Lights of Aurora (The Stone Legacy Series Book 3) (11 page)

He pushed out his bottom lip. “Liar.”

She chuckled.

Peter closed the door. “We need to talk.” His tone had gone from suggestive to demanding.

“Yeah, no shit.” Jayden lowered himself into a chair. “There’s got to be something going on. Why don’t you just come out with it?”

“I need to give you a physical.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Zanya said. “Your healing hasn’t been working.”

“No, it hasn’t.” Peter removed a stethoscope from his little black bag.

“Go shopping for supplies?” Zanya asked.

“More like jacked them from the hospital, but we didn’t have much choice. We had to get Jayden out of there before anyone spotted us.” Peter hung the stethoscope around his neck. “By the way, I thought of a way to get you some more pain meds until you heal.”

Jayden’s head popped up to full attention. “Really?”

“There’s this guy…but they’re expensive—”

“Probably because it’s not legal,” Zanya grumbled.

“How did you know?”

“Because anytime someone says, ‘there’s this guy,’ he’s not talking about a pharmacist.”

Peter removed a thermometer from the bag. “Well, it’s either that or let him go without.” He pushed the button on the thermometer until it beeped. “Here. Put this under your tongue.”

Jayden snatched it from Peter’s hand and shoved it in his mouth. The room fell silent as Peter placed the earpieces of the stethoscope in his ears and pressed the diaphragm over Jay’s chest.

Peter’s brow furrowed as he slid the piece from Jayden’s right pectoral to his left, then just below his ribs.

Peter sat back and set the stethoscope on the table beside him, analyzing Jayden. “How do you feel?”

Jayden shrugged, the thermometer still in his mouth. Peter’s foot bounced as if he were nervous. When the thermometer beeped, Peter brushed his fingertips together and then pulled it out of Jayden’s mouth. He examined the results.

Zanya shifted and peered over Peter’s shoulder. “What? Does he have a fever?”

Peter shook his head. “No fever. In fact…no temperature.” He held up the thermometer with L* blinking on the digital screen, then turned back to Jay. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but…you have no heartbeat.”

Chapter Fourteen

Zanya snorted. “What do you mean no heartbeat? That’s insane. He has to have a heartbeat.”

“I can’t explain it, but you can listen for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

Zanya blinked and her muscles locked. No heartbeat meant he wasn’t alive, which meant he was…

“Dead?” Jayden’s gaze darted between them. “Some healer you are. Can’t even tell if someone’s dead or alive. Your stupid little tool is just broken.” Jay sat back in his bed. “Idiot.”

“But…” The heat drained from her face. He looked like a corpse. And after everything Peter had tried, he still hadn’t healed.

Jayden examined her. “Come on, Zanya.”

Tears blurred her vision.

“Hey.” He stood and wrapped his arms around her.

She hugged him back. “This is all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

Jayden pulled away, staring at Peter. “This is just mean. Look what you’re doing to her. Enough already.”

Peter stood, chewing the inside of his cheek. “It doesn’t totally make sense, does it?”

“See.” Jayden wiped a tear from Zanya’s cheek. “I’m fine.”

“What about the pain?” Zanya looked to Peter for answers. “He’s in pain, and he’s hungry. How can he be—” She choked on the word.

“I think it’s psychosomatic. See, his brain is telling him that logically, he should be in pain, so he is. I mean, he’s spent his entire life knowing that if you’re cut, it hurts. Or if you haven’t eaten that day, you should be hungry.” Peter reached for Jay’s hand, but paused. “Can I check your pulse, just in case you’re right about the stethoscope malfunction?”

Though it still didn’t explain the low body temperature.

Jay hesitated at first, and then nodded. Peter rested his fingers over Jayden’s wrist and waited and waited, then moved them to his neck. He lowered his hand and peered closely into Jayden’s eyes.

Jay stepped back. “What?” He dragged his palms down his jeans.

Peter analyzed Jay’s movements. “Are your palms sweating?”

Jayden nodded.

“I don’t think you’re actually sweating, because you’re not hot.”

“I can’t fucking help it if I sweat.”

“But you can’t be sweating because your body tempe—”

“How do you know what I am, huh, healer?” Jayden stepped forward. “You think you know how I feel because I’m a vampire or some shit?”

Peter stretched his hands out in front of him, as if trying to calm Jay down. “No.” His tone was lined with caution. “The more we try to understand what happened to you, the—”

“Stop. Talking.” Jayden clenched his jaw and glared.

