Page 48 of Demon's Beauty

My fingertips tingle and my whole body comes alive as I draw my true power forth.

Pulling on my magick this way is always a monumental effort, but it’s the purest form of healing I possess. Potions and herbs and salves are all wonderful, and if I tried to treatevery patient this way, I’d probably end up as a withered husk, completely drained.

But when the occasion calls for it, there’s nothing else like it.

It’s as much a part of me as my body and soul, this gift. From the first time I discovered it—using my magick to heal Seren’s scraped knee when we were only three or four years old—it’s been there, waiting just beneath my skin, pulsing with the beat of my heart.

I don’t even need my eyes for it.

Letting them drift shut, I get lost in the strands of power I call from the earth, the air, the stars. The magick of this realm is a slightly different sort than I’m used to, but effective nonetheless. Each strand gleams brightly in my mind’s eye, and I breathe deep and even as I direct them where I want them to go.

I start at the edges of the wound and work inwards.

Brief pulses of Finn’s pain move through me as I work, but that’s just the cost. A small cost, only a fraction of what he’s feeling, but they sting viciously under my skin as I patch him back together.

When I open my eyes again, I don’t know if it’s been minutes or hours. Time loses a bit of its meaning when I’m in this state, even if it always catches up to me later.

But I can’t think about that right now. I’ve got bigger concerns.

The burns are better, but still not where I want them to be.

Frustrated, I roll my neck and prepare to get started on another round, when the demon in front of me lets out a mumbled groan.

“Finn?” I lean in closer to his face, run my hand across his brow to move his blond curls out of his eyes.

Finn’s eyes crack open. Just a little, but with a light in them that’s lucid enough to send a painful stab of relief through me.

“You alright, sunshine? You didn’t get hurt?”

A choked, hoarse laugh rasps out of my throat. “That’s the very last thing you should be worried about.”

He grimaces.

Ugh. Probably not the thing to say right now. Like he needed the reminder of what tough shape he’s in.

“Just rest,” I whisper, turning away to grab some more of the sedative brew I’ve got in my bag. I already gave him a hefty dose, but he’s a lot of demon to work with. I’m sure he needs a bit more than the average human.

Before I can, though, Finn grabs my hand, grip surprisingly steady.

“I will once I know you’re alright.”

His eyes are fully open now, more alert, and though they’re bright with pain, they’re also shining with concern.

“I’m alright,” I whisper, squeezing his fingers. “You made sure of that.”

He lets out a sigh of relief through his nose, and his eyes drift shut. “Good. Then it was worth it.”

Another laugh, even more choked and wobbly, but it’s probably not the best idea to argue with my patient.

Instead, I fix the dose of sedative, and after I coax it down his throat, I get back to work on another round of healing.

It’s harder this time, after I’ve already spent so much energy.

But it’s worth it.

Finn did this for me, got hurt so badly for me, so if I burn myself out returning the favor, it’s worth it.

As long as he’ll be okay, it’s worth it.