Page 72 of The Healer

“What?” Evie gasped, shooting her eyebrows to her hairline.

Ilona spilled everything, from the moment Edison injured her to Dane slicing his palm, to Dimitri licking her scar. She tugged her shirt collar to the side, showing healed slashes.

Evie ran her fingers along the faded scars. “You think you could nail down a healing gene?” Around the lab, she hurried to gather alcohol, a tourniquet, tubes, a tube holder, needles, tape, and gauze.

“I’d like to find out, Evie. What if we could heal cancer or mend bones in days?”

Evie popped her head around the cupboard door. “Oh, babe, I know you too well. You’re hoping it could heal brain injuries.”

Ilona dipped her chin to her chest to hide the sting of tears. “I’m sorry I didn’t return your calls or texts.”

Evie shrugged as she patted a stool. “I figured you needed time. So much happened to you.” While she fastened the tourniquet, she met Ilona’s gaze. “How are you doing?”

Ilona’s breath caught as a flood of overwhelming emotion threatened to shred her control. “I’ve been better. Despite my parents…dying, I almost fell in love in Coedwig.”

“Oh?” Evie drew blood, so good at it Ilona barely felt the pinch.

The barrel filled with normal-looking blood. She sagged, having hoped there would be a visible change.

“Yeah, but that didn’t end so well.” By end, she meant her running away like a coward. Her mother used to say running solved nothing. Talking was the only way to resolution, so Rhys calling her was a start.

Hell, the thought of dating him scattered butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

“Shit, Ilona.” Evie raised her head from the microscope, having placed a drop of Ilona’s blood on the glass slide. “Your blood is like a newborn’s.”

“What?” Ilona hopped off the stool, and when Evie shifted aside, she peered into the microscope. Her red blood cell count was off the charts. “That makes so much sense. Red blood cells help create collagen for new tissue.”

“But not this fast, and all from one man’s blood?” Evie frowned. “This happened days ago, right?”

Ilona lifted her head to nod before peering into the microscope again. As a medical student, she knew her blood well. What she saw on the slide wasn’t familiar.

“So, if you cut yourself now, you’ll heal supernaturally?”

Ilona met her friend’s dark-coffee gaze. “What are you thinking, Evie? Another test?” She tapped her chin. “The scientific community will need photographic evidence and regular blood results.”

“Something like that.” Evie beamed, rubbing her palms together.

“I’m off to see Dr. Fernandez and run a few errands. I’ll slice my palm later today and document it.”

“Good. Got time for an early lunch?” Evie wiggled her eyebrows.

Ilona’s stomach twinged as if hollow, but she brushed it aside. “Sure, meet me in the reception in about fifteen?”

After striding to the nurse’s station, Ilona waited, drumming the counter’s surface. Switching from the irritation showing in her fingers to her toes, she beat out a steady rhythm, creating a tune she could almost shake her ass to.

“Ilona.” Kelly barreled toward her, her hair unraveling from her bun. With her cheeks pink and a slight shimmer at her temple, she looked flustered.

Ilona accepted the hug as air whooshed out of her lungs. Kelly was a great hugger, using her body and strength to engulf the victim with love.

“Oh, my word, look at your scar. How’s this possible?” With Ilona’s chin in hand, Kelly twisted her face from side-to-side. “It healed so well. I can barely see it.”

Overreaction on her part, but Ilona appreciated the enthusiasm anyway. “Testing a new product.” And she was, sort of, so not an outright lie. “Is Dr. Fernandez in?”

Kelly released her but rocked on her heels. The woman was never still, and often, Ilona had envied her boundless energy. “Nope, at a conference in Tillden.”

Ilona slumped, having wanted to discuss shifter blood and the endless possibilities. “When will he be back?”

“A week at the most. He mentioned seeing the sights.”

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