(Elizabeth Aurelius POV)
Master Valerian Alzette came to my room early in the afternoon. He had slept for exactly two hours first, because Healer Sorel had told him to.
I had heard about that from three different people before he reached my door. Halden is a small fort, and the arrival of the best healer in the kingdom is not a quiet event, even when the best healer in the kingdom goes straight to bed.
Sorel came in with him. She stood at the foot of my bed with her records under her arm, and he stood at the side of it, and neither of them looked as though they were competing for the space.
"Your Highness," he said. "I'm the visiting specialist. Healer Sorel remains your physician. I'm here to give a second opinion and to help her with what comes after."
"I know who you are," I said. "You taught Lord Vortex."
"I tried."
