The Lion's Gambit (Book One) Fully Released

Chapter XIX - Dawn Approaching

Jostling awake, Lucinda lurched forward as the cart hit a bump in the dirt road. Taking a deep breath while she looked around the cart, she saw Sonya sitting across from her, playing with a small flame. Lucinda squeezed her knees against her chest and looked to her left, where boxes and crates of food lined the back of the cart. "So, that fire does not hurt you when you mess around with it like that?"

"As long as I focus on the flames, any fire I touch or am near, I can control without getting burned myself. I have had years of practice with this ability," said Sonya, smiling as her eyes reflected the small flame.

Lucinda watched as the flame jumped from hand to hand with ease and precision. Sonya then reached out her right arm, snuffing out the flame, but not before Lucinda saw a small twitch in Sonya's posture. She looked at Sonya in the cart's darkness and asked, "How is that shoulder feeling? We need you at full strength for what is coming."

Lucinda saw her outlined body in the dark shrug, and Sonya answered her question in a calm voice. "It's a little sore, as healing naturally is not as fast as your mending. I have been through worse before; I am ready for whatever happens inside that hell."

"Come here, and I will mend it for a bit. We are going to need your full abilities to rescue Kota and Grace. If a fight breaks out before we get to him, then we will need your calling," said Lucinda, waving her over in the darkness under the wooden canopy of the cart.

She lit the area in front of her with the small, warm light from her right hand.

Sonya groaned as she moved away from the wall, and she turned around as Lucinda stretched her legs to both sides before she moved close to her. Lucinda moved her hands to Sonya's right arm, focusing on the middle part of the bandage.

"You dislike asking for help, do you?" Lucinda asked her. "Kota would not want us to butt heads."

Sonya shook her head as she focused her face downward to relax. Lucinda's hands illuminated Sonya's tan skin, mending the wounds below the bandage. "For the last few years, I have been looking after myself and Arro. I learned not to need anyone else. Recently though..." said Sonya quietly as she relaxed her shoulder, letting Lucinda mend without opposition.

Lucinda focused on healing her shoulder, and the small glow from her hands lit up the side of Sonya's face as she sat with her eyes closed. After a minute of silence, Lucinda opened her mouth before closing it again, thinking of what to say. Seeing Sonya's eye open in response to the slight noise she had made with her mouth, Lucinda asked another question. "What did you and Kota talk about that day in Pasea? He seemed a little happier that day. Well, until his nightmare in the middle of the night."

Sonya stretched her neck to the left as if she felt something loosen in her shoulder, and her neck and upper back popped. Lucinda moved her hand away for a second as Sonya stretched her back and arms upward, and Lucinda's calling outlined her body in the faint light.

Dropping her arms back to her side, Sonya told her, "He seemed like he needed a break from everything, so I took him to a special location someone once took me to. I showed him something that I knew would get his mind off those recent events, and we also had a pleasant conversation."

"Interesting," said Lucinda. She thought for a second as she positioned her hands back on Sonya's right shoulder, and she added another question. "You didn't... you know... did you?"

Sonya turned her head toward Lucinda, seeing her face scrunched up a bit in rage. "What are you suggesting, Princess?"

"You know... he seemed happier after that moment with you," said Lucinda, trying to keep herself focused on the bandage instead of meeting her gaze.