The Gifted Heart (Marks of Inheritance: The Orkeia Cycle #1)

21. A Healing Touch

Chapter twenty-one

A Healing Touch

M y nails dug into Kiernan’s palm so much that he winced and turned to look at me. I wasn’t looking at him to see his expression, however—my eyes were locked on Gideon.

He was staring at the marble floor, his jaw clenched. His golden blonde hair was disheveled and much longer than I remembered it. The clothes he wore were filthy and too loose, as if he had lost a significant amount of weight. My throat tightened as if I was being strangled to see that both of his arms, all the way up to the shoulder and the base of his neck, were horrifically burned, the skin red and scarred, completely masking any sign of his mark.

Lewin’s voice sounded dull to my ears, almost as if I was hearing it from underwater.

“This man will not give his name. He is suspected of witchcraft.”

My mind spun, and my chest rose up and down dramatically as I struggled to keep myself from hyperventilating. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears, but I knew that if I let them fall, I would make the situation infinitely worse. Somehow, I needed to keep my composure, to pretend I wasn’t absolutely terrified to see Gid standing there, scarred and malnourished, wrists bound tightly in front of him. He still hadn’t lifted his eyes from the ground, and as a result had not seen me. I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep myself from calling out to him, and in an effort to control what little I could of my expression.

The room felt cold, and not just to me. Everyone present had stiffened at the mention of witchcraft and was eerily silent. Kiernan, too, was silent for a long time. I could feel him squeezing my hand, clearly able to discern that I was distressed. Each moment felt like an eternity.

“Who issued the arrest?” Kiernan asked. There was a cold, menacing edge to his tone that alarmed me enough that I jerked my head away from Gid to study my husband’s expression. With relief, I could tell that his eyes were still soft, and even as he scowled down at Gideon, I felt his thumb rub the back of my hand in an attempt of comfort. For the moment, he had to keep up pretenses, or the people would become alarmed and we would be suspected.

“Captain Stole, Your Majesty,” Lewin said in response to his question, nodding in the other captain’s direction as he approached the dais. Stole gave a deep, respectful bow when he reached the front.

“Captain—describe the arrest and why witchcraft is suspected,” Kiernan ordered.

“Your Majesties,” Stole began, giving a smaller, second bow and nodding at both of us in turn. “I accompanied my command on a routine patrol of the Southern shore two days ago. As we approached the village of Braen, one of my men reported movement in a small forest just west of the village. We decided to investigate. The moment we entered the trees, the forest caught fire from an unknown source, and I heard someone cry out. As my men retreated and searched for a way to stop the spread of the flames, I searched for the source of the voice and discovered this man. He was badly burned and unconscious. I removed him from the danger.”

“Why is witchcraft suspected?” Kiernan interrupted before Stole could continue. “It sounds like this man was a victim.”

“That was my initial assumption as well, Your Majesty. But he had this with him.”

Stole motioned to another guard who approached with a canvas bag— my canvas bag. I was barely able to hold in a gasp by instead biting my lip harder, hard enough that I tasted blood. Apparently my nails also dug deeper into Kiernan’s palm, because I heard him clear his throat subtly as he tapped my hand with his thumb. I willed my grip to loosen, not wanting to hurt him, but if I had tried to remove my hand from his I was certain it would shake uncontrollably.

The guard opened my pack and Stole reached inside of it, producing two of my summoning candles. There was a low murmur through the crowd in response, and I saw several people towards the front take significant steps back, as if being near the candles would somehow harm them. Gid still had not looked up, but I saw him shift in place in response to the sound.

“When he awoke, we questioned him about why he was traveling with magical objects,” Stole said as he placed the candles back into my pack. “He refused to say a word to us. I became suspicious that he may have been the source of the fire, which he neither confirmed nor denied under penalty of arrest. Since he refused to explain himself, I determined the best course of action was to bring him to you for judgment rather than come to a conclusion on my own. He has not said a word for the past two days since he awoke.”

“Did you see any sign of a mark on his skin?” Kiernan asked, his tone difficult to read.

“No, Your Majesty. But given his burns, it is possible the mark could be obscured.”

The murmurs in the crowd resumed at that, but Kiernan quickly raised a hand to indicate a demand for silence. At this point, I had no choice but to close my eyes for a moment. If I didn’t, I was sure the tears would begin to fall profusely. Part of me desperately wanted Gideon to look up, to see his bright blue eyes again. But another part of me—the wiser part—hoped he would keep his gaze down, not sure he would be able to disguise his reaction at seeing me sitting before him on the throne of Orkeia.

