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For a split second, I chastised myself for not having set up individual rooms to grant them privacy. But as I had known that the healing only required the Veredian to touch the patient’s skin anywhere, not necessarily where the wound was located, I had not expected any of them would need to expose themselves.
Just as I was approaching to offer for them to use one of the guest rooms instead, Thesala gestured to one of the armored Veredians to come over.
“Your wounds are extensive,” Thesala told Jaek in a gentle voice. “Fully healing them cold will cause you a great deal of pain. My sister Willow can numb your sensations so you won’t feel any discomfort. Is that all right with you?”
“Fully?” Jaek asked in a choked voice. “You can fully heal me?”
“Yes. I will completely mend you, fix your limp, and restore your eyesight. There will be no physical scars left.”
Jaek blinked rapidly. I did the same to hold back the tears also pricking my eyes.
“Yes. It’s all right with me. Do whatever you deem appropriate,” Jaek said.
I had assumed the armored Veredians had come as bodyguards for the healers. While that could still be true, I could now see that they possessed complementary powers to assist the healers in their tasks.
As soon as Willow placed her palm on his shoulder, Jaek took on a groggy expression, like someone mildly sedated who was fighting to remain conscious. His good eye flicked towards me. I’d stopped my approach a couple of meters away. He weakly lifted his hand in my direction. Without hesitation, I walked over to him and took his hand as Thesala placed her palm on his solar plexus.
Where her sisters had healed most of the other patients in only a few minutes, it took Thesala over half an hour to fully mend Jaek. But