“Jay. He’s just trying to help.”

“I don’t need his fucking help.”

She took his hands and laced her fingers with his, and Jayden’s focus broke from Peter. Zanya’s throat ached as she worked to hold back tears. “But you’re so cold. And you’re not healing. It’s taking twice the effort, and you’re hardly making any progress.” She swallowed. “It does make sense. It makes perfect sense.” She had to stay strong for him, even if she wanted to come undone. “But it’ll be okay. We’ll figure this out. Meanwhile, I’ll try to heal you. Maybe that’ll make the difference.”

His gaze darted to Peter. “That’s what I said.”

“Look,” Peter said. “I’ve done the best I can under the circumstances, but maybe Zanya can do better.” He walked toward the door. “I guess I’ll go let Renato and Arwan know what’s going on.”

“Yeah.” Jayden snorted. “Go to them with your zombie theory. I’m sure they’ll buy into that real quick.”

Zanya leaned close to Peter as he passed, making him pause. “Renato already thinks Jayden is some kind of threat,” she said in a low voice. “After he hears about this, who knows what he’ll want to do.”

“I’ll do my best to keep everyone calm.” Peter walked out of the room.

Jayden grunted as he sat back on his bed and grabbed the remote. “So. What do you want to do? Watch a new-release marathon of pay-per-view or watch old horror flicks?”

Zanya arched an eyebrow. “Are you feeling up to it?”

“Well, coming back from the dead isn’t exactly comfortable, especially when you’re hamburger meat. But I could handle watching a few movies.” He rested his hand over his chest and grimaced.

She couldn’t just ignore everything Peter had said. She’d known Jayden for so long, it was obvious that was exactly what
he
was trying to do. “Let me see.” She gestured to his chest.

“What? No. Forget about it.” He patted the bed beside him. “Just relax and hang out with me. I missed you.”

”I missed you too, Jay. But you need to let me see what we’re dealing with. Peter’s not the only one who can heal now, and—oh! Did anyone tell you? Sarian, he’s—”

“Dead. Yeah. Peter told me before you came back.” He took her hand and gently pulled her onto the bed beside him. “I know how much of a relief that must be for you, to know he can’t hurt you anymore. All those years.” He brushed his fingers over the top of her hand. “At least it’s over now. You’re fine, I’m fine, and we’re gonna be—”

“Fine. Yeah. I know. But I still need to see what’s going on under there.” She pointed to his shirt. “It won’t be the first time I’ve seen you without a shirt on, so stop pretending to be shy. We both know you’re not.”

He braced himself on the bed and sat up as well as he could. “Apparently I’m not the only one anymore. I remember when you would blush every time you saw me without a shirt.”

“Well.” She tapped him twice on his leg, urging him to hurry up. “I’ve been through a lot and grown up a lot since then too. Don’t make it out to be more than it is.”

His eyebrows furrowed and the edges of his mouth turned down. “Right. I forgot. You’re not into me like that anymore.” His tight lips softened. “But you still came and got me, and that means something, whether you want to admit it or not.”

Zanya sighed. “Believe whatever you want, Jay. You always do anyway.”

He huffed, and then crossed his arms over his torso and grabbed the hem of his T-shirt. When he tried to peel it off, his arms trembled, and he couldn’t lift it over his head.

“Wow.” She gently pushed his hands back down to his sides. “You
are
in a lot of pain, aren’t you?” Not that she didn’t experience it herself while seeking him. He wasn’t making it up. “I’m going to take this off for you. I’ll be careful.”

Surprisingly he didn’t crack a wise comment and instead did as she asked. When she finally slipped the shirt over his head, she gasped. “You’ve barely healed at all.”

Stitches wove his skin together as if he were some kind of Raggedy Andy doll. They stretched from his collarbone and veined out in different directions across his chest. Stitches zigzagged across his chest, weaving his jagged flesh together.

“Okay. Scoot yourself down and lie completely flat.” Zanya brushed her fingers together, gathering her courage. What she was about to do would be awkward but necessary. “Before I do this, let me just tell you that if you make any stupid comments, I’ll kill you.” Jayden’s eyes widened when she stripped off her shirt and tossed it on the chair beside the bed.

He leaned up on his forearms. “What are you doing?”

“Just lie down, please.” She took her stone from her pocket. She had a lot better of a chance to do this right if her stone was with her. She’d failed once at healing him, and she was determined not to do it again.

