Here's a draft of the opening scene for "The Wounded Healer":
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Chapter 1: The Wounded Healer
The air in the room was heavy, filled with the scent of sage and the quiet sobs of a young girl clutching her chest. Arden knelt beside her, her hands glowing faintly with a golden light. She murmured softly, words of comfort woven with the threads of her healing magic.
"Breathe," Arden instructed, her voice steady but distant. "Let the pain out."
The girl nodded, tears streaming down her face as the glow spread across her chest, mending the invisible fracture of her heartbreak. Arden's touch worked with precision, sealing the cracks in the girl's soul as if they were no more than wounds on skin.
When it was over, the girl looked up, her face still damp but her eyes filled with a cautious hope. "Thank you, Healer," she whispered, bowing her head.
Arden forced a smile, gesturing toward the door. "Rest now. The ache will fade in time."
Once the girl had gone, Arden slumped back against the wall of her cottage. Her hands trembled as the residual magic faded. Healing others always left her drained, not just physically but emotionally. She pressed a hand to her own chest, where a dull ache lingered—a scar that no magic could touch.
It had been three years since her own heart had shattered, and the wound refused to heal. No matter how many souls she mended, no matter how many lives she saved, her own pain remained—a constant, silent reminder of the betrayal that had broken her.
A knock at the door jolted her from her thoughts. She hesitated, wiping her hands on her apron before opening it.
A man stood there, cloaked in shadows despite the midday sun. His eyes, a striking shade of stormy gray, met hers. "Arden, the Healer?" he asked, his voice carrying the weight of something ancient and untold.
Arden straightened, her instincts prickling. "Who's asking?"
The man hesitated, his hand gripping the hilt of a sword strapped to his side. "I need your help," he said finally. "But it is not a simple wound I carry."
As he stepped forward into the light, Arden noticed the faint, eerie glow around his hands. Her breath caught. She had seen curses before, but never one so powerful.
And never one that seemed so…alive.