Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Gregori insisted on a shower, which was probably a good idea, considering everything. Salem shoved him in, pulling out a fever reducer and something for his cough. The second Gregori was out again, he dried the man’s long hair, as wet hair in winter wouldn’t help this situation get any better. Then he did an exam, but aside from the fever and cough, he couldn’t find anything to put his finger on. It was more a general malaise. Perhaps a cold?
“Cuddles?” Gregori requested plaintively.
Salem didn’t have the heart to argue when the man clearly felt terrible. “Sure.”
Gregori blinked at him. “Really?”
“Yup. In bed you go.”
There was his pretty smile. Gregori still shuffled, but he was very eager to get into the bed. The second Salem slid in next to him, Gregori curled up around him, arm over his waist, happy as a clam.
It took exactly two minutes and then he was out like a light.
Salem smoothed back hair from Gregori’s forehead, frowning down at him. He really didn’t like seeing his man sick like this. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do about it.
Those magic lessons in medicine definitely needed to happen sooner rather than later.
The next day, Salem woke to a still very sick dragon. Gregori’s fever had broken during the night, at least, but he clearly wasn’t doing any better. Salem fortunately had the day off, so he was determined to stick close and nurse his, er, boyfriend better.
This morning he took extra care to sneak out of bed, leaving Gregori sleeping, because right now sleep was the best medicine.
He thought about postponing his talk with Sora, but…Gregori had been true to his word and organized a Skype talk with him, and Salem was far too excited to postpone it. He had so, so many questions for the man. If he had possessed any idea of Sora knowing magic medicine, he’d have bent the man’s ear during the wedding. It just proved he and Sam really didn’t talk enough. Salem made a promise to himself he’d fix that because he was too disconnected from his twin’s life.
Anyway, he took the call while sitting at his kitchen table so he could take notes. He’d ask more about colds, too, with the hopes of helping with Gregori’s condition.
Promptly at nine, Skype started ringing. Salem hit Accept, feeling much like a new medical student, with the same kind of interest and anticipation. Learning new things was always exciting!
Sora looked a touch tired, as all fathers of young children were, but his smile was bright and without shadows. He spoke in a confident, unhurried manner, his voice smooth and pleasant. “Salem, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, Sora. Thanks so much for this, I honestly have more questions than anything after what Gregori told me.”
“I’m hopefully full of answers.”
Salem had no doubt he would be. “All right, give me the basics here. What all can spells, potions, and magical medicine do?”
“More than what modern medicine can do,” Sora answered bluntly. “Off the top of my head, it can correct vision, heal torn muscles and ligaments, correct illnesses and deformities of organs, et cetera.”
He stared at the man, quite sure Sora was pulling his leg. “Are you…are you kidding?”
“I’m not even exaggerating.”
Sora felt like his brain was a gerbil on a wheel, starting to panic as it moved in an unexpected way. “For instance…?”
“Hmm, for instance, had a case yesterday where one of the mages fell off the roof while they were doing some building work. Broke their leg in three places, tore ligaments, including Achilles tendon, the works.”
Salem winced. Just a torn Achilles tendon took a year to heal. It was no joke.
“I expect them to be back to walking and working next week,” Sora finished with something like a smirk.
All thoughts crashed, rather in an ugly dogpile, right into each other. Salem made a croaking sound, tone tilting upward in something like a question, but he couldn’t begin to formulate words to go along with it. A week. A week?! They should have been in a cast and physical therapy for a good year!
“Between healing potions, noninvasive surgery, and our own version of immobilization spells, they’ll make a full recovery in very little time. In fact, let me show you a small piece of what I can do.”
Sora turned his head and said, “Hey, come here for a second.”
“What need, Papa?”
“You, munchkin.”
Sora reached down and picked up an atrociously cute child. Thick, curly black hair, big brown eyes—the absolute epitome of a child model given life. This must be one of his twins, who Salem had seen from a distance when he was in Brazil. Damn, Sora and Ravi made cute kids.
“Setz dich bitte,” Sora directed.
The child plopped himself right on the edge of the desk at this direction, given in German from the sounds of it.