It felt like hours before the silence was broken. Kiernan continued to rub the back of my hand with his thumb. I was barely stopping myself from calling out an order to release Gid, knowing how incredibly foolish and inappropriate that outburst would be. It would start rumors and doubts among the people around me that we couldn’t afford to be spreading until we’d actually come up with a plan for ending the Slaughters .

Finally, Kiernan spoke. “Take him to the castle dungeons. I will question him privately at another time.”

My eyes shot open as the room erupted in an uproar. A number of people stood in protest, Gideon’s possession of my pack and summoning candles more than enough to condemn him in their eyes even though he had done nothing to threaten the knights. I heard shouts of “Kill him now!” and “The king’s been charmed!” Lewin drew his sword and stepped forward, ready to defy Kiernan’s order.

“Stop!” Kiernan shouted in a booming voice, releasing my hand and standing. Everyone quieted down almost instantly, and Lewin reluctantly sheathed his sword. All eyes were on Kiernan, his presence captivating and commanding. Even Gideon looked up, his brows slightly furrowed in confusion.

Our eyes met. I gripped the armrest of my throne, desperately willing my body not to tremble. Gideon’s mouth fell open in shock. He looked as if he was about to say my name, but thankfully he thought better of it an instant later and forced his mouth closed. Immediately, tears began to roll down his cheeks, and his lips quivered, his eyes locked on mine.

It took every ounce of will I had to shut my own eyes and break the connection. I couldn’t risk breaking down myself in front of this irate crowd. Even if everyone’s focus was on Kiernan’s standing presence, there was no way the people wouldn’t notice my emotions if I continued to look at Gideon. My breathing felt staggered and shallow, like my body was going into shock.

“I have given an order and I expect it to be obeyed,” Kiernan said authoritatively in the uneasy silence. “Take him to the dungeons, and do not harm him.”

There was a murmur of discontent and confusion among the crowd, but no one else shouted out a protest. I heard footsteps as Gideon was escorted from the room, and did not open my eyes until I heard the crowd beginning to empty out as well. When I did, the first thing that I saw was Kiernan standing directly next to my throne, holding out a hand to me. His eyes were questioning, but also filled with deep concern .

My entire body shook as I took his offered hand and very slowly stood. Immediately, Kiernan wrapped his arm around my waist to support me, an action which turned out to be necessary to keep my legs from dropping out from under me when we began to walk. Since the room had emptied almost completely other than the royal guard, Kiernan guided me towards the secret passageway rather than the main hall.

Feeling a prickling on the back of my neck, I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder as we left. Immediately, my gaze locked with Captain Lewin’s. There was a wicked smirk on his face, one that only grew when our eyes met. My stomach felt like stone as we disappeared into the passageway and the secret door closed behind us.

“Let’s get you sitting down. Then we can talk,” Kiernan whispered once we were alone in the passageway. His voice was filled with worry, and I was a bit surprised to hear a shaky edge to it. It was such a contrast to the commanding, confident tone he had used in the courtroom.

Even if I had been ready to talk at that moment, I didn’t think I could have made a coherent sound right away. So we walked in silence through the passage. By the time we reached the sitting room, my fingers were numb from gripping his arm so tightly.

Franklin and Abi had already prepared lunch and were in the process of setting the table. When she saw my obvious distress, Abi immediately abandoned the task and rushed to help me into a seat.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” she said with a frown.

The tears I’d been holding back for the entire trial began to fall. Abi’s frown deepened and she pulled me into a tight hug. Across the table, Franklin paused, watching us curiously. Kiernan cleared his throat.

“Things are set up enough, Franklin. Will you give us some privacy, please?”

Franklin set down the platter he was holding and bowed. “Of course, Your Majesties,” he said. His eyes lingered a moment on Abi, who made no movement to join him, before he left the room.

Kiernan pulled a chair next to mine and sat. Abi released me as he did, taking a step back and allowing my husband to take one of my hands in his own. With his free hand, he tenderly rubbed my arm.

“Who is he?” he asked softly.

It was still another minute before I gathered enough breath to speak. “His name is Gideon,” I croaked out.

Abi gasped. “Gideon? As in Grison ?”

