Free An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows Page B

through the zuymet, of course. Teket’s Kin could no more regrow Saffron’s missing fingers than Earth’s leading scientists could render Trishka pain-free and healthy. Accepting what she’d lost would be hard for Saffron, Gwen knew – not just because of the circumstances under which it had happened, but because of what it would mean for her eventual return home.
    But all that was a way off yet, and beyond her power to control. Until then she knelt at Saffron’s bedside, and waited for the priest.
----
    Z ech was weary in her bones. Though possessed of a strong stomach, she’d nonetheless been shaken by the sight of Saffron’s ruined hand. Using the zuymet and then carrying the older girl home had tired her too; every muscle ached as though she’d spent the whole day at staff practice. Sleep would come easily, if she let it. And yet she stubbornly stayed awake, curled up on her chair and watching as the purple-robed priest used his magic to close Saffron’s wound. Gwen stood beside her, concern evident in the way her hand would suddenly grip Zech’s shoulder, but she needn’t have worried. Though he looked more like a warrior, the priest was nonetheless a gentle, practiced healer. Thanks to her own small talents, Zech could feel his magic, the sevikmet, as a vibration in the air; could even see it a little, as though a blue mist were seeping into Saffron from his hands.
    Finally, after what felt like an hour but was probably much less, the priest straightened.
    â€œIt’s done,” he said, his dark skin glistening with sweat. “The wound is closed and free of infection. She had some other hurts too – I’ve eased them as best I can. When she wakes, tell her the stumps will be tender for a week or so, but that it shouldn’t prevent her from using the hand, particularly not once the new skin starts to toughen. In the long term, only her grip will be truly affected by the loss – she won’t be able to fight like she used to.”
    Zech was so worn out, it took her a moment to grasp that he thought Saffron was Vekshi too, raised to wield a staff as all their women were. If she were one of us, Zech thought, she’d either have to switch to a heretic staff, or else wield a child’s staff one-handed. Her whole fighting style would have to change.
    All of a sudden, Zech was gripped by horrible, crippling guilt. What if she’d told a different lie to Kadeja, one that hadn’t made Saffron out to be Vekshi? Would the Vex’Mara still have taken her fingers?
    Gwen, who had been in the middle of thanking the priest for his services, broke off mid-sentence and looked at her.
    â€œZech? What is it?”
    â€œMy fault.” She could barely force the words out, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I told the Vex’Mara that Saffron was Vekshi. I called her cousin. If I hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t have held her to Ashasa’s law. It’s my fault!”
    â€œShe’s not Vekshi?” the priest asked, but that only made Zech cry harder. I should have waited until he was gone!
    Gwen didn’t answer him. Instead, she crouched down in front of Zech and pulled the girl into a hug.
    â€œHush,” she murmured, stroking her hair. “None of this was your fault. Kadeja is what she is, we both know that. Nothing would have changed if you’d told her the truth, except that she might have questioned you about where Saffron came from. And who would that have helped, hmm?”
    As quickly as they’d come, Zech felt her tears dry up. Nodding into Gwen’s shoulder, she took one last shaky breath and calmed herself.
    â€œApologies,” she said, though the guilt still rattled inside her. “I was overset.”
    â€œWe’re all overset tonight,” Gwen said, straightening once more. Even the priest smiled, and of course Saffron’s secret was safe with him. Didn’t Teket’s Kin