In her small attic room, Valentina sat at her table and stared into a medicine book, reading the same paragraph for what must have been the third time. She let go of the book and began to rub her eyes hard.

  The exhaustion of the day lay heavy on her limbs, and for the first time in hours she allowed herself to think of the doubts she had been pushing back all day.

  "You're brooding," Vyxara noted. "That's never a good sign."

  "Tomorrow is the last exam," Valentina murmured. "Essence-Enhanced Medicine with Professor Whitehall. It's going to be really hard. Bodies are so much more complicated than Essence. Essence Weaving is simple, you can calculate it all, everything works according to logical rules. And then bodies come into the equation and never do what they're supposed to."

  She got up and went to her small bookshelf. The medical texts she had collected over the months seemed to stare at her reproachfully. "Maybe it was a mistake to do without your help."

  "Oh?" The demon sounded amused. "Doubting your noble decision?"

  "The other trials were one thing," Valentina said quietly. "But this one is about healing. The older students told us that we might even have to treat a real animal. Maybe it's a matter of life and death. What if I fail?"

  She pulled out a book and leafed through it aimlessly. The diagrams of bone structures and Essence patterns blurred before her tired eyes again.

  To her surprise, Vyxara did not laugh. "You know," the demon said thoughtfully, "I've taught you a lot. Forbidden knowledge, ancient secrets, lost techniques. But the most important things – the basics of healing, the understanding of life and death – you already had that before we met."

  Valentina paused. "What do you mean?"

  "Do you remember the injured fox? The one you found as a child?"

  "How do you-" Valentina faltered. Of course Vyxara knew – the demon had access to all her memories.

  "You were seven years old," Vyxara continued. "The fox got caught in a trap. Its leg was broken. Anyone else would have killed it to end its suffering. But you..."

  "I could feel the life pulsing inside him," whispered Valentina. "How it fought. I wanted to help it, no matter what."

  "Exactly. And without any training, without knowing what you were doing, you instinctively manipulated the Leb Essence around it. You helped its body to heal."

  A knock at the door interrupted the conversation. "Val? Are you there?"

  "Come in," Valentina called out in confusion, still thinking about what Vyxara had just said to her – and how she had said it, almost lovingly. Innogen entered, a pile of books and a steaming pot of herbal tea in her arms.

  "I thought you could use some company," she said, setting down her burden. "And maybe I could need a refresher in Essence-Enhanced Medicine."

  Valentina smiled gratefully. The familiar scent of Innogen's wonderful herbal tea filled the room.

  "I am really impossible, Innogen," Valentina admitted, embarrassed. "You always look after me like a mother and I miss every opportunity to return the favor. I'm a real goose."

  "That's right. You're a goose and I'm an old mother hen and we should just stick to our roles. I'll get back to you if I ever need a dangerous cackling goose," Innogen replied and they laughed together.

  "I'm nervous about the medical exam tomorrow. Do you remember our first healing exercise?" asked Innogen as she poured the tea. "When we were supposed to heal those ridiculously simple cuts?"

  "And you somehow managed to make the wound bigger instead of smaller," laughed Valentina.

  "Hey! I was nervous!" Innogen grinned. "But you... you got it straight away. Like it was the most natural thing in the world."

  They took a seat on Valentina's bed, the books spread out between them. "You know," Innogen said thoughtfully, "maybe that's your real talent. Not all the complicated theories, but healing. It's definitely not my talent. What do you say you go through everything with me again and help me out a bit?"

  "She's not entirely wrong," Vyxara spoke up. "You have a natural talent for it."

  "Ah, so that's why the herbal tea and the nice compliments! Shameful bribery," laughed Valentina.

  They spent the next few hours going through the most important healing techniques together.

  When Innogen finally said goodbye, it was well past midnight. "Good luck tomorrow," she said as she left.

  Alone in her chamber, Valentina reached for the last remaining herbal tea. It had long since gone cold, but she drank it anyway.

  "Still full of doubt?" asked Vyxara.

  "Yes," said Valentina with a sigh. "At least a little. I just do my best, that's all I can do."

  ~

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  Professor Whitehall, a small curvy woman who wore her gray curly hair cut quite short, welcomed the nervous students with her reassuring manner. "Welcome to your final exam," she said. "Today I want to test you thoroughly on the material we have been working through over the past year, but I also want to see if you have understood the most important principle of the healing arts – that every person, every living being, every body is different and must be treated individually."

  "That's not necessarily true," muttered Vyxara.

  The theoretical part of the exam began with complex questions about the interaction between different Essence types and body tissue. Valentina worked her way through the tasks with concentration, drawing precise diagrams of healing patterns.

  After an hour of intensive paperwork, the practical part began. "You will now treat various injuries," explained Professor Whitehall. "Starting with simple cuts up to more complex injuries."

  The first tasks were relatively simple – small cuts in animal skins that simulated living tissue. Valentina felt her hands becoming more and more confident as the living Essence pulsed and healed under her fingers.

  Then it became more difficult. They had to set broken bones from dead animals and stabilize them with Essence. Some students already failed here, their hands were shaking too much for the delicate manipulations.

  "Excellent technique," commented Professor Whitehall, laughing delightedly as she examined Valentina's work. "I wish I had your delicate dexterity, Valentina." The compliment made Valentina blush.

  Then came the next task. Professor Whitehall's assistants groaned as they pulled in several cages. In each one was a young pig, obviously sedated but alive.