I nodded and she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide.

Kiernan’s glance flickered to her briefly before returning to me. “You were close to him,” he observed.

I swallowed. “Very close,” I admitted.

“I won’t let anything happen to him,” Kiernan assured me, wiping some of my tears. “I’ll go to the dungeons this evening and release him myself. There are passages leading to the cliffs that not even my captains know about. My mother showed them to me when I was young.”

I shook my head. “I—I need to speak with him,” I breathed through a sob.

Kiernan took in a sharp breath, but nodded, taking my shaking hands in his. “If you’d like, I can have him brought to one of the studies where we can meet with him away from prying eyes.”

“Thank you,” I breathed, giving his hands a squeeze.

***

Abi wanted to come with us, but I told her I needed her to wait there in case Isaiah came while we were gone. Even though I’d sent him messages, I knew my father must be worried sick. I wondered why he hadn’t come to see me already, but that thought was very much in the back of my mind.

Kiernan took my arm in his as we walked towards the study where Gideon would be waiting. It was exceedingly hard for me not to break into a run, and I focused on the feeling of his fingers lightly brushing against my arm to keep me grounded. With each step, my heart beat just a little faster .

There was a guard stationed at the door, and he bowed to us as he opened it. Gideon was already inside, flanked by two additional guards. He stood in the middle of the room, staring at the rug on the floor, but the moment the door opened his head snapped up. Our eyes met again, and he let out a shaky breath, his eyes immediately watering again.

“Thank you, gentlemen. You may wait outside,” Kiernan nodded to the guards.

The two of them exchanged a glance. For a moment, they remained where they were, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of leaving the king and queen alone in the room with an accused witch. But with another look at Kiernan’s determined expression, they bowed and reluctantly left the room.

The moment the door closed, I crossed the room, sobbing as I threw my arms around Gideon. He let out a sob of his own, unable to wrap his arms around me due to the ropes that still bound his wrists. I pulled back just long enough to fumble with those ropes and remove them, throwing them to the side before embracing him again, burying my head against his shoulder. I felt him wince and suddenly realized that his burns were probably still fairly painful if they were so recent. Quickly, I stepped back.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” I gasped through another sob. I reached up and brushed his hair out of his face as he trembled, his blue eyes misty staring down at me.

“I knew you were alive,” he choked out. “I always knew, but what—how—what are you—?”

His eyes darted momentarily past me to Kiernan, but were quickly locked on mine once more. “Are you safe?” he whispered, practically just mouthing the words, clearly concerned about the king’s presence.

“Yes,” I said quickly. “Yes, I—Gid, this is—King Kiernan is my husband. And he knows.”

It was hard for me to fully interpret his reaction. There was definitely surprise in his eyes, but undoubtedly he had put some things together after seeing me on the throne. But his eyebrows furrowed with confusion, and his lips quivered with—something else. In the end, he let out a deep, shaky breath of relief, closing his eyes as a few more tears fell and pressing his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes as well .

Kiernan cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Mr. Grison. I sincerely apologize for any mistreatment you may have received. Please, do sit down.”

Carefully, I led Gideon to the settee, taking a seat next to him. Kiernan hovered next to me for a moment before sitting across from us in an armchair. He leaned forward, looking between the two of us with a concerned and empathetic frown. I thought I saw a hint of guilt in his eyes and flashed him a weak but supportive smile. I reached across the distance between us to hold his hand and give it a squeeze. When I looked back at Gideon, he was staring at our hands, but quickly brought his gaze back to my eyes.

“How did you get here?” I asked, my own surprise and confusion evident in my shaky voice. “We heard what Captain Stole said, of course, but what were you doing in that forest? Where is the rest of the clan?”

Gid sighed, leaning back against the fabric of the seat and closing his eyes again. I could tell that he was experiencing a similar sensation to the one I had my first time laying in a bed in the castle, and for a moment he just breathed before attempting to answer my questions. Neither Kiernan nor I rushed him.

“I don’t know where the clan is,” he admitted quietly when he finally opened his eyes again. “I never left with them.”

I stared at him. “But—the shelter was clear when the knights searched it. How did you—?”

“I jumped out of the circle right before my father completed the spell and went to the shelter to grab your pack. When I heard the knights coming, I opened up a pit in the floor, jumped down, and closed the opening just before they arrived. After I waited long enough for them to leave, I tried to follow the army’s tracks, but I wasn’t able to keep up.”

