boomed. “Why, that’s fantastic. I studied art at Arcanea University.”
“Really?” Delmare’s eyes widened in surprise, and I shared her sentiment. The creative arts weren’t respected amongst Arcanean circles.
“Of course. I’m a curator at the Malovian Museum of Fine Art,” Jonathan replied. “We have many dealings with the British Museum in London.”
“That’s amazing,” Delmare breathed. “I’ve been to the museum, and the collections inside are gorgeous.”
Jonathan swelled with pride. Stefan leaned in with a full mouth and said, “That’s because he’s painted half of them. Including all the ones in this house.”
“You created all those paintings? Even the one on the ceiling?” Delmare looked above us. Her voice was full of awe and respect. “You must be a master painter.”
“Don’t flatter him too much, my dear,” Miroslava said. “He’ll get a big head.”
“A big head!” Jonathan guffawed. “My talents with a brush are nothing. Watch.”
Jonathan cast his arms upward, and the painting above us began to move. The illusion caused the portrait to come alive, horses running across the ceiling while couples danced and deer frolicked.
“Wow,” Delmare whispered. “What an amazing illusion.”
“It’s a portrait of the Great Hunting Fields,” Jonathan boasted. “Took me five years to complete.”
I stopped eating for a moment. Miroslava caught my introspective look and asked, “What’s on your mind?”
I paused, thinking this might be a juvenile question. “Well, I’ve heard our afterlife is called both the Great Hunting Grounds and the Great Hunting Fields,” I admitted. “Which is it?”
Jonathan nodded solemnly. “Ah, yes. We heard you were an outsider.”
I frowned, but Jonathan hurried to say, “Not a bad thing. We need Arcanea with different perspectives around here. Things are getting a bit stale.”
“Not to mention prejudiced,” Miroslava murmured under her breath, so low I barely heard it.
Jonathan cleared his throat. “To answer your question, it is both. The Grounds are the encompassing heaven, made for all Arcanea, but the Fields are regarded as the best place for the greatest warriors. Champions of gods, kings, war heroes and such. Think of it as an upper district of honor amongst the dead.”
My heart started when he mentioned champions. As Milonna’s, would that be my final resting place someday?
I was getting too wrapped up in my thoughts. Delmare saved me by asking, “So, Mrs. Slasky, what do you do?”
“I’m an immunologist,” Miroslava said. “I have a private practice in Dolinska.”
My ears perked up at that. “An immunologist?”
“Yes.” Miroslava smiled and nodded. “And I am taking on new patients, if you know anyone who needs a specialist. I’m the best in the country.”
That comment was too direct to be a coincidence. I began communicating telepathically with Ethan. Did you say something?
I might’ve told her about your condition, Ethan admitted. I’m sorry. I wanted advice on it, and figured she would know.
I wasn’t too bothered by it. At least Miroslava was a stranger, and not someone I knew. Do you think I should see her? I had another doctor here in Malovia, but to be honest, he wasn’t that great. I’d been looking for someone else to take over my primary care.
I think so. She’s not lying when she says she’s the best. She could help you, Ethan offered.
That was good enough for me. “I think I know someone who’d like to stop by,” I said.
“Then send them over. I’d be happy to take on their care,” Miroslava said, before she let the matter drop.
I was happy she hadn’t blurted out my secret in front of Stefan and Delmare. I wasn’t ready to tell them yet. Jonathan changed the subject and said, “How are you all doing in school?”
“It’s going well for me,” Ethan said. “I’ve been staying on top of things.”
Jonathan huffed. “Glad you have. This one’s been slacking,” he said, jerking his thumb at Stefan.
Stefan grinned. “I planned to get through life on my stunningly good looks.”
“Good looks don’t last forever, save for your mother,” Jonathan replied.
Miroslava chuckled and said, “You flatter me, Jon.”
“If it wasn’t for Irena you’d be failing this semester,” Jonathan barked at Stefan. “It’s a blessing she agreed to tutor you.”
“It’s no trouble,” Delmare rushed to say. “Stefan’s smart. He picks things up quickly.”
“More like instructing a rock,” Jonathan commented. Stefan hissed with laughter.
“I always told my son to find a woman smarter than he is,” Miroslava told me with a nod. “Thank the gods he listened to something I had to say.”
Delmare blushed. Miroslava’s eyebrows knitted together in concern. “My dear, are you all right? You look a little flushed.”