  "The most difficult task," announced Professor Whitehall, "will be to heal a fresh fracture. My assistants will break a bone in the front leg in a controlled manner. You have to heal it perfectly – the animal should be able to walk without impairment afterwards."

  A startled murmur went through the room. Valentina swallowed hard. She definitely didn't want to fail this test, ruining a poor little pig's leg.

  "Now would be a good time to accept my help," Vyxara offered.

  "No," Valentina thought firmly. "I can do this."

  When it was her turn, she stepped up to her assigned pig. The animal lay quietly, its breathing even. She could feel the life pulsing through it, strong and vital.

  The assistant used a wooden fracture frame to apply leverage to the pig's bones and perform the controlled fracture – a sharp crack that went through Valentina's own bones. She immediately went to work. She knew the pig was sedated, but she didn't want to make it suffer a second longer than necessary.

  First she palpated the fracture, feeling exactly how the bone fragments were positioned. Then she carefully began to realign them. The pig twitched slightly, but the sedation held.

  "Very gentle," praised Professor Whitehall. "You have an excellent sense of the pain threshold."

  Sweat poured down Valentina's forehead as she healed layer by layer. Bones, periosteum, muscle tissue, everything had to grow together perfectly. She lost herself completely in the work, feeling only the flow of Essence through her fingers and the pulsating life beneath her hands.

  After what felt like an eternity, she finally stepped back. "Done," she said quietly.

  Professor Whitehall examined her work thoroughly, feeling the healed bone. Then she nodded approvingly. "Perfect. Not even a swelling. The animal will have no discomfort at all."

  As if it had heard her words, the pig woke up at that moment and began to grunt loudly. Valentina and Professor Whitehall both had to laugh.

  "Look at that," Vyxara's voice sounded unusually gentle. "You don't even need me for that."

  When Valentina finally left the room, she felt tired but fulfilled. She had actually enjoyed the work.

  "Valentina?" Professor Whitehall held her back after the exam. "That was really good work today. Lydia... I mean, Professor Emberfell told me that you're thinking about specializing in the healing arts and even have an offer from the Duke of Duskenshire to intern at the hospitals of Dusktown. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I'd be delighted to help you grow in this field."

  "I... Thank you! I'll definitely think about it," said Valentina.

  Outside, the warm spring sun welcomed them. The exams were over and the wait for the results began.

  ~

  The days after exams were strangely surreal. It started to get warmer at Bridgewater, and while the students of the other years were still busy with their exams, the first-year students suddenly found themselves with an unusual amount of free time.

  Valentina, Innogen and Crispin had made a habit of spending their afternoons in the university garden. On this particularly warm day, they were sitting in the shade of their favorite tree, surrounded by the scent of the first roses in bloom.

  "I can't think about it anymore," Innogen moaned and dropped to the grass. "If I go through the exams again, I'll go mad."

  "Especially that last assignment with Professor Whitehall," Crispin muttered. "My pig was limping when it woke up. Whitehall said they'd have to break the leg again. I felt really bad about it."

  "It was much worse for me, mine screamed blue murder," Innogen comforted him. "Val was the only one whose pig just trotted off happily."

  "I wonder if they have even given a thought to why the farmer's daughter might have much more experience with injured animals than the two spoiled young nobles?" commented Vyxara with amusement.

  "I just have more experience with pigs than you do," Valentina said modestly. She leaned against the tree trunk and watched a group of older students who were busy studying for their upcoming exams.

  "What do you think," Crispin asked after a while, "will you miss university over the summer when the year is over?"

  "Certainly not the early morning lectures," laughed Innogen. "But... I will miss our study sessions together. Us."

  "We still have two years to go," Valentina reminded her.

  "Yes, but it will be different," Innogen said thoughtfully. "With the specializations, the different courses, we won't have as many lectures and exercises together.... And you're going to Dusktown, Val."

  "Only for the summer," Valentina assured her. "And I'll write to you. Every day, if you want."

  "As if the duke will give you time for that," Innogen teased her, but quickly became serious again. "Be careful there, will you?"

  A gentle breeze rustled the leaves above them. The bell of the Burning Tower rang in the distance.

  "Do you remember how we met, Valentina?" Crispin asked suddenly. "I was searching for the library and then we were both looking for that book on Essence resonance patterns?"

  "You were so shy," Valentina recalled with a smile. "And you insisted that I take the book."

  "And I met Valentina in Professor Veilford's Planar Geometry exercise," Innogen said. "You came up with this brilliant solution to the Essence pattern, Val. I was so impressed that I really wanted to talk to you."

  "After you realized how worn out my textbook was, you immediately offered to let me use yours," Valentina added. "That was generous of you. I would never have dared to approach you."

  They fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own memories.

  It was still surprisingly warm outside yet, but with the sun setting, it would soon get cooler. Tomorrow the exam results would be announced. Tomorrow would show whether her decision to work without Vyxara's help had been the right one.

  But for the moment, surrounded by her friends in the quiet and beautiful garden, Valentina felt a deep sense of peace.

  "Come on," Innogen finally said and stood up. "Let's go to the Burning Quill. I'll buy you a round."

  As they strolled through the evening streets of Bridgewater, Valentina thought back over the past year. All the decisions she had made. The good and the bad.

  Tomorrow her results would show whether she had made the right decisions. But tonight she just wanted to be here, with her friends, having a good time.

  "Enjoy it," Vyxara said gently. "You've earned it."