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Eric nodded. “When will she get here?”
“Soon.”
It couldn’t have been more than a minute later that Ciaran, Jolene, Orrin, and Vivian abruptly appeared in the middle of the office. Khloé frowned. Why had she brought along Vivian?
Ciaran sidled up to Khloé and gave her a nod, fairly vibrating with optimism. “You okay?”
“Hopefully both of us will be in, say, five minutes’ time,” she replied.
As regal as ever, Jolene fixed her attention on the angel. “I am Jolene Wallis. And you are?”
He licked his lips. “Eric Carlton.”
“Eric Carlton,” she echoed, flashing him a courteous smile. “I will agree to your price, Eric. But only if my grandchildren are fully healed. A member of my lair here can see illness in a person. She will tell me if you failed.”
Ah, that explained Vivian’s presence.
Eric gave Jolene a look that was all haughty. “I am an angel; we do not fail when it comes to healing.” His eyes turned wary. “How do I know you’ll stick to your end of the bargain and actually pay me?”
“My word would mean nothing as a Prime if I went back on it whenever I pleased. It is a weakness that can lead to people losing their position. I would much prefer to keep mine. Let us get this done, shall we?”
Ciaran nudged Khloé. “You first, sis.”
Khloé frowned at him. “I was going to say the same to you.”
“You’re sicker than I am,” he pointed out.
“He’s right, Khloé,” said Jolene. “You should go first.”
“Fine.” Khloé rolled back her shoulders and crossed to Eric. Keenan stood behind her like a sentry, so damn tense that his muscles probably hurt. And she knew he’d pounce on the angel in a flash if the guy made a wrong move. Eric saw that easily enough, because he cast Keenan a nervous glance.
“What do I need to do?” she asked the angel.
Eric held up his hand. “Just place your palm flat against mine.”
Wary of feeling a perfect stranger’s power course through her, she hesitated. But this had to be done, didn’t it? Khloé followed his directive and waited. Her breath caught when his entire palm glowed. A gentle wind drifted through her, warm and comforting. She felt flares of heat here and there, felt—
Her body pitched forward as the wind disappeared in a rush, as if sucked out of her by a hoover or something. The only reason she didn’t fall was that Keenan caught her by her waist. Her demon rushed close to the surface, bracing itself to attack.
“What the fuck just happened?” the incubus demanded, a growl rumbling in his chest.
Eric looked at his palm, his lips parted. “I-I don’t know. My power … it was as if your system regurgitated it,” he told Khloé.
Jolene stepped toward him. “Try again.” It was an order.
The angel obeyed, and the same damn thing happened.
Stiff, Jolene turned to the incantor. “Vivian, check her.”
Vivian weaved a pattern in the air with her hands, staring at Khloé’s body. She bit her lip. “She’s still infected, Jolene. It doesn’t look as if his power did anything to help her.”
Khloé felt the blood leave her face, along with every ounce of hope that had sat in her belly.
Keenan spat a vicious curse. “Why isn’t it working?”
Eric lifted his shoulders. “I have no idea. Perhaps the infection has had too much time to set into her cells—do not forget, it is the essence of death; it will not react like a normal virus of any sort.”
“Try to heal Ciaran,” Khloé told him, her chest tight. “He hasn’t had the infection long.”
“If it didn’t work for you, it’s not going to work for me,” said Ciaran.
“It might.” Jolene motioned him toward the angel. “Let Eric try.”
Ciaran’s lips thinned. “But—”
“I understand that you’ll feel guilty if he’s able to heal you when he wasn’t able to heal Khloé,” began Jolene, “but that’s not a reason to refuse help. Plus, we have to know if this infection can in fact be beaten. If he’s able to heal you, we know Khloé has a chance; that we just need to find someone strong enough to help her.”
Ciaran exhaled heavily. “All right. But the same thing’s going to happen to me that just happened to her.”
It didn’t happen, though. Eric’s power effortlessly flowed through Ciaran. When both males lowered their arms, Jolene quickly asked, “How do you feel?”
Ciaran’s brow knitted. “The fatigue and discomfort have gone.”
“Vivian, tell me what you see,” Jolene told her, waving her toward him.
The incantor checked him, and her face relaxed. “He’s fully healed.”
Relief surged through Khloé so fast, she was surprised her knees didn’t buckle.
Ciaran’s eyes fell shut. But he didn’t look relieved. He looked pained. “So, what, we need a more powerful angel to heal Khloé?”
“An archangel could heal her, of course,” said Eric. “But they do not come to Earth. They never leave heaven. Ever. Not for anything.”
