Seeing is Believing (12 page)

Reid stuck a hand under Ty's shirt, his fingers cold against Ty's skin. Ty blushed, but didn't say anything, forcing himself to stay relaxed. Reid muttered something, but Ty forgot the words in the next second as a spike of pain lanced through his chest from where Reid's hand was pressed against his skin. It didn't fade, either, multiplying until it felt like his whole body was being stabbed by sharp, searing knives.

"Come on," Reid pulled him forward, and Ty heard a shout from behind them, but they were already tumbling out of the portal on the other side.

Ty had a brief second to register the shocked looks of the well-dressed people that filled the lovely room before the pain got to be too much and he passed out.

*~*~*

Ty groaned softly, wondering if his maid was trying to suffocate him with bedding again. Except that didn't make sense—he hadn't had a maid for years. Shifting under the impressive stack of blankets only brought the all-over ache into sharp relief, and Ty's eyes snapped open as he remembered.

The room was completely unfamiliar, but that wasn't surprising. It wasn't a jail cell, so Reid had gotten them far enough away that they hadn't been caught and dragged back to the city.

Moving incited more flares of pain, and Ty gave up on it once he'd managed to sit up. The room he was in wasn't huge, but it was nice enough; certainly nicer than his jail cell. Ty wondered how long he was going to be left alone before someone showed up. He certainly wasn't going anywhere.

A few weeks it'd be lingering, Ty remembered Reid saying. This was nowhere near as bad as the pain he remembered just before teleporting, so maybe he'd been asleep for a few days instead of a number of hours.

Ty contemplated for half a second climbing out of bed and falling out the door to find someone to tell him where he was and what was going on. A better idea was going back to sleep until all the aches and pains went away.

He'd spent energy sitting up though, and Ty didn't want to just roll over and go back to sleep after that. Staring at the door, he willed someone to show up. Reid, because he'd know what was going on, but Ty would take someone bearing food if he had to.

Nothing happened, so he shifted his attention to the room again. The bed he was reclining in was large compared to the pallet he'd had in prison, but small compared to the bed he'd had before that. There were a stifling number of blankets piled on him, but Ty didn't think he had the energy to move any of them to cool himself down.

The rest of the room was furnished with a soft-looking padded chair and a small dresser. There was a tiny window next to the bed, letting in light, but Ty didn't think he could twist around to look
and
straighten himself out after looking, so that would wait.

It smelled clean, at least, so it was probably a guest room. Hopefully Reid had people checking up on him regularly. He didn't want to wait hours to talk to someone, though with his luck he'd be asleep whenever anyone came to check up on him.

Stifling a sigh, Ty decided to just go back to sleep. Maybe if he tried to sleep lightly, he'd wake up if anyone came in. Shifting a little, he paused when the door opened quietly. A small, wooden tray preceded Reid into the room, and Ty stared, curious because Reid looked rather grim.

He was still limping too, and Ty hoped that was more the arrow wound than the burn mark—and that he didn't spontaneously start setting things on fire now that he was awake.

"You're up," Reid observed, looking a little surprised. There was a tiny bandage on his forehead, and Ty tried to remember Reid being hit on the head.

"Barely," Ty replied, clearing his throat when the words came out hoarse. "Where are we?"

"Melari," Reid said, crossing the room to Ty's bedside. He set the tray down on a tiny nightstand that Ty hadn't seen. "You're in the Collegiate's infirmary."

"The Collegiate?" Ty asked, trying not to eye the food too greedily. He was hungry now that the smell of food was so close. "This is an infirmary?"

"Yes and yes," Reid answered, smirking. "Hungry?"

"Yes," Ty admitted, wincing as he shifted. "How long was I out?"

"It's been about a day and a half," Reid said thoughtfully. "Messengers have been sent out to Ari and Caj, so they'll be heading in. Ytha didn't bother going after them since they don't have magic."

"Good," Ty muttered. "You did bring that tray of food for me, didn't you?"

