Aiden,we said at the same time, and I almost chuckled despite the mood. Aiden was the most protected person here, and Zephyr was close behind.
Rafe didn’t respond again, though I knew he was taking this seriously. Several minutes passed while Zephyr worked. I stayed close by, waiting for him to need me, but he never asked for help. He didn’t seem the slightest bit tired as he healed the little girl, and something else stirred inside me as I watched.
Zephyr was a lot stronger with healing than I was.
I’d figured as much, when he looked at Rafe and I like we were crazy that day on the beach, when we asked how he healed his fingers without setting them. Now, it was incredibly obvious.
Healing was effortless for him. He moved smoothly from one spot to the next, never hesitating, never pushing too hard.
Zephyr healed an ankle sprain on the little girl with barely a flick of the wrist. He hadn’t eventouchedthe ankle.
Marion was the Palace’s best Healer. They sent her here, alone, thinking she’d probably be enough to handle this entire camp of survivors. And yet, she was fading, unable to heal organ failure on a child? She’d healedtelekineticinjuries before.
Zephyr hadn’t even known how to use his affinity properly until recently, from what I knew. He and Skye researched it together during her first term. So he’d been able to heal his fingers as a child, andtotal organfailurewithin five minutes with no formal training? How could he not have healed Levi sooner?
“Mom?”
The little girl’s weak voice brought me out of my thoughts.
“Oh, my God!” The mom cried, climbing onto the old cot to cuddle with her daughter. Zephyr ignored her jostling, continuing to work. “Thank God, thank God, thank God.”
I looked to Marion, who was watching me curiously.
“How long have you worked for the Palace?” she asked.
“My whole life, just about.” I muttered.
Marion furrowed her brow, then pursed her lips. “Are you as good as him?”
I almost laughed. “No,” I admitted lowly. And it wasn’t a lie.
Chapter 44
Wyatt
“This is awful,”Skye hissed. She paced back and forth angrily in front of Zephyr and I, both exhausted as we shared a rickety cot. “You should have seen theclosetthey had Marion staying in.”
“Did it have air conditioning?” Zephyr asked. I breathed a laugh, and he looked at me, shocked.
“What?” I said, harsher than intended.
Skye rolled her eyes and Zephyr snorted, then dropped his head back so itthunkedagainst the brick wall behind him.
“No air conditioning,” Skye said hoarsely. “There’s so many problems here. Does Rafe’s mother know about this?”
“She has a lot going on right now, her father just died.” I said, not sure why I felt the need to defend the Princess. She wasn’t my biggest fan, but Rafe loved his mom.
“He died like, last year, and according to gossip mags, she’s happy about it. And I’m sorry, but no one cares if she’s still in mourning. People are dying from preventable shit out here.” Zephyr said, throwing his arm toward the door. “That little girl was a really easy fix. Marion was almost at Exhaust.”
Skye covered her mouth to hide her quivering bottom lip. I looked away, my chest squeezing with the desire to comfort her even though Iknew she probably wouldn’t accept it in front of her brother. Things had changed between us, but I wasn’t sure how much he knew.
The door opened then, Rafe and Aiden stepping inside before closing us all in together. This was a tiny room already, but now, with four grown men and Skye? The air was getting a little thick.
“How bad is it?” Rafe asked, his dark eyes trained on me.
“It’s bad. They should start calling you Your Royal Fuckup-ness.” Zephyr said. Only Aiden laughed.
Skye wrinkled her nose. “That was awful.”
