Her hands stilled over the vials, hesitation flickering in her eyes for a split second before she turned back to her task. “I was only doing my job,” she said, her tone clipped.
Coming in here, I knew she had a problem with me—her feelings for James probably hadn’t disappeared when I’d showed up, and I figured it didn’t make me her favorite person. But I couldn’t get sidetracked by it. I needed some truth.
I stepped closer, clearing my throat. “I was thinking…maybe we could get a drink? Just the two of us. As a thank you. I owe you that much.”
Justine paused, her head cocked sideways as she studied me. For a moment, doubt or suspicion flickered across her face before she forced a tight smile. “You want to take me out for a drink?”
“Well, not out, I was thinking we could raid my liquor cabinet,” I said, doing my best to sound confident. “It’s the least I can do for saving my ass.”
Her eyes lingered on me, as though she were trying to figure out my angle. But after a moment, she shrugged. “Fine. But don’t expect us to start a fucking podcast together.”
I smiled broadly, pleasantly surprised this maga knew what a podcast was. “Deal.”
As we left the Healer’s wing, Justine’s walls were firmly in place, and I knew breaking through them wasn’t going to be easy. The silence between us stretched as we walked to my dorm, growing more uncomfortable with each passing minute.
When we arrived, I offered her the only thing I had left in stock—my personal stash of Scotch, which she luckily accepted. I poured two glasses and found myself to be rather nervous sitting down with her in my small, sparsely furnished space.
The woman intimidated me more than I wanted to admit.
“I thought you wanted to thank me?” Justine broke the silence, her voice tinged with sarcasm.
“I did! I do. You’ve healed me more than once, and I thank you,” I blurted out hastily, when I realized I hadn’t actually said the words.
She rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. “You could’ve done this back at the lab. No need to drag me all the way out here.”
“Well… I wanted to talk to you about something else,” I admitted, while trying to maintain some composure.
She tilted her head. “Yeah, I figured. So, what’s on your mind?”
I hesitated for a moment, then dove in. “When I imploded from the Amplifier… you saved my life. At least, it’s what I’ve heard, because I don’t remember. How did you do it?”
She frowned, her expression guarded. “You want to know how I healed you?”
I nodded.
“Why?” she asked, her brows narrowing slightly, as if she could sense there was more to my question.
I shrugged, then lied through my teeth. “I don’t understand how I survived the Amplifier.” It wasn’t entirely a lie—I truly didn’t know how I had survived.
Her features softened, only a bit. “To be honest, I don’t understand it either. James brought you to me, still breathing, which should’ve been impossible. Once you translated with the Amplifier turned on, your emotions should’ve been so out of control you’d have imploded right then and there.”
“But I didn’t,” I pressed.
“No,youdidn’t,” she said, her brow furrowing in confusion. “And I still don’t have the faintest idea why.”
I mulled it over before asking, “Can you explain to me what an Amplifier does?”
Justine took a sip of her drink before answering. “Sure. The energy we have, the energy we’re born with, surrounds our amygdala. You know what that is, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s a part of the brain.”
“Right. It’s where our emotions are processed. Basically, the amygdala links information from different senses and connects it to emotions. You see something, you feel something—that’s what it does. Our energy surrounds it and reacts to it.”
“Okay…”
“Our bodies need to learn to control the energy. If we don’t, it weakens us, to the point where it consumes us entirely. Which is what we call consummation. I had treated you for consummation twice already, so when James brought you to me, I knew your body was in a weakened state even before the attack.”
“So, what does the Amplifier do?” I asked, leaning in slightly.
