“ He’s stable. His heartbeat is steady too. How did you know what to give him or that you needed to cut the decayed skin away?”

I sat by Luke’s bed, elbow resting near his head. He looked so peaceful, as if lost in a dream I couldn’t reach. I brushed his hair back.

“ I studied medicine for a while,” I said softly, “before I went to culinary school.”

The healer gave a weary laugh. “I told Marlowe Luke’s salvation was beyond me, that he needed a doctor. He wouldn’t ...