Learning to Heal: An Awakened Novel (The Rising Storm Book 2) Read online

  © 2019 N. L. Paradox

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews – without written permission from its publisher.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright ©2019 N. L. Paradox

  All rights reserved.

  The Awakened Universe

  Entwined Fates Series

  Resurgence

  Fugue State

  Call of the Hunt

  Convergence

  Pilgrimage Series

  Whispers of Temptation

  Dark Odyssey

  Finding Sanctuary

  The Rising Storm Series

  Marking Territory

  Learning to Heal

  The air had turned cooler, meaning I’d since needed to swap out my running shorts for leggings a couple of days ago. Kitty had been forced to do the same, but Aiden still retained the little running shorts that exposed the long, sleek length of her legs. It probably had something to do with her wolf nature that the cold didn’t seem to bother her nearly as much. While Kitty and I would be huddled in jeans, bulky sweaters, and jackets before too long, our wild friend would probably be perfectly comfortable in jeans, a T-shirt, and maybe a hoodie... the bitch. Of course, that kind of thought always came with a loving smile attached to it.

  Besides, she was more than capable of giving it back in return. Case in point, our runs. This morning’s pace was relatively sedate by her standards since typically she did what she coined ‘wolf runs’ at full speed through the thick forest. I suppose that was a favor to Kitty and I. With the dip in temperature, our muscles didn’t warm as quickly as hers did, so there was a higher chance of cramping if we started vaunting over logs, leaping over ditches, or dodging around trees.

  So, much to my wild friend’s chagrin, we had to restrict ourselves to a nice, brisk run that followed Tearmann’s walking path. At least it meant we were jogging slow enough that we could chat without me frantically gasping for breath. “So how’s the knife coming?” I asked.

  “Pretty good,” Aiden replied, sounding as though she was taking a leisurely stroll instead of a reasonably fast run, “I’m in the final stretch and trying to decide if I want to acid etch it or not.”

  “Well who are you making it for?” Kitty asked, her own breath coming a bit fast, however nowhere near as quick as mine or as slow as Aiden’s.

  “Ms. Hollister,” she replied, ducking her head ever so faintly.

  If you didn’t know her, it would be easy to just write it off as a normal movement associated with the run. However, Kitty and I did know better and weren’t fooled for a second. “What is it?” I asked.

  “We know you aren’t into girls,” Kitty needlessly reminded us. “Did you screw up on that quiz yesterday?”

  “No,” Aiden said petulantly, her face screwing up into a cute pout. “I just figured I’d make her an athame. She is a witch after all.”

  “True,” Kitty allowed as we rounded a bend, “but that’s quite a bit of time spent crafting a gift just for the hell of it.”

  “Kitty, Aiden loves bladesmithing,” I reminded our sometimes emotionally tone-deaf friend. “If she’s going to be crafting a knife anyway, why not give it to someone as a gift? There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “And besides,” Aiden put in defensively, “we do owe her quite a bit. I mean, she was the one that got rid of that demon taint that had you acting like a sex fiend twenty-four-seven. Plus,” she added, “she’s been great about keeping us from freaking out about what’s been going on back home.”

  I nodded enthusiastically to both statements. When we’d first arrived at Tearmann almost a month ago, Jasmine Hollister, our Fey Studies teacher, had been almost singularly responsible for removing the aforementioned ‘demon taint’. Had she not done that, Kitty would still be under the influence of the lust demon Libidine and be constantly consumed by the desire for sex. Not only that, but she had done a great deal to ease the fears of the students from the United States when it came to Harold Westlake’s anti-fey presidential campaign platform. It didn’t completely alleviate it, since the anti-fey rhetoric was growing more and more in the news with each passing day, but it helped some.

  “I suppose that’s reasonable,” Kitty allowed with a nod.

  “So how are things going with your Aikido class?” Aiden asked me, clearly changing the topic.

  “Pretty good,” I allowed cautiously. “I’m still just doing the basics, but we are starting to get into joint locks.”

  The proud smile Aiden gave me caused a blush that was a combination of self-pride and embarrassment. It wasn’t so very long ago that even considering taking any kind of martial art, even a strictly defensive one like Aikido, was unthinkable. For pretty much all my life I’d been a strictly non-violent person. Unfortunately, that kind of mentality had essentially turned me into a victim, and quite frankly, I couldn’t take it anymore. I was already coping with PTSD, so throwing a victim complex on top of that was a recipe that almost guaranteed I would develop agoraphobia or something.

  “Well if you ever need a practice dummy, just say the word.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at that offer. If there was one word I could use to describe my wild friend, it was ‘protector’. Ever since we’d met, Aiden had done everything she could to keep me safe from the evils that were out in the world. Considering she was a werewolf that could not only take on the form of a wolf, but potentially change into a nine-foot-tall, nearly unstoppable killing machine, that was a label she could easily back up. Of course, Kitty was no slouch in that department either, what with being able to create blades of white hot energy that could slice through anything on the planet. However, I would freely admit Aiden and I shared a much closer bond.