"Thought you'd still be asleep," Reid replied cheerfully. "I brought it for me."

"Uh-huh." Ty narrowed his eyes. "So you were going to sit in here with my unconscious body and eat?"

Reid laughed, reaching out and tugging on a bit of Ty's hair. "You're cute when you're annoyed."

"If you don't feed me, I will eat you. You're closer," Ty threatened. And it was totally the heap of blankets on him that were making his face heat the way it was.

Reid laughed, but obligingly picked up the tray and set it on Ty's lap. Then, ignoring the chair at the bedside, he clambered up on the bed with Ty, nearly upsetting the tray as he climbed over Ty's legs to settle against the wall.

"What happens now?" Ty asked, digging into the still-steaming food laid out before him.

"Now …" Reid paused, looking thoughtful. "You've got a choice. The Collegiate is a school for mages. You can stay here and learn how to control your powers, or you can run off and try to master them by yourself. The Collegiate is half funded by the Vasijile and half by the government. If you want to learn here, you have to be sponsored by one or the other."

"Sponsored meaning they'd pay my way and I'd work it off after?" Ty interpreted, frowning a little as he continued decimating the plate of food.

"Yes," Reid confirmed. "It's only a year of service, though of course they'll pay you for any time you work after."

"Would I be rescuing mages?" Ty asked curiously, and Reid laughed.

"That's volunteer only," Reid replied cheerfully. "Though about half of the mages we rescue do at least one run at it."

"Why do you do it?" Ty asked without thinking, still half-focused on his food. "You were rescued?"

"In a sense, yes," Reid said slowly, studying Ty thoughtfully. "I used to be a power source."

"A power source," Ty repeated, frowning. "You supplied power for another mage?"

"Yeah," Reid admitted, reaching out and snagging the steaming cup from Ty's tray. "The King's Mages all have a group of power sources they use to bolster their own energy. I was in one of those groups for a few months before we managed to take the bastard by surprise. There were six of us in the group; I think three of us made it out."

"That's terrible," Ty said quietly, accepting the cup when Reid passed it to him. "So Ytha would've brought you back to that?"

"Probably. I think she was angling to keep you for herself. You've got a high energy capacity," Reid said cheerfully. "And fire magic, which isn't very common. Maybe it's something to do with your hair color—"

"That's not funny," Ty muttered, taking a sip of what turned out to be a rather sweet tea. "I thought you said I was barely worth anything magically."

"I lied," Reid said with a shrug, smirking a little. "Not like you knew the difference."

Ty rolled his eyes. He'd bet Reid also made a good rescuer because he was a jackass and made the rescued mages burn off their suppressants quicker.

"I recommend you go for the schooling so you don't catch anyone else on fire," Reid said after a moment.

"That was accidental," Ty defended absently, shifting a bit to set the empty tray down on the nightstand. He couldn't hide a wince when the movement set off another sharp pain through his side, and Ty hoped that didn't last too long.

"Exactly," Reid said, stealing the teacup from Ty and taking another sip. "If you're in a lot of pain, the doctors can medicate you."

"No," Ty dismissed, frowning at Reid and carefully taking the teacup from him. "It hurts, but not that much. Only when I move."

"I still haven't decided whether I should hit you for that or thank you," Reid told him gravely.

"Don't worry about it," Ty muttered, cupping the teacup between his fingers. "It got us here and it's not going to kill me."

"Right," Reid muttered, his face twisting briefly. Then he suddenly grinned. "Good for one thing at least. The High Circle decided that rescues need to be done in pairs now."

"Good," Ty said firmly, scowling. "You should have enough mages to teleport people straight there. It's safer."

"And won't result in emergency teleports into the secret High Circle meeting room," Reid said cheerfully. "During a secret meeting, even."

"Oh, no," Ty groaned, but he couldn't help laughing a little. At least he'd passed out at that point, though that certainly wasn't much help.

"Means I have to find a partner though," Reid said, making a face. "Why do all the stupid mages volunteer for rescues?"

