"Goodness!"
With a start, Lily whipped her head around to see her parents sweeping into the room. Her mother shivered and frowned, rubbing at her arms. "It's positively frigid in here. Are you sure it's too early to order the hearth lit, darling," she said, turning to address Lily's father with a little frown.
She didn't even wait for an answer before turning back to the doctor and his patient. "And you must be the wounded bird my children have told me about," she said with a smile, eyes softening a bit. "How are you feeling, sir?"
"Lydia," her husband sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "He's a grown man, not some stray pup." He winced at Jace sympathetically. "Apologies, lad. Doctor?"
Andres straightened up as he finished the stitching with a sigh. "He'll live," he said with a shrug, and clapped Jace on the shoulder. "Should take it easy for a few days, though. Now, the young lady."
He turned his attention to Lily, and everyone in the room seemed to simultaneously realize she'd gone pale, her eyes almost glassy. She was shivering violently- they couldn't see with the way her fists were clenched, but frost had begun to gather at her fingertips. Teeth chattering, she looked up at them all.
It's not true. I'm not a mage, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm NOT!
"I-" She swayed. "I'm fine-"
She pitched sideways, and out of nowhere a peal of thunder seemed to shake the manor to its foundations, sudden lightning illuminating the parlor in a flash of blinding white.