Page 115 of Enchanted

Nate hadn’t.

“All done.” Lily’s announcement had me pocketing my phone and stepping forwards in case Ethan needed a hand up. “Usual procedure—your results will be available on the NHS app in a few days.”

Ethan’s throat bobbed. “You’ll call me before that if you find anything?”

The smile she gave him was full of such understanding it made me wish I’d brought her a hundred bunches of flowers. “Yes, Ethan. But hopefully that won’t be the case. Let’s both keep our fingers crossed that we won’t see each other again for another six weeks.”

He placed a hand over his heart, as if wounded. “Anyone would think you were sick of me.”

She chuckled, waggling her brows in my direction. “If Rami comes along, with or without gifts, you can visit as often as you like.”

He laughed, the sound light enough to have some of the tension leaving me. “I see how easily I’ve been replaced in your heart.”

Lily winked. “What can I say? I’m a fickle woman.”

“Thanks, Lily,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Not something I imagined most patients did with their nurses, but it was clear the two had built a bond. I made a mental note to have Nate do some sleuthing on Lily. Whatever her heart desired, I was going to make it happen. Not just for what she’d done for Ethan, but because of what she obviously did for all her patients.

For just a few minutes, she was able to make them smile.

Now, I was going to do that for her.

“Well, I’m glad that’s done,” Ethan said as we stepped out into the corridor, rolling his sleeve down over the cotton Lily had taped there. “Now for the fun part.”

I linked his arm with mine, releasing a small dose of power and healing the tiny pinprick the needle had left behind. It would’ve healed fast anyway, what with Ethan being marked, but I couldn’t stand the idea of him being injured for a second longer than necessary.

Just like I couldn’t stand the thought of him being in the dark about my true nature any longer. I was kicking myself for not telling him before today, before this appointment.

“’Scuse me,” an exhausted looking porter called out wearily as he pushed a large cart towards us.

I tugged Ethan to the side by his arm before immediately nudging him in the other direction to avoid a couple of doctors who were running in the direction of A&E. “It’s busy here today.”

“Always is. Busiest hospital in London.”

I wouldn’t know that. Generally, I tried to avoid hospitals. Once upon a time, I’d made a point of seeking out medical facilities in every city I visited. I’d walk through the wards, hidden by a compulsion net, silently healing every patient I passed.

I was caught and punished for it.

Then, I was caught and punished again.

The third time, my position with the Seraphim had been threatened. That had me staying my hand for a century.

Until I did it again.

That time, it wasn’t just my position threatened, but my very existence. Even so, it had taken a lot of convincing from the rest of the Seraphim for me to stop making such visits. All of them supported me, but not at the cost of losing me.

Free will was a tricky concept. Why was it okay for me to keep my life when I could save others before it was taken from me?

Benji’s argument had been the turning point. He’d pointed out that, if I was executed, I wouldn’t be there to help when it was truly needed. All those lives I might save when I was permitted to intervene would be lost.

Didn’t make it any easier. Even now, I still bent the rules. Just a few years ago, there’d been a terrible accident in London. A crane had fallen from a building, crashing onto the street below, and then through it.

Right on top of a tube line.

Thanks to Nox’s and Micah’s proximity to the event, I’d been able to get there fast enough to save people. Many, many people.

Shit like that didn’t happen often, thank fuck, but I was grateful that I could help when it did. Still, I hated being in hospitals, knowing I could take away the suffering of so many but that I wasn’t allowed to.

Just then, the lifts to our right opened. Another porter pushed a trolley out. In the centre was a tiny girl, no older than three. Her head was completely bald, her skin holding a greenish tinge I’d seen all too many times. The bed was so big she was almost swallowed up by it. A small tube was under her nose, helping her to breathe.