Two weeks passed and Nathaniel was all better and we had almost arrived in Kingspin. When we were setting up camp, Merlin and I went to collect firewood, when we found ourselves in front of the same wolf that had tried to attack us earlier. I turned to run away, but Merlin stopped me and pointed to its leg. It was injured.
I reasoned that we should use the fact that it was injured to get away from it, but Merlin told me, "a little kindness goes a long way." I gave in, and asked him how I can help, and he told me to heal it the way I had healed Emmanuel. I wasn't sure what exactly did, but I closed my eyes and focused on the wound I had put my hands on.
I opened my eyes and nothing had happened. Merlin put his hand on my shoulder and told me to believe in myself a bit more, and so I closed my eyes once more and rested my hands on the wolf. I told myself to heal the wolf and repeated "I can do this." in my head. When I opened my eyes a second time, the wolf's wound was closed and it looked like the pain had subsided.
It got up and walked over to me and sniffed me. I tensed up in fear, but it ended up just licking my face and nuzzling me. I reached out to touch it, and its fur felt like a soft cloud, but as I was petting it, Joan called out to us and it ran away. Merlin and I never told anyone about this incident, and it will probably remain between the four of us. At campfire, Merlin shared stories about his travels and heroic adventures. Nara asked why he wouldn't fight Zephyr, and Merlin said that Zephyr's villainy is his fault.
According to Merlin, Zephyr was his first and last student. He blamed himself for not seeing the evil in his heart. If he did, he could've saved our parents and found a worthy successor of his destiny. He said his successor must be a powerful sorcerer who's also "completely pure of heart."
After dinner, Nathaniel slipped me away from camp and showed me the beautiful sight of Kingspin at night. As I was staring in awe at the city of lights, Nathaniel leaned in and kissed me, but I pushed him away.