Free Prelude to Fire: Parts 1 and 2 by D. K. Holmberg

here, you were in pretty rough shape. There were other healers involved and they—”
    “Shapers?” Lacertin asked.
    “Not all the healers are shapers,” she said. “Your injuries weren’t as bad as Master Veran’s. He needed the attention of the master shapers, so you…”
    She didn’t need to finish. Lacertin wasn’t the same priority, not with the nature of his injuries. They were still severe enough to make it difficult for him to even try to stand. Had he been healed, he would have been able to get up, and he might not have slept for nearly a full day. Either Veran’s injuries really were that serious or someone had been instructed not to heal him.
    Lacertin gritted his teeth and pushed off the bed, shaking past Jayna, who was trying to hold him back down. “I need my sword, and my cloak,” he said.
    “Between the healers, and the princess stopping—”
    “Ilianna was here?” What would she be doing at the university?
    Jayna watched him for a moment, a puzzled expression creasing her brow. “She came to see Master Wallyn and discuss the king.”
    Lacertin sighed. Of course that had been the reason. She wouldn’t have cared to see him . The opportunity for that had passed so long ago that he couldn’t believe that there ever would have been a time when he thought of courting her.
    “I don’t know where your belongings are. And I don’t know why you’re in such a rush to get up. You were seriously injured, Lacertin. You should take the necessary time for healing or you will only end up in worse shape than you already are.”
    If he’d been down a full day, then he already was in worse shape than he thought. He needed to find his cloak and make certain that the box was secured.
    Why hadn’t he just left it with Ilton when he arrived? He’d spent months searching for the plates and had rushed back to the city to deliver it, and his first action had been to remove it again.
    He sighed. With Ilton sick, the princess would have taken on some responsibilities as well. Ilianna could help, if only he could reach her.
    Lacertin staggered to the door, pausing to balance himself as he went. Jayna was there when he nearly fell, slipping her arm around him. She shaped, but it was more of a healing probing, not anything meant to stabilize him. He tried not to notice the comfortable warmth he felt from her presence.
    “Where are you going?” Jayna asked.
    “There’s someone I need to see.” He’d either find Theondar and tell him about the weakness in the barrier, or he’d find Ilianna. Either way, he needed to reach the palace.
    “You aren’t going to make it very far like this. Let me get help.”
    “No help. Just find my sword.”
    If he focused on the sword, maybe Jayna wouldn’t realize how important the box was to him as well.
    “I don’t know where they brought it.”
    Lacertin paused and turned to her. “At least tell me who helped bind my wounds when I returned.” That would help him know who might have his belongings.
    “I told you already. Healers, a water shaper, and me. There was a pair of archivists there, but mostly because Wallyn sent for them, thinking they might find an answer to what happened with the injury to help heal Veran.”
    At least if the archivists had taken his cloak, the plates might be with them, but what if they didn’t know how to use them? Ilton hadn’t known, or if he had, he hadn’t shared with Lacertin. That wasn’t altogether unsurprising, but now that Ilton’s mind seemed to be going and with the loss of the warriors, he felt as if more help was needed.
    Lacertin grabbed for the door, wincing as pain shot through him. In his current condition, reaching the palace would be nearly impossible. Even if he somehow managed to shape, he would struggle. No, he needed help.
    “Can you help me?” he asked Jayna.

Chapter 9
    T he walk to the palace took an impossibly long time. Each step sent pain shooting through Lacertin, and even though he splinted his ribs