  As we made our way down the final stretch of our run, that part that took us through the heart of Foghlaim and its wonderfully lush gardens, I peeked over at Aiden when I knew she wouldn’t be looking. Just as I had suspected would happen, I caught her glance briefly over at Yew Dorm, the four-room, apartment-like dorm that was directly across the way from our own dorm. I didn’t need to ask, nor would I embarrass her by doing so, to know that she was looking for any sign of movement from one particular window. I didn’t bother holding back the soft, happy smile that curved my lips as Aiden glanced back towards me. “What are you grinning at?” she demanded.

  “Nothing,” I replied with a shake of my head, that smile still in place, “just enjoying this nice morning.”

  “While it lasts,” Kitty warned me as we slowed to a somewhat brisk walk for the cool-down portion of our routine. “From what I heard from folks that have been here a couple of years, the temp’s going to start dropping soon. I don’t know how many more morning runs we’ll be able to get in.”

  “We can always use Caim Hall,” I suggested. “Gunny told me that they have it set up as a track during the winter months for students who do morning runs like this.”

  “Maybe,” Aiden said noncommittally. “Something about running indoors just doesn’t… feel right,” she finished after gesturing helplessly when she couldn’t find quite the right words.

  “Of course it doesn’t,” Kitty replied, her tone shifting into ‘professor’ mode. “It probably feels especially artificial and wrong to your wolf. I’ll bet you’re just chomping at the bit to just go racing through the woods right now.”


  There wasn’t even a hint of embarrassment on Aiden’s face when she nodded an affirmative. “It’s okay,” she assured us with a smile, “I don’t mind taking the beaten path with you guys. I can always just go for a real run after classes.”

  “Or hunt,” I said with a knowing smile, one my friend returned with a wild grin.

  “I’m just hoping my hunting license gets approved,” she said whimsically. “It’s such a fucking tease chasing down rabbits and squirrels when I can smell the moose so damn close by.”

  “You and Link both applied for one, right?” our brunette friend asked casually. Too casually in my opinion.

  Aiden nodded as we headed into our dorm. “Yeah, he helped me fill out the paperwork, since he’s used to doing stuff like that back home.”

  Once again, I couldn’t help but smile. From the day we’d arrived at this special school for fey, Aiden had formed a kind of kinship with one of the other students, Lincoln Young. While he had a similar power set to Kitty in that he was able to create a bow that fired arrows consisting of the same energy as her knives, it was Aiden that he’d really seemed to connect with. Maybe it was because they were both hunters and very in tune with nature, or maybe it was something else entirely. Whatever it was, it meant that Link had sort of been indoctrinated into our little group. Considering he was a really nice guy who was easily just as protective of those he cared about as Aiden was, it went without saying that I was glad to be able to call him a friend.

  “You know,” I said, deliberately making it seem like I was just musing about something out loud, “I’m kind of surprised you haven’t forged a knife for him yet.”

  Aiden was halfway up the stairs to go take a shower when she looked back over her shoulder at me and blinked in surprise. “Wha-?” she said dumbly even as it was clear she was scrambling to try and hide the guilty look that wanted to come out.

  “Well,” I continued casually as I headed into the kitchen to get a bottle of water, “he is a hunter after all. I might not be into that kind of thing, but I’m pretty sure a good hunting or skinning knife is pretty much a requirement, right?”

  This time there was no hiding the blush that stained her cheeks. Thankfully, Kitty had already headed into her room and the attached bathroom to wash up, so we didn’t have to worry about her teasing Aiden. Even still, my wild friend cast a furtive look at her closed door before coming back down the stairs and joining me in the kitchen.

  “Look, don’t tell Kit about this,” she whispered while accepting a bottle of water from me, “but I’ve been working on one for him for the last couple of weeks.”

  I nodded slowly, though I frowned slightly in confusion. “Okay, but why keep this a secret from her?”

  “I just don’t feel like dealing with her shit,” she replied before taking a good gulp of water. “I know it’s how she’s wired, but sometimes her teasing when it comes to dating and stuff is just too much. She’s already said something about me and him and I don’t want to encourage it.”

  I nodded in understanding and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “She won’t hear it from me,” I assured her, “but what is going on between you two? I’m not judging you,” I assured her when her wild, golden eyes shot up to mine, “but I’m not blind Aiden. I see how you look at him when you don’t think anyone is looking. You like him.”

  Her mouth opened, maybe to utter some kind of denial or deflection, before her shoulders slumped and she sighed. “I don’t know,” she admitted as we both headed for the stairs. “I mean, I think I like him, but there’s just… stuff,” she finished lamely.

  “You mean Henry?” I asked softly.

  Aiden shook her head, though it was clear from the wincing in her eyes that the subject was still painful to her. Considering he had been her very first boyfriend, and all of the strong emotions that came with it, and her own grandfather had killed him... well, that was probably something that would stay with her for the rest of her life. “It’s not that. Okay, it’s not only that,” she clarified. “I’ve pretty much come to terms with what happened to Henry and I’m not going to sit around pining away for him until I’m old and gray. It’s just…”

  She sighed and shook her head as by an unspoken agreement we both headed for my room. “I’m scared,” she finally whispered when we’d gotten inside.

