Page 3 of Spectacle

Link placed a sensor in the middle of Lilessa’s chest, lowering the neckline of the dress she’s wearing to do it. He reads the results on his arm, and his eyes widen as his skin loses its shine.

“Holy fuck,” he mutters very unprofessionally.

“What’s wrong?” Zeydan asks, and I can hear the concern in his voice.

“Well, I can confirm she is in a form of stasis, but I hope she can’t feel any pain, because these readouts indicate just about every bone in her body is broken.”

My eyes widen, and my stomach roils with nausea as I take a closer look at the pale female. “What are all these lines on her body?” I ask, tracing the silver streaks with my eyes. She has them all over her, and it looks like they continue under the long dress she wears. I lift the hem, and sure enough, her ankle and calves have the same kind of lines.

Link is quiet, and when I look up, his eyes are shimmering with tears. “I think they are scars. I am absolutely certain that this woman has been tortured repeatedly. I need you to heal her, Lila, and maybe once her pain is gone, she may wake up on her own.”

CHAPTER TWO

Lila

“Tortured?” The voice has me whirling around to find all three of my grandpas standing at the entrance of the med bay. John is as pale as a ghost, and he wavers slightly, while William puts out a hand to steady him.

“Did you say tortured?” Eric is beet red, and he’s a hairbreadth away from exploding. I hold my hands up.

“Whoa. Wait before you explode. This woman isn’t your wife.” I hope that stops the impending explosion. “Zeydan says her name is Lilessa, and she’s the goddess of life. She was in there, not Grandma Liliana.”

“Zeydan?” That distracts Eric, his gaze moving to the god. His mouth rounds in a silent O.

“Not Liliana?” William tugs John into the room by his arm, both of them approaching the bed with distraught looks on their faces, but when they study the woman, their expressions are replaced by relief and love.

“What are you talking about? This is our Lili. Her hair’s a different color, and she’s a lot paler, but this is definitely our wife,” William says as John picks up her hand, tears streaming down his face.

Eric hurries around to the other side and pushes Zeydan out of the way, taking her other hand as he cries. “Lili. Thank God. I can’t believe you found her for us.”

I exchange a confused look with Link. “This is your wife?” I ask as William leans in and presses a kiss to her forehead.

John nods enthusiastically. “Yes, and your grandma.”

“And you say this is Lilessa, the goddess of life.” I point at Zeydan, who stepped out of the way to give my grandpas room. He has a thoughtful look on his face.

“Yes,” he confirms.

“So how can they be the same person?” I ask, but Link shakes his head.

“We have plenty of time to have questions answered later. The most urgent thing is healing her. Please, can you all step back so Lila can do her thing? It’s downright barbaric to leave her in the state she’s in.” He gestures for me to come forward.

The grandpas don’t argue, but I can see their reluctance to move away. I give John a side hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Not much longer now. You’ve waited this long, so just be patient for a little bit more,” I tell him, and he nods.

“Fix her, Lila. I hate that she might be in pain.” He steps back to give me room, and I take his place. I hold out my hands and allow the Celestian power to manifest in them, unable to stop the sob of despair from escaping my lips. Link is right, just about every bone in her body is broken, and I can feel her pain. It’s indescribable. I have no words. How can anyone cause this kind of suffering to any kind of being? Whoever did this truly has no goodness left in them.

The power expands as I place my hands over the middle of her stomach, sending it out to encompass her whole body. Tears stream down my face. She’s so broken, I’m not sure she is strong enough to come back from this. I am so confused about how this can be both my grandma and the goddess of life. Hopefully once we heal her, she can help us find some answers.

My Celestian magic does its thing. I feel the magic drain out of me as it heals all the damage to her body. Each bone knits back together, and all the internal damage—which Link didn’t mention to save everyone heartbreak—heals. Even the silvery scars seem to fade before our very eyes. As I take a deep breath and cut off the flow, I slump over, exhausted and drained. Saxon flashes to my side and wraps an arm around my shoulders, securing me to his side so I don’t topple over.

“She’s healed,” I tell everyone, breathless and unsteady on my feet.

They all stare at her with hope, but deep down, I know the truth. Despite her beating heart, there doesn’t seem to be any response to my healing.

“I’ve done everything I can. Her body is healed, let’s just hope her mind can heal too. Give it time. She has been through something none of us would probably survive, except maybe Zeydan.” I look at him, and he nods.

“Yes, we are resilient and can withstand much, but this—” He waves his hand at the goddess’s still form. “She should have died from this, but they held her in stasis instead, trapped inside a broken body. I would be surprised if her mind wasn’t as broken.”

It may have been kinder to let her pass and reincarnate once more if she really is the goddess of life, but I’m not sure what that would do to my grandpas if she is also their wife, so I need to pray that she comes through this mentally intact.

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