Oddly, though her hands were swathed in fire, nothing /caught/ flame. Slowly, the flames sank into her skin, leaving behind nothing but a memory — and then a muscle in her back contracted, pulling her into an agonising arch for long moments before letting her go. Another cry was torn from her lips while she strained against the spasm, strained to reach the surface of consciousness.
Okay, Merlin, calm down. Now would NOT be a good time to start panicking. He was starting to think that he shouldn’t have asked her to put out her flames, but the fact that she had put them out at all hinted that she might be close to consciousness. Merlin placed his hands lightly on her arm and, remembering that heat was supposed to be good for muscles or something, tried to use magic to subtly transfer some heat from the fire in the grate more directly to the girl’s muscles. Please, wake up if you can hear me. I know it probably hurts, but I need to know that you will be able to wake up again.
Consciousness meant pain. Involuntarily Summer projected, fear / pain / resistance / negation, but even her own body was resisting the coma now, and slowly her eyes slipped open. A wholly unfamiliar face hovered over her, dark eyed and dark haired and sharp with bones. In fact, nothing at all was familiar, and a whimper escaped her.
Merlin shushed her gently and offered her a small smile. It’s okay. You’re safe, he assured Summer telepathically. I’m sorry if I scared you. I found you in the street and brought you here.
He wasn’t lying, she could tell that immediately. He believed she was safe, and he was speaking into her mind.
Magic.
He had magic too. And he was telling her she was safe.
Summer didn’t actually relax any, but the spasms softened, leaving her muscles aching. “Where am I?” she whispered. “Who are you?”
Oh, right. I’m Merlin, he introduced himself, and we’re in Gaius’ and my chambers. Gaius is the court physician, but unfortunately, he’s out at the moment. He shifted awkwardly before asking, Those muscle spasms, do you normally get those? I mean, they’re probably bad news whether you get them normally or not, but I figured I might as well ask.
Court? He’d — Merlin — had brought her to the /court/? She was dead. She was dead and someone had forgotten to tell her. Summer rubbed at her face, muffling her next words. “Yes. Yes, they’re … normal. It’s … part of my magic. Part of the price.”