  “Why?” I asked softly, making sure I kept my voice pitched so that she knew I wasn’t being judgmental of her at all.

  “The last time I liked a guy,” she said as she sat down heavily on my bed, “he ended up dying. I know it’s stupid, but I’m really scared that’ll happen again.”

  Setting my bottle of water down, I sat down on the bed beside my friend and slipped my arms around her waist. Hugging her tightly, I laid my head on her shoulder as I told her gently, “Aiden, you don’t need me to tell you something like that happening is one in a million at best. Your grandfather’s dead,” I reminded her, “and you’re so much stronger than you were back then. You’re almost completely in sync with your wolf, and you’re starting to learn how to control your rage form.”

  That got a snort of derision from her. “Figuring out just how to get pissed off enough to bring it out doesn’t exactly count as being ‘in control’.”

  “It’s a stepping stone,” I insisted. “The next part is learning to understand it. It’s just like with your wolf. How long did it take for you to really come to understand and accept her so she wasn’t practically taking over your personality.”

  “A while,” she admitted in a small voice.

  “The same is true for your rage form,” I assured her. “It’ll take time, probably longer than it took with your wolf, but I know you’ll be able to do it.”

  “How?” she demanded quietly, looking over at me with worry in her eyes. “How can you be so sure?”

  Standing up, I reached down and took her hand before drawing her to her feet as well. “Because Aiden Connors, you’re the toughest bitch I’ve ever met in my life, and there isn’t a thing on this planet you can’t do when you put that stubborn-assed mind of yours to it.”

  That got a weak laugh out of her before she drew me into a hug before kissing the top of my head. “Thanks Ashley,” she murmured against my hair before lightly shoving me towards the bathroom. “Now go grab a shower. I don’t want to be able to smell you all the way across campus.”

  “Better than smelling like wet dog,” I quipped before giggling and ducking out of the way of a playful swipe at the back of my head.

  ****

  “Ashley, you know you don’t have to do this every day. We can eat in Fhlea.”

  “You know I don’t mind,” I said with a contented smile as I flipped several slices of thick French toast on the stove. “Now hush up and eat your breakfast.”

  Shaking his head, Link looked over at Aiden who merely shrugged as she forked another bite of sausage into her mouth. “Th’ grl lves fo ‘ook,” she said around the mouthful.

  “Yes I do,” I affirmed as I transferred the finished Texas Toast slices to a large platter, “and don’t talk with your mouth full.”

  Gulping down the mouthful of seasoned meat, the wild girl blushed a little and shrugged sheepishly even as I brought the main course out of the kitchen to the living room area. Considering how we typically had five people eating here for most meals, and the little kitchenette our dorm had wasn’t exactly big enough, this area had served as a dual-purpose room.

  “You still shouldn’t have to do it every day,” I heard spoken behind me a moment before our other friend Jennifer appeared at my side to set down the margarine and syrup. Being the singular fey in our group whose abilities were strictly technological, I know she’d felt a bit out of place in the beginning. Thankfully, after working on her for nearly a month to let her know that being a tech fey didn’t matter to us, she’d finally realized we valued friendship far more than popularity or social status.

  Since then, I’d noticed she had started to open up more and really start to
blossom as a person and as a girl. While before she’d actually been worse that Aiden when it came to wardrobe choices, wearing literally the same thing five days in a row, she’d since started to take better care of herself. While not exactly ready for the cover of glamour magazines, Jennifer had start taking the time to make sure her hair was at least brushed out and she wasn’t wearing the same shirt several days running. It was an improvement, but I knew I had a long way to go in getting her to understand that she was actually a rather pretty girl.

  “I don’t do it every day,” I corrected even as I took some French toast for myself and drowned it in syrup.

  “Oh no,” Kitty agreed with clear sarcasm in her voice, “you take a break once every couple of weeks or so. Seriously Ashley,” she said, leaning over so her elbows were braced on the coffee table, “your cooking is delicious, but they do have some pretty good quality food in Fhlea. I heard the head chef even has a couple of Michelin stars.”

  “No, it’s fine,” I said quickly, probably too quickly since my two friends immediately shared a look. They didn’t actually say anything, but I could tell there was some kind of unspoken communication between the two of them. “Guys, really,” I insisted, “I don’t mind cooking for us.”

  “All right,” Aiden said grudgingly, though it was pretty clear she was far from convinced.

  “So, how’s your healing class coming?” Jennifer asked quickly, obviously trying to divert attention away from what was clearly an uncomfortable subject for me.

  “Pretty good,” I said as I took a bite of my breakfast. “It’s still pretty slow going unless I revert back to my old method, but it’s better than passing out every time I use it.”

  That got general nods of agreement and approval, all of which I wholeheartedly concurred with. Ever since I’d Awakened as fey, I’d possessed the ability to heal people. This in and of itself was a wonderful gift considering my dream job was working in the field of medicine. The one downside of it was every time I’d used it, it caused me to pass out. Whether it was a paper cut or a (shudder) disembowelment, I fainted every time. It had been pretty disheartening because, regardless of the fact that the experts here said I was the most powerful healer they’d ever seen, it would be worthless in a scenario that had multiple patients.