Page 290 of Halfblood Deceived

Nurse Jasmine turned toward him, green eyes full of anguish. “I’m not sure. I managed to slow the bleeding, but they injected her with something that is keeping her unconscious and slowing her regeneration. I don’t know what it is, and I can’t wake her up. We’ve given her two shots of adrenaline already—”

“Who are you?” the male doctor asked. “Wait outside—”

“I called for his help, Doctor Jones,” Nurse Jasmine said. “We are clearly in over our heads here.”

Zeydan ignored the lean human male, pushing him out of the way to cradle Diana’s head with one hand. “Who injected her and almost cut her open? Who are they?”

Aylana and Aroth entered the room.

“You need to wait outside—” Jones repeated.

Aroth snapped his fingers, and Jones walked out of the room like a zombie.

Nurse Jasmine pursed her lips but said nothing.

“Who hurt Diana?” Zeydan asked again. Something wrenched sharply in his chest at the sight of Diana’s sickly pale, freckled face and the half-healed cuts on her chest.

Nurse Jasmine shook her head as if to center herself. “One of them is Glenda, a nurse. I found her when she was starting to dissect Diana and I…” She breathed hard, green eyes filling with tears. “She tried to kill me, and I fought her and I—I stabbed her with the same scalpel she used to hurt Diana. She’s dead. And the other—” she gulped. “I think it was Doctor Hudson. She stepped out of the elevator when I was fighting Glenda, but she went back in and escaped. I had to choose between going after her and helping Diana.”

“Fuck,” Aylana growled, placing one hand on Diana’s leg, face tight with worry.

I should have investigated that fucking doctor, Zeydan thought.

He noticed then that Nurse Jasmine had a cut lip and a bruise on her forehead. “You chose right, Jasmine.”

She said nothing, hands shaking and teeth gritted not to let her tears escape.

“I’ll be back soon,” Aroth announced. “With backup.”

Zeydan dipped his chin at him. “Thank you.”

Aroth returned the gesture and vanished in a cloud of smoky power.

Zeydan rolled up his sleeves. “Nurse Jasmine, make sure she swallows.”

The petite half-fey blinked, but then nodded, casting a soft spell that wrapped Diana’s throat in pink light.

Zeydan carefully pried Diana’s mouth open. Then he cradled the nape of her neck, bit his wrist, and poured his blood inside Diana’s mouth.

Nurse Jasmine made her throat work.

“Wake up, Diana,” Zeydan urged her. “Come on, wake up.”

One mouthful, two, three—

The cuts on Diana’s chest knitted themselves back together completely without leaving a scar.

“Wake up, Diana,” Zeydan insisted. “Aella needs you.” The punctures over his vein closed. He took his wrist to his mouth to bite himself again—

Diana gasped, eyes opening wide. “Aella! No!”

“Shh,” Zeydan crooned, gripping Diana’s hand. The despair in her voice made him feel as if invisible hands were squeezing his heart. “What happened, Diana?”

Diana licked the remaining blood from her lips. She blinked at him, at Aylana, and at Nurse Jasmine. Then she growled. “That Doctor! The bitch who didn’t know Aella’s name. She injected Aella with something. She took her. She took my baby sister!”

Zeydan swallowed hard. “Where?”

Diana shook her head and whimpered. “I don’t know. I don’t know.” She placed an arm around her chest to hold the sheet in place as she sat up. Clinging to Zeydan’s hand for support so hard it hurt, she slid off the table and stood on shaky legs. Zeydan took off his fireproof tactical shirt and handed it to Diana. He had a black T-shirt underneath. Diana gave him a grateful nod and immediately put the shirt on.

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