Page 56 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

He has an innocent expression on, and he releases a loud sigh as he shakes his head.

What is he talking about? Does he suffer from a heart ailment too? Because if he does, I don’t know how to treat that.

“I don’t know what your heart has to do with this. I am treating your arm, not your chest.” I roll my eyes at him.

“But you see, I have a weak heart, and your cruel words are giving me palpitations.”

I frown. What is he on about?

“You can ask the doctor for heart medication then.”

“There is no medication for this, I’m afraid. It’s incurable.”

I blink. Suddenly, he takes one of my hands and lays it across his chest.

“See?”

Without my powers, I can just barely make out the beats of his heart. But it does beat faster than any human I’ve met.

I glance at him.

He’s not lying about this, is he? He really has a heart ailment?

“This is concerning. When did it start?”

He sighs. “Three days ago.”

“Why? What happened?”

Three days ago… That was the day of the bombing. Did something happen to him then? Did the bomb cause this? He was in its proximity when it happened, so perhaps…

I lean in and press my ear to his chest.

His heart starts beating even faster.

Abnormally fast.

A shudder goes down his entire body, and he releases a muffled groan.

“Are you all right? It’s beating even faster now,” I ask.

The more I listen, the faster the beats are—so much so that I’m afraid his heart might leap out of his chest at any moment.

“Oh my, this is bad,” I mutter. “This isverybad.”

Without their hearts, humans die. And despite the fact that I hold him responsible for my current predicament, I find that I do not want to cause someone to die. It’s not as if he knew who I was or what the consequences of me helping out at the bomb site would be. He was just trying to save people.

I pull back, glancing at him and searching his features. They’re tight and drawn up in pain, even more so than when I pressed against his wound.

“Doctor!” I shout, suddenly afraid. “Doctor, there’s something wrong with his heart!”

Vitry’s eyes widen slightly, and he opens his mouth to speak. But before he can do so, the doctor is at my side, looking him over.

“What’s wrong, Miss Anyan?” the doctor asks.

“His heart,” I say and point to his chest. “It’s beating abnormally fast.” I pause as I bite my lip. “He’s not going to die, is he? He said he has a heart ailment.”

The doctor removes his stethoscope and presses the circular side to Vitry’s chest. He listens to his heart for a few moments before he shakes his head.

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