Page 51 of Twist of Fate

Luke looked at Gomez. “It’s your decision.”

Gomez’s attention moved from Luke to the healer and then to the pixies hovering hopefully near the doorway.

“If I tell you to stop, you stop?”

The healer met his gaze. “Immediately.”

“And no one turns me into anything?”

“No.”

“Or adds anything?”

Her brow furrowed. “What would I add?”

“I don’t know. A tail. Wings. Extra toes. This is all very new.”

Cosmo covered a laugh with one hand.

The healer remained solemn. “You will possess the same number of limbs when I finish.”

“That is a weirdly specific promise, but I’ll take it.” Gomez reached for Luke’s hand. “What do you think?”

Luke closed his fingers around his. “I think she can help. But you don’t have to do this until you’re ready.”

Gomez drew a slow breath and looked at the healer again. “Okay. Let’s magic me.”

“That is not what we are doing.”

“Close enough.”

The healer glanced toward Luke.

He shook his head. “Don’t look at me. He gave you permission.”

The healer touched two fingers to the cast around Gomez’s left leg. The plaster cracked beneath them.

Luke tightened his hold on Gomez’s hand.

Instead of reaching for a saw, the healer traced the split with one fingertip. White dust spilled across the blanket before dissolving into the air. The padding beneath the plaster followed, peeling away without disturbing the leg.

Gomez stared. “Okay. That was both horrifying and extremely efficient.”

The healer repeated the process on his other leg.

Luke winced at the bruising and swelling revealed beneath the casts. Gomez had spent the past two weeks complaining about boredom, itching, and his inability to reach snacks without assistance. He had rarely mentioned the pain unless Luke caught him trying to hide it.

The healer passed her hands slowly over both legs. Pale light gathered beneath her palms, tracing two separate breaks.

“The bones were aligned properly,” she said. “The human healers served him well.”

“You sound surprised,” Gomez said.

“I am pleased.”

“That is not the same thing.”

Cosmo leaned closer. “You’ll learn that fae compliments require interpretation.”