound healing , ” the Witch instructs. When the girl closes her eyes and concentrates, her aura becomes visible. I have never seen this happen before. I wonder what it means.
Suddenly, there is an onslaught of magic rushing into my body , and it is not Witch magic . Does Xandra know she is doing this? Or h ow painful this is? I am about to pull my own magic to stop her , when I realize t hat each quiver and pull of pain is not her trying to hurt me. It is my body healing. My insides are literally knitting back together. The pain is of no consequence now. At this rate, I will be completely healed when she is finished. Remarkable. Perhaps this is her special Fairy power? The ability to heal is very rare.
When she opens her eyes to a silent room, she looks around at the dumbfounded faces on all of us. Standing akimbo, she ask s , “What? What did I do wrong?”
“Wrong?” the Witch asks. She sounds surprised. “Xandra, you didn’t do anything wrong. You did it exactly right.”
“Then why are you guys looking at me like I’m a freak?”
I shake my head. She truly is naïve of how much power she just demonstrated. “Has your mother explained to you why the pairing of a Witch and a Fairy is forbidden?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she snaps, “I think it’s pretty clear that no one has explained much of anything to me . ”
She looks so cute when she’s frustrated . Maybe cute is the wrong word here. Her cheeks are flushed, sparks are coming from her eyes, and the way her arms are framing some of her curves, she is more than cute . She is unbelievably hot. But at the same time , I am trying hard not to laugh because she is also trying to look tough. And failing miserably . So, b arely containing my humor, I say, “Because it has always been feared that the pairing would unleash a creature who i s too powerful to be stopped by either the Witches or the