Across from us, Kiernan shifted in his seat, and I met his gaze. I could tell he wanted to ask questions about the magic Gid was referring to, but I also knew it would be difficult to explain succinctly. After thinking for a moment I landed on, “Gideon can manipulate earth and the elements.”

Kiernan nodded, keeping his face steady, but his eyes widened slightly. “Were you responsible for the fire, then? ”

Gideon looked up at him, and I saw his shoulders stiffen. Much like me when I first arrived, he clearly didn’t trust the man sitting across from him. But the fact that I had chosen to marry him logically won over his instincts to remain silent, and he nodded, letting out another breath as he looked down at his arms.

“I was trying to start a campfire,” he said, shaking his head. “But—Kenna, you know I hadn’t practiced much with fire. It got away from me and sort of…exploded. That’s how this happened.” He lifted both arms slightly. “I suppose I was lucky, all things considered.”

I released Kiernan’s hand and gently took a hold of one of Gid’s. He winced again, looking down as I tenderly placed one palm underneath his and the other on top of the back of his hand. The skin was rough and raw, and my eyes watered once more as I thought about how much it must hurt.

As I examined his injuries, an insane thought occurred to me, and I let out a breath. For a long moment, I continued to just stare, thinking through the night of the demon attack once more and trying to remember the sensation I’d felt as I’d somehow healed the cuts on my skin. Closing my eyes, I tried to draw upon wherever that power had come from and direct it into my hands, my fingers tingling with warmth.

Something awakened within me, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that my hands were glowing, just as Abi had described months before. The glow spread from my hands and up Gideon’s arm slowly.

“Kenna,” he gasped. “How are you—?”

I didn’t respond, keeping my focus on the raw, unfamiliar magic I was performing. Eventually, the glow covered his entire arm, and when I slowly withdrew my hands, it dissipated.

His arm was completely healed. There was no sign that a burn had ever been present, and the clear circle on his shoulder was once again visible.

Both of the men in the room stared at me. Their expressions were similar, but while my husband’s was filled with awe and wonder, Gideon’s was pure shock.

“How did you do that?” he breathed almost reverently. “That’s not—white witches don’t heal.”

“I know,” I breathed. I could hear that my voice was shaking and realized that I felt drained. But without hesitation, I reached for his other hand and closed my eyes to heal the other arm. The room was silent as I did so, and when I was finished Gideon lifted up both of his arms and examined them with wide eyes. Performing the second attempt had been a bit more draining than the first, and I closed my eyes and leaned back against the settee with a breath.

It occurred to me as we sat in silence that healing his burns had probably been a bit unwise. There wasn’t a logical way to explain their sudden disappearance to the guards waiting outside the room other than a magical source. This must have occurred to my husband as well because after recovering from his surprise, he stood and crossed to the door, opening it just enough to speak to the guards on the other side, but not enough to allow them to look in.

“Bring this man a change of clothes and some gloves so he can protect his hands and arms. Also bring me the bag he had with him, including its contents.”

I imagined that the guards bowed in response, even if they were confused by the orders. As Kiernan shut the door, Gideon reached over and took my hand. His was trembling slightly, and when I looked up to meet his gaze, his eyes were still misty with tears, but he was smiling, the expression somewhat pained.

“I told you you were a sorcerer,” he muttered, a teasing edge to his tone.

I rolled my eyes. “We still don’t know that.”

“Really? Then how do you explain what just happened?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had much time to think about it,” I said with a quiet sigh, closing my eyes once more as I gave his hand a squeeze.

I felt Kiernan touch my shoulder and released Gideon’s hand, looking up at my husband. The awe in his expression from earlier had been replaced with a concerned frown as his eyes flickered from me to Gideon and back again. There was a tightness in the frown, but as I took his hand, it softened.

“I’m all right,” I assured him .

While we waited for the guard to return, Gideon explained more about his journey. He was able to work out that the army had taken me to the village, but following the ships was a different challenge. He waited until nightfall before going to the beach and stealing some supplies and a small fisher’s boat. Using his Gift, he steered the boat towards the next island.

Of course, he didn’t know which island I had been taken to or even the layout of the various islands in the area. For months, he traveled from island to island, searching for any information he could. He guessed he was looking for the main city, assuming that I would be taken to be tried.

