Page 70 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"Can I see the knife?"

"Later."

Through the open door, Sullha could see the waiting room filling up.

She heard women's voices, some in the island tongue and others in English. She heard Anita laugh and Petrov say that a celebration needed champagne, or even better, vodka.

Then a hush fell over the gathering, and she knew Kian had arrived.

It was Sunday, so he wasn't wearing a suit, only slacks and a button-down shirt. Syssi wore a simple summer dress and was smiling.

"Congratulations," Kian said. "I would say welcome to immortality, but that is Julian's line, and he won't appreciate my stealing it."

"You are right about that." Julian removed the cloth from his tray.

"Thank you for coming," Sullha said. "I'm honored."

"The honor is ours." Syssi came around the bed and kissed her cheek. "You are the first among the enclosure ladies. That's not a small thing."

Kian moved to stand against the wall by the door, out of the way, and Syssi went to stand beside him.

"Here's how this goes," Julian said. "I make a shallow cut on the palm of your hand. It stings a bit, no more than a paper cut. Then we time how long it takes for the wound to disappear completely. Faster generally indicates a closer connection to the godly source, but it's not an exact science, and it's not a competition, even if some treat it as one."

"It is a little bit of a competition," Merlin said.

"It is not a competition." Julian held out a small black device. "Who wants the stopwatch?"

"I have already claimed it." Merlin took it.

"And who's filming?"

"I am," Tula said from the doorway.

She had to turn sideways to fit through, one hand under her belly, the other holding her phone. Kian moved aside to give her more room. She was enormous.

"Ready?" Julian asked.

Sullha held out her left hand, palm up.

Yaaf took her right.

The blade touched her, and it hurt less than a thorn. A bright, thin line, a bead of red, and Julian pressed the gauze to it once, then lifted it away.

"Time," he said.

Merlin clicked the stopwatch.

She looked at the cut, small and ordinary, but then the ends of the line began to move, and there was nothing ordinary about that.

The red line turned pale and grew shorter, then shorter yet, and then it disappeared, and her palm looked as smooth as it had been before Julian had made the cut.

"Forty-eight seconds," Merlin announced.

"That's very fast," Julian said. "That's a very good time, Sullha. Faster than most."

"I told you," Merlin said. "I knew it."

Leehy came around the bed, took Sullha's hand from Julian's, held it in both of hers, and stared at the smooth, unmarked skin for a long moment.