Page 10 of Alien Healer's Touch

She grimaced. "Hammond grows more paranoid by the day. He's convinced the markings represent some form of mind control."

"Are you in danger?"

"Not immediately. I'm too valuable with this outbreak." She rubbed her temples. "It's Luraxi Fever, just as the old texts described. I've confirmed it against your medical records." "I suspected as much." I opened my medicine pouch, showing her the night-blooms. "If your assessment aligns with the historical accounts of Luraxi Fever, these night-blooms, combined with essence of stonebark, offer the best chance."

"Thank the stars." Her shoulders dropped from relief rather than fatigue. "I've stabilized the worst cases, but without proper treatment..."

"The fever progresses rapidly," I finished. "Three days to affect vital organs, five until death."

"We need to get to more advanced supplies. The rudimentary treatments I've developed buy time, but not enough."

A shiver ran through her body as a cold night wind swept across the clearing. The temperature had dropped substantially—dangerous for humans with their minimal insulation.

I unfastened my healing cloak and swept it around her shoulders. The garment engulfed her smaller frame but would provide necessary warmth. As my fingers brushed her arms, something extraordinary happened.

My lifelines flared golden beneath my skin, while her markings responded with brilliant silver light. The patterns pulsed in perfect synchronization, creating circuits of energy between us. The sensation was unlike anything I'd experienced—warmth, connection, recognition flowing through points where our skin contacted.

We froze, caught in the unexpected reaction. Selene's eyes widened, her breath visible as small clouds in the cold night air. I stood transfixed, suddenly aware of our proximity—her face mere inches from mine, though I towered above her. The scent of her filled my senses—sterile compounds from her medical facility mixed with something uniquely her own.

Something powerful pulled me toward her. My head lowered without conscious command, drawn to this small, fierce human healer who challenged and complemented me in ways no Nyxari female ever had.

The moment stretched between us, weighted with possibility.

Then—voices. Human guards returning from investigating my diversion.

"We need to go," she whispered, though neither of us moved for another precious second.

Reality reasserted itself. I stepped back, breaking our connection, though my lifelines continued to pulse beneath my skin. "I know a place—an ancient healing grove three hours' journey east. It contains plants of great power, preserved by my ancestors."

Selene nodded, clutching my cloak around her shoulders. "Lead the way."

We slipped into the forest's protective darkness, moving silently away from the human settlement. The almost-kiss lingered between us, unacknowledged but undeniably present.

As we traveled deeper into Arenix's wilderness, one truth became clear—whatever connected us transcended the differences between our species. And that connection might prove as vital to our survival as any medicine we sought.

SELENE

The luminous plants cast an otherworldly blue glow across the healing grove, turning Kavan's emerald skin almost teal as he knelt beside a cluster of delicate, silver-veined plants. His movements captivated me—each deliberate yet fluid, his large frame bending with unexpected grace as his long fingers barely disturbed the soil while extracting the roots.

"These are ithara," he said, holding up a plant with feathery leaves that pulsed with their own inner light. "The roots contain compounds that reduce fever."

I crouched beside him, my knees sinking into the soft earth. "Hammond's people have been dealing with high fevers for days. Nothing in our medical supplies affects it."

"Because your medicines were not made for Arenix."

He offered the plant to me. I reached out, our fingers brushed, and a jolt shot from my silver markings up my arm—not painful but startling. The markings around my wrist flared bright before settling into a steady glow.

"What just happened?" I stared at my skin.

Kavan's golden eyes flickered. "Your markings responded to the plant. Or perhaps to me. Or both."

I turned the delicate plant in my hands, and my markings pulsed again, as if they recognized it somehow. The silver lines along my fingers brightened when I touched the roots.

"I want to try something." I moved toward another cluster of plants with tiny blue blossoms and gnarled, woody stems. My markings pulsed strangely as I approached—not the gentle recognition I'd felt before, but something sharper, almost warning.

Kavan caught my wrist just before I made contact, his translation stone glowing softly as he warned, "Not those. Toxic to touch."

"I sensed that," I said, surprised at my own response. "The markings... they reacted differently. Almost like a medical alert."

---