The group held another meeting to follow up with what they’d discussed at the last one and what they’d found since. Shunati slipped out early claiming he needed to check on Vaila. Once he was sure his son was fine, he scried Deyama to report what he’d learned. Vor was with her and they were discussing the possibility of going to the wedding house soon. He hated to interrupt, but he needed to make his report before the others finished. They had discussed immortals at length. Much of the information had come from the nurse who worked next to the children’s home. They weren’t sure if they should trust her since she always seemed to be watching the house. Rejenn thought she was just a nosey neighbor. The two immortals they needed to worry about were the one in Nim’s drawing who was obsessed with white wyrms and many seemed to fear. The other was Kamlia’s advisor. Even Nim’s mentor, Chapado had been afraid of him and had hidden Nim from him. He also warned that the spear that both Darina and Sapphire had been sent after wasn’t real. It was a secret way for immortals to send messages and if someone was to ask for the spear without having a picture, the person was to be killed. He didn’t tell them about Ann being Drepal or her immortal ancestry. Ann had her trouble under control and the baby seemed to be fine. None of the reports of the last known immortal – dragon crossbreed to have gone insane with power seemed to match Ann’s problems. They were likely from her time in Lerjao. Nor did Shunati mention Ruzi. He wasn’t even supposed to know about the boy. He didn’t want the boy killed. And while Deyama thought he was a spy, Emeton knew about everything Shunati reported. It was an arrangement they’d made to appease the elven rulers so he could stay in Sen-gan. It was a dangerous game he was playing, but he had no choice. Until the laws were changed and he was free to live where he wanted, he would do whatever it took to protect his family. *** After a rest, Nim headed to the children’s home to check on Jo and walk her home when she was done for the day. He thought about the revelation he’d gotten at the meeting. He’d once had an uncle on Tricon. He’d been a powerful augmenter. Nim had been named after him, his birth name, Dentrias, not Nimitinas. His father had never mentioned a brother, but he’d only been a year old when he’d left Tricon so he probably hadn’t known much about him. Nim hadn’t been to the home since before the surgery. He’d never realized how far of a walk it was. He’d walked there before, but today it seemed longer because of his incision. It was taking excessively long to heal. It didn’t seem like the original injury took so long. Once there, he sat on the block for splitting wood to rest a moment before going in. The neighbors’ maid waved. He waved back. He was surprised. Usually, the woman had one of those obscurity spells like Ann had on her cloak. He’d been coming here for a year and he still had no idea what she looked like. Lamdi came from behind the house. She saw him and hurried over. He smiled. “Hi, Lamdi, good to see you.” “Can I see?” She asked indicating his drawing case. “When we get inside,” Nim said. “Now,” she insisted. He smiled. She was improving, willing to talk more, but the others would want to see the drawings too. It would be easier on her out here. “One.” “You and Jo at the wedding.” “It’s not done yet.” “So?” “I don’t like showing drawings until they’re done. Even Jo hasn’t seen it. How about this one?” He pulled out the one he'd done of the crane. “That’s scary. What is it?” “It’s called a crane. I don’t know what it’s for.” Lamdi started to take the page from him when their hands touched. She frowned. She took his drawing stuff from him and set it down then she grabbed his hand tightly. He had a moment to wonder what she was doing before pain shot through his arm. It surprised him since he hadn’t felt anything in that arm for centuries. Then the pain became too great and he couldn’t think it all. The pain spread to his side. He went to his knees. He let out a howl even he hadn’t known he could make. Thailyn rushed outside. “Lamdi! What are you doing?” Thailyn cried. “Helping,” she said wide-eyed. She released Nim, and he collapsed. “Helping?” He hurried over to examine Nim. She’d used emergency healing to heal both his arm and his incision. He checked him for side effects. His heart rate was up. Fortunately, he had a healthy heart and there were no problems. “Do you know how dangerous that was?” He shouted at Lamdi. “He could have had an atrophied heart. Healing that intense could’ve killed him. He’s bonded. You also could’ve killed Jo. Or he could have gone mad-dragon burned the whole city. It’s called emergency healing for reason. It’s dangerous and it’s only to be used as a last resort.” Lamdi’s lip quivered. She turned and ran off. Thailyn turned back to Nim. He was starting to come around. “Easy now,” Thailyn said as he sat up. “What happened?” “Lamdi decided to use emergency healing on you. Can you walk?” He wasn’t about to try to carry someone as large as Nim unless he had to. “I need to check on Jo.” “Jo?” Nim tried to stand. He stumbled. “Slow down,” Thailyn said. Nim growled. Thailyn growled right back. “Take it easy or Jo will have more problems.” He helped Nim inside. “What happened?” Sapphire asked. She sat holding Jo. “Lamdi did an emergency healing on Nim,” Thailyn explained. He checked on Jo. “She’s okay.” “That’s debatable,” Jo said, sitting up. Nim put his arm around her to support her though he didn’t seem much better off. Nim rolled up his sleeve. While the arm was hairless, the scar was gone. His skin was sensitive to the touch like when he shed. “The hair will grow out eventually. It’ll be sensitive for a while as the nerves get used to working again. Try not to overstimulate it. Treat it like you would if you just shed. You both need to take it easy for a few hours. Tomorrow, you can change, breathe fire, pretty much anything. Just pay attention to what your body is telling you and don’t overdo it.” “Can I really breathe fire tomorrow?” Jo asked. For a moment, Thailyn thought she was serious and just confused then she smiled and he realized she was joking. “As soon as you figure out how, be my guest,” he said. Lamdi returned and he apologized for yelling and then lectured her at length. She agreed to only use emergency healing for emergencies and would warn the person first. He then took Nim and Jo back to the palace.