At length he came across another clan where one of the members happened to have the Gift of scrying. She used her Gift and confirmed that I was still alive and was, in fact, in the castle, but she wasn’t able to glean much more information. By asking for help from a white witch in the clan, he was able to orient himself towards the castle and finally reach the main island, landing his stolen ship just west of the village of Braen.

The entire time he was telling the story, I fought back tears. He had done all of this just to find me and make sure I was safe. A knot caught in my throat as I thought about everything he’d been through—all the cold nights, days without food, and loneliness.

Kiernan listened intently to the story, asking questions periodically to help clarify his understanding of the magic involved or simply to understand more about Gideon himself. Though I could tell that Gid was still guarded with him in the room, he trusted me enough to be truthful and honest. As I looked between the two of them, I was reminded of the dream I had had not long ago of entertaining the Grisons in the castle. I had certainly imagined them meeting under different circumstances, but it was still thrilling to see the two of them conversing.

At length, there was a knock on the door, and Kiernan stood to open it, thanking the guard and quickly closing it once again behind him. He returned carrying the requested clothing, my pack slung over his shoulder. I felt another surge of emotion and sat up straighter. Seeing me stare at the bag, Kiernan set down the clothes and shrugged it off, offering it to me. He remained close by, watching with interest as I opened it with trembling hands.

Inside were my candles, a few items of clothing, and at the bottom a few flowers—now very dead and dried out—that I vaguely remembered Neal giving me a day or two before the attack occurred. There was also a small amount of food that Gideon must have gathered or been given by the clan he met on his journey. I swallowed as I pulled out one of the candles, holding it against my chest and letting out a deep breath.

“Elizabeth helped me make these,” I muttered. “I never thought I’d see them again.”

“Elizabeth?” Kiernan asked gently.

“The woman who raised me. She was killed by the knights about a year ago, just before I met Gideon and his clan.”

My husband frowned and placed a hand on my cheek. “I’m so sorry, My Love,” he said, the words catching a bit in his throat with guilt. While my lips trembled with sadness as I remembered coming upon the scene of my murdered clan, I reached up with my free hand and cupped his cheek, giving him a tender kiss in comfort. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gideon shift where he sat, turning his head away from us awkwardly.

With a sigh, I placed the candle back in the pack. Kiernan coaxed me to my feet once I did.

“You both need some rest,” he said, looking from me to Gideon. “You will need to change here, Mr. Grison, so no one sees your arms. I will have a room prepared for you and accompany you there. We can discuss what you would like to do next in the morning.”

For some reason, Gid wore a small frown, but he nodded. “Thank you,” he said.

“What are you going to say to the guards?” I asked my husband, glancing at the door.

“I will explain that he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said confidently. “He ran to try to escape the sudden fire and tripped over this bag, which must have been left behind by someone else. He was still in shock from the pain and fright when he awoke to the interrogation and simply shut down, but with some reassurance you and I were able to discover the true story and determine that he was innocent of any crime.”

“And you think they’ll accept that story?” Gideon asked skeptically.

“Whether or not they immediately accept it, there are some benefits to being king,” Kiernan said with a bit of a smirk. “Very few people are bold enough to question my word once it has been given.”

My thoughts immediately went to Captain Lewin, and I felt a pit in my stomach. I thought about mentioning the look he’d given me as we were leaving the trials, but before I said anything, Kiernan turned back to me and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

“I know there’s much more you want to discuss, likely with both of us. But for now, you need to rest,” he said firmly. “I will meet you in our quarters shortly.”

With some reluctance, I sighed and nodded. Gideon stood, and I gave him another hug. This time, I didn’t shy from holding him as tightly as I could, since there were no longer injuries to worry about. He held me just as tightly, breathing in heavily against my shoulder and placing a trembling hand on the back of my head.

“I can’t believe I found you,” he breathed into my ear. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I breathed back, and he squeezed me just a bit tighter for a moment before slowly lowering his arms and taking a step back.

My husband put an arm around my waist and walked me to the door. "I'll stay here to make sure Mr. Grison makes it safely to his guest quarters," he said.

Kiernan kissed my cheek. As he ushered me into the hallway, I glanced back at Gid once more. He had sat back down on the settee and closed his eyes. Clearly, he was exhausted, but he was safe. Peace washed over me, and despite my own exhaustion, each step back to my quarters felt lighter than the last.