"Um." Ty bit his lip to keep from smiling.

"Not that it matters too much right now," Reid said thoughtfully. "I've been confined to the campus for six months. Just because I targeted the one room I knew would be safe."

Ty shook his head, sipping at the now lukewarm tea. "So how long does this training take?"

"Depends on how fast you master the material," Reid said, smirking. "The smart mages can do it in about three months. Average is six months. Any idea what you'll want to be doing in six months?"

"You assume I'm only average," Ty pointed out. "I could take just three months to learn it."

"Or you could go a whole year," Reid countered, and Ty half wanted to smack him for his tone and half wanted to laugh because it seemed Reid couldn't help but be a jerk.

"So can I volunteer for rescues if I'm working off my year for being sponsored?" Ty asked, trying not to smile too much. That would ruin the little game they were playing.

"It's all I've ever done," Reid confirmed. "And I've been here for two years."

"Likely no one else will stoop to taking you as a partner," Ty mused thoughtfully. "Especially if you're not allowed to leave the campus for six months."

"I'll have you know, I would make an excellent partner," Reid defended haughtily.

"Is that an offer?" Ty asked, smiling despite himself. Reid smirked, his eyes bright as he watched Ty play with the teacup.

"Depends," Reid answered. "You're not allowed to set me on fire again."

Ty laughed. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"You set me on fire, Ty," Reid said lecherously, winking. "I'm not likely to forget that anytime soon."

Ty blushed, rolling his eyes. "Yes, singed flesh does that to everyone."

"You're cute when you're mad, but you're cuter when you blush," Reid said, smirking. "And I like your smile, too."

Ty scowled at him, wondering if maybe he'd made an imprudent decision to partner with Reid. Reid snickered, reaching out to tug on a bit of Ty's hair.

"You said yourself no one else would have me," Reid drawled, liberating the teacup from Ty's lax grip.

"That wasn't what I meant," Ty protested half-heartedly.

"Uh-huh," Reid said, completely disbelieving. He was smirking too, and Ty narrowed his eyes, deciding that if anyone asked what he was doing, he'd blame it on Reid slipping something in his tea.

"It wasn't," Ty maintained, but he didn't make any move to stop Reid as he shifted closer. "But I guess I'll take it."

"Oh, yeah, say it like you mean it," Reid said, snickering. Ty couldn't help but laugh a little himself, shifting a painful bit forward to bump noses with Reid. Reid wrinkled his nose, and his kiss was surprisingly gentle as he brushed his lips against Ty's.

"That's all you're allowed," Ty mumbled, sagging back against his pillows.

"For now," Reid agreed cheerfully. "You're fragile, I understand."

"If I could, I would kick you right now," Ty said solemnly. "Get out of my bed, I'm going back to sleep."

"Yes, princess," Reid agreed cheerfully, clambering over Ty quickly, but not actually running into him. "Sleep well, don't let the bedbugs bite."

"Go away," Ty huffed out, fighting a laugh. Reid bowed quickly, then scooped up Ty's tray and left with a wink. Ty shook his head, bracing himself before rolling over quickly. He landed on something hard, and Ty winced before digging out the teacup that Reid had left buried among the covers. Smiling, Ty curled his fingers around it and let himself fall asleep again.

Joachim tucked the round, ripe fruit into his knapsack, carefully examining the other oranges on the branch. Picking out another, he stood up on his tiptoes and tugged it free of the branch, smiling faintly when it all but fell into his hand at a simple touch.

Tucking it with the other oranges he'd picked, Joachim hesitated a moment before deciding he had enough to last him a few days. Any longer and the fruit would start to spoil. Humming softly and only slightly off-key, Joachim turned away from the trees and launched himself into the air with a quick, forceful beat of his wings.

The flight back to the clan's settlement wasn't long, something for which Joachim was grateful. He didn't want to be out in the open for too long; he wanted to minimize the amount of time Iselli could corner him.