Zeke lay on his back in the grass. His chest rose and fell rapidly, lungs still burning. Julie sat close by, knees pulled to her chest, mud streaked across her sleeves.
Neil groaned.
It was faint, but both of them turned immediately.
His eyes opened slowly. He dragged in a breath, sharp and shallow, then let it out through his teeth.
"Everyone okay?"
Julie scoffed weakly. "Look who's talking."
Neil's gaze shifted, lingering on the empty space.
Layla was gone.
Julie noticed his distress and assured him she had gone to fetch Sis Mari.
Understanding crossed his face. He shut his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
Footsteps approached.
Sis Mari crossed the field with long strides, Layla close behind her. She took in the scene in a single glance. Then she was already kneeling beside Neil.
"Hey—" Zeke started, already stepping forward. "I can—"
She ignored him.
With a grunt, she hoisted Neil onto her back. He stiffened at first, then relaxed, arms hanging loosely over her shoulders.
"Jealous much," Neil snickered.
Sis Mari adjusted her grip and stood.
The walk to Saltspire was mostly quiet.
Sis Mari asked questions as they went, checking on the kids and piecing together exactly what happened.
The clinic sat near the edge of town, a squat stone building with narrow windows and a single wooden door that had seen better years.
As soon as they stepped inside, the woman at the front desk looked up.
Then she winced.
The people waiting noticed. One by one, they stood and stepped aside for them.
That couldn't have been a good sign.
They were led into the examination room. It smelled of herbs and clean cloth. Shelves lined the walls, filled with jars and rolled bandages. The doctor was old, hair pulled back, sleeves already rolled up before anyone spoke.
He gestured to the bed.
Neil eased himself down with Sis Mari's help.
The doctor examined him carefully. Fingers pressed along his ribs, pausing when Neil's breath hitched. When he reached the arm, Neil sucked in a sharp breath and turned his head away, stifling a groan.
The doctor kept up small talk, distracting Neil from the pain as he examined him and scribbled notes on paper.
He checked the others too.
The doctor looked over Zeke first. Bruises. Scrapes. Nothing serious. "Your body's resilient," the doctor noted. "You'll recover quickly."
Layla next. Minor wounds. Disinfected. Wrapped. "You were lucky," he said gently.
Julie was examined last. She had nothing physical. The doctor gave her a look instead, one that said he'd seen that kind of shock before. He handed her something to drink.
Then he turned back to Neil.
He picked up the paper.
"Young man," he said calmly. "You took quite a beating."
Three broken ribs. A bruised lung. Deep contusions across his legs and back.
Then the arm.
"It's fractured in two places," the doctor said. "The tendons are torn, and the nerves are damaged too."
Neil stared at the ceiling.
"It will heal," the doctor continued. "Given time. But it will never be the same. You will manage light daily tasks, but heavy stuff like hard labor and wielding weapons are out of the question."
The room went silent.
Zeke turned away. Julie stared at the floor. They were unable to meet Neil's eyes.
Sis Mari opened her mouth, then closed it again. For the first time in a long while, she didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to comfort him.
Neil's breath caught halfway in his throat. To him, the doctor's words meant he would live. But his dream wouldn't.
Then small arms wrapped around his chest.
"I'm sorry," Layla sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Her face pressed into his shirt. Her tears soaked through the fabric. In her hand, crushed tight, rested a withered red rose.
Neil lifted his good hand and rested it gently on her head.
"It's okay," he said softly. "Hey. It's okay."
She shook harder.
He hugged her as best he could. "I would have done it again and again, even if I knew this would happen."
Layla's sobs softened.
Something eased in the room.
The doctor finished his work. Bandages. Splints. Instructions given to Sis Mari in a low voice.
They left the clinic quietly.
______________________
They returned to the orphanage before sunset.
Life resumed faster than Neil expected.
Meals were still served. Chores were still assigned. Kids still argued over nothing and laughed too loudly in the evenings. The world hadn't slowed down just because something inside him had shattered.
He spent his days resting. Not out of discipline, but because Sis Mari made sure the doctor's orders were followed to the letter.
The first few days passed in a haze. His chest hurt when he breathed. His arm throbbed constantly, a dull reminder of what he had lost. Sometimes the pain was sharp enough to wake him from sleep. That is, if he could sleep at all.
Layla hovered around him in the beginning. She brought him water. Sat at the edge of the bed. Talked to him about all sorts of things. Neil smiled for her. Told her he was fine. Told her she didn't need to worry.
When she left, the room felt quieter than it should have. Emptiness overtook him, because despite what he told her that day, he was still broken.
Zeke and Julie picked up his share of the work without complaint. They didn't treat him differently, and they had also stopped their daily training, respecting his emotions.
For some time, the yard stayed empty in the mornings. Neil noticed immediately. He convinced himself it was sensible and the right thing to do.
Then, as the days passed, Neil was cleared to move slightly, and their training regimen resumed again. It wasn't grand, but their training was steady.
Neil sat on the steps, watching them train. Their bodies moved more smoothly. Their breathing steadied faster. When they sat to meditate, something about them felt different.
He noticed it all.
Something in Neil's chest tightened.
They weren't replacing him.
They were moving forward. Without him.
When they told him about it later, about the essence they could feel now, threads of energy they could feel everywhere, in the air, in the ground, it was very small but they could even feel it within themselves.
Neil listened carefully. He nodded in the right places. Asked questions. Acted impressed.
He was impressed.
He should have felt happy for them, and part of him truly was. But that feeling still lingered, no—it got even stronger.
Jealousy.
It settled in his chest and refused to leave. It twisted every time he watched them train. Every time they spoke excitedly about progress.
He hated it. He hated himself for it.
He tried to convince himself that this was how happiness for others felt like.
It wasn't.
One evening, he went to Sis Mari and told her the truth. He didn't dress it up. Didn't pretend.
"I'm jealous," he said. "And I hate myself for it."
She listened. Like she always did.
When he finished, she didn't scold him.
She didn't reassure him either.
"Jealousy is normal," she said. "Acting on it isn't."
That was all.
The words stayed with him.
They echoed while he watched Zeke and Julie train. While he lay awake at night. While he thought about a future he could no longer be part of.
Then the idea struck him.
Simple. Almost stupid.
If acting on jealousy was the problem, then he would act opposite to it. If he couldn't walk the same path, he would clear it for them.
He started small.
He brought them water while they trained. Sat nearby while they meditated. Read whatever books he could get his hands on, comparing what the books said to what he saw with his own eyes.
The gap was impossible to ignore.
They weren't just talented.
They were terrifying.
Twelve years old. Newly awakened. Progressing at a pace most nobles would kill for.
That was when the idea formed.
He didn't tell them.
Instead, he gathered the others one evening, and told them what he'd learned. How rare this was. How important.
"They awakened at twelve," he said quietly. "Even nobles struggle with that."
Silence followed.
The younger ones didn't understand much, but the older ones did.
"They're geniuses," he said simply. "And we should help them reach the academy."
Someone asked how.
"We eat a little less."
The room went quiet.
"Just a little," he added. "It won't hurt. But it will add up."
One by one, they nodded.
They took it to Sis Mari together.
She refused immediately.
Then she looked at them. Really looked. She saw the resolve and the quiet determination in their eyes.
She sighed.
"Only a little from dinner," she said.
When Zeke and Julie found out, they refused outright. They felt angry and guilty.
Neil ended the argument before it could begin.
"It's already decided," he said.
That night, Neil lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
The jealousy didn't disappear, but it no longer controlled him.