Zephyr’s grin turned into a beaming smile.
“Aiden,” he said. “I’ve actually seen you before.”
I grinned, my heart fluttering. “She talks about me?”
Zephyr snorted, sounding just like Skye, and he shook his head. “Yeah, I thought you’d be like this.”
“Like what?” I asked eagerly.
Zephyr shook his head with a grin. “Like that,” he said, waving a hand around at me. “All eager and excited.”
My grin turned shy, and I ran a hand through my messy, greasy, possiblybloodyhair and winced. I’d already forgotten that half the skin of my hands was…sort of dead. Zephyr’s sharp gaze missed nothing, and his focus zeroed in on my hand.
“You’re hurt?” he asked, reaching out for me almost instinctively and then pausing.
I groaned. “Yeah,” I murmured, looking down at my hands.
I mean…Ididcatch fucking lightning, didn’t I?
It’dburned, I remembered that. Like I’d put my hand down on a sizzling hot grill in the middle of summer. The jolt of energy that came with it had been exhilarating, though, like my heart had been attached to a car battery jumper cable. But the pain afterward almost meant it wasn’t worth it. I rubbed at my chest, remembering my erratic heartbeat and the sensation that I couldn’t take in a full breath.
It reminded me of the sensation of actually not being able to take a full breath, when the drugs were about to kill me.
I let out a shaky exhale, and Zephyr’s voice dragged me back to the present.
“You were burned?” he asked, twiddling his fingers in a clear effort not to touch me.
I pursed my lips and nodded. “Long story,” I replied.
Zephyr gave me a tight smile. “I’ve actually…seen the whole story.” He blew out a breath. “Skye showed me everything, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” I replied easily. “We’re family, Zephyr. Skye can share whatever she wants about me.”
Zephyr’s expression seemed a little surprised for just a moment before his brow furrowed and he chewed his lip. “May I?” he asked nervously, gesturing toward my hands.
I shrugged, holding them out for him to see. He studied the burntfingertips and the raw, oozing skin on my palms for so long that I actually started to feel a little self-conscious. His face was awfully close to my hands. Wasn’t I super susceptible to germs now? Could dead skin even catch germs? Wait a minute, didn’t dead skinsmell–
My flare of anxiety ignited into full-blown anxiety as Zephyr laid his hands on top of mine. I barely had time to thinkwhat the fuckand try to pull back before a strange warmth began to spread over my fingers, radiating up into my wrists.
I stared, dumbfounded as the pain in my fingertips slowly began to dissipate. The aching in my wrists followed, and then the tightness in my chest eased.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “You’re a Healer?!”
No wonder Skye was so obsessed with those ancient books with the healing symbol all over them. I’d tried to read them once or twice, just in case she ever tried talking to me about it. I didn’t want to seem like an idiot. I’d thought my smart girlfriend was just being a smart girl reading about smart things, I’d never really considered the idea that sheknewa Healer. It made complete sense, now, though.
Zephyr grinned. “Only recently can I really do anything useful.” His brow furrowed slightly and he glanced toward the back of the café, near an ‘employees only’ sign. “Skye is awake. She’ll want to see you.”
That had me perking up. Of course Skye was here. I slapped him on the shoulder with my brand new hand. “Thanks, brother.”
“You got it,” he replied. “She says she’s just in the living room. I’ll take you there.”
My heart rate spiked as we made our way to the back of the café. Skye was the only person I wanted to see right now. I needed to tell her so many important things.
Like how cute this café was. I liked Zephyr, but I could tell the dude wasn’t one for decorating. The vibes here were all my sweet Skye’s doing, I knew that instinctively.
Also, she needed to be told she was a fucking goddess among us and maybe I needed to beg her to put me on my knees again.
My hands vibrated.