Zanya straddled him, and he rested his hand on her hip. She slapped it away and glared. “Be good.” She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, channeling her energy. Tiny sparks fired over the surface of her hands.

She’d have to do better than that.

With more focus she sent energy up her arms and over the top half of her body.

Jayden shifted under her. “Since when do you decide to take off your shirt and hop into bed with me? Not that I’m complaining.”

“Didn’t we agree on no comments?” she said with her eyes still closed.

“I never agreed to that.”

“Since you were torn apart and died because of me, okay? Now be quiet for a second. I need to concentrate.” After a moment, the light in her chest burst to life. “This might hurt a little, but only from my weight.” She planted her hands on either side of him and lowered her body over his. The stitches prickled her skin. Jayden let out a low groan.

He was as cold as ice. “I know it hurts. I’m sorry. Try not to move around too much.” She laid her head on the curve of his shoulder and wrapped her arms under his. “Just breathe.” She supported some of her own weight on her forearms. “The more of my skin that’s touching yours, the better I’ll be able to heal you.”

He rested his hands on her lower back and trailed his fingers up to her shoulder blades.

Zanya lifted her head. “Are you okay? If it’s too much, I can—”

“No.” His voice was soft. “Stay. Please.” The way his eyes begged her made her body flush.

Zanya swallowed. “Jayden.”

“It’s fine. I get it.” His hands curved over her shoulders. “Just stay like this for a few more minutes. It’s helping.”

She hesitated but then rested her head back down on his shoulder. For the first time she realized just how much she missed him, and how afraid she was that he might have been gone forever.

Jayden’s breaths steadied. “You know what happened to me wasn’t your fault, right?” His voice was soft and raspy.

“Yes, it was. You were trying to protect me, and if it weren’t for that, you would never have gone through any of this.”

“And I never would have known how much you care about me. You came for me, Zanya. I love you for it.”

Hearing him say that aloud made her chest tighten, but only because he meant it in a way she never could. Not like before.

Her fingertips tingled with numbness. Probably a sign to stop for the day. “I’m gonna get up now. Tell me if I’m hurting you.” As she pushed herself off the bed, Jayden hooked his fingers around her arms and stopped her.

He pressed a kiss on her cheek. “Thanks, Zanya. I do feel a little better.”

She moved and planted her feet on the floor. Her legs were wobbly and unstable as she slipped her shirt back on. “I’m sorry I can’t do more now, but I have to rest. Healing seems to be harder than some of the other stuff.” Her head spun, but it was a small sacrifice. Still, she needed rest. She hadn’t slept in almost twenty-four hours and her body cried out for a fluffy robe, warm blankets, and a down pillow.

Jay was still sprawled out on the bed with his hands behind his head. She gave him a faint smile and stole a glance at the patch job on his chest. It seemed a tiny bit better, though not by much. “Well…” She shifted toward the door. “I’m going to go.”

“Thanks for healing me. Again tomorrow?”

Zanya nodded. “But you know you should let Peter heal you too. He’s just trying to help.”

“I know. As long as I don’t have to be around Renato. The guy doesn’t like me, and he’s crazy for thinking I’d hurt you.”

“I know. I’m sorry about that.” She walked toward the door. “He’s just being protective.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Jayden sat up. “Hey. Will every healing session be like that?”

Zanya rolled her eyes. “Probably.” It was obvious he was searching for something sarcastic to say. Maybe this time she’d beat him to the punch. “But you know if you let Peter heal you the way I did tonight…”

His eyes grew wide. “Oh hell no. There is no way in—”

Zanya chuckled. “Good night, Jay. Get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He lay back down with a huff. “Fine.”

Zanya opened the door, watching him pout like a child. “I missed you.”

He smiled. A real smile. “I missed you, too.”

Zanya walked into the hallway and exhaled. She rested her back against the patterned wallpaper and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

It had been a long day, and nothing sounded more alluring than a hot shower and a pillow-top mattress.

Something crinkled in the back pocket of her jeans. When Zanya slid her fingers into the pocket, and her skin brushed against the rough texture of the paper, and she pulled out folded pages from the book. Pages she’d stolen from the underworld, just after Contessa had claimed the rest of the text.

Zanya groaned. A hot shower and a pillow-top mattress would have to wait. She had to bring the pages to Renato. Maybe he’d find something useful in the glyphs.