Page 18 of The Healer

Nyx gazed at the floor, her cheeks flushed. Her fingers curled into fists as she lifted her head to meet his glare head on. “How could you?”

“How could I?” he hissed, hurt and anger turning his question into a roar. “You’re the one who stepped over the line. You know my feelings on Mimikia.”

She blinked slowly at him. “You really think I would brew something for you with a drug you detest? That you have forbidden me to meddle with when it comes to your tinctures? I wouldneverdo that. I can’t believe you would think that I would.”

He scoffed. The proof was splattered all over the floor. “We both know you’re good at keeping secrets if it benefits you.” His gaze dropped to the mark on her shoulder. She gasped, tears filling her eyes. Nyx still hadn’t told him who’d marked her. And every time he saw it, Briggs wanted to tear something apart.

Or leave one of your own.

“You’re unbelievable.” She took a step closer, gesturing to her neck. “And I’m done protecting you. You want to know whose mark it is? Yours.”

“Not possible.” Briggs flinched when she smiled sharply at him.

“It was the first time I brewed something to help with the night terrors. You were stuck in them. So, I drew closer to soothe you and you bit me.” One sob escaped her. “But I knew you wouldn’t remember it when you woke up and that you didn’t want this life for yourself until we got your terrors taken care of, so I hid it to protect you.”

A deranged laugh escaped him. Briggs couldn’t stop it. He knew it was the wrong thing to do when Nyx’s face crumpled. But his body wasn’t under his control. For the last two years he’d been insanely jealous of himself.

Nyx closed the space between them and slapped him. Hard.

The sound seemed to ring in his ears. He rubbed his cheek before he met her fiery gaze. “I deserved that.”

Her bottom lip wobbled but she bit it. “You have broken my heart for the last time. You want to languish in the hell you created in your mind.”

His stomach bottomed out. “That’s not fair.”

“None of this is fair!” she shouted, brushing away her tears. “I have waited for you for years. I’ve spent hours upon hours researching a cure for what you suffered so that you could live a happy life— even if it wasn’t with me.”

“I never asked you to do that.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t ask you to wait for me. I always knew my life would be lonely.”

“I know.” She placed a hand over her heart and took a step back from him. “But it doesn’t have to be. You’re choosing this.” Nyx pointed to the floor. “I perfected your serum. That was your best bet for a peaceful future without fear. And you threw it away.”

“I told you no drugs.”

Nyx swallowed hard and kept backing away from him. Panic seized his chest as she put more space between them. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Everything in his head was so muddled.

“The fact that you still think I would try to get you to take Mimikia breaks my heart.” She held her hands out. “Clean up before you leave. And do me a favor, make sure you scent my serum.”

She disappeared from his sight, and he started to tremble. Briggs paced the infirmary with his hands on his head as he tried to calm down. The glass crunched beneath his boots, and he winced. He needed to clean that up. Retrieving a broom and dustpan, he stooped low to clean the mess up and inhaled.

His brows furrowed.

He inhaled deeper.

Not one sweet tone.

There wasn’t one drop of Mimikia.

Chapter Nine

BRIGGS

Present Day

Brine and Scarlet’spup had come into the world with a loud howl. Briggs smiled as Nyx held out the wee little girl to their friend. Scarlet cried, fat tears dripping down her cheeks as she held her daughter for the first time. Brine wrapped himself around both, his large hand hovering over their daughter’s mop of dark blonde hair as if he were afraid to touch her.

“She’s beautiful,” Briggs murmured. “Congrats my friends.”

He envied the love between his two friends as they shared a loving glance and quick kiss before turning their attention back to their precious child. Briggs gaze sought Nyx who worked efficiently at the bottom of the bed, cleaning up the afterbirth and clearing out soiled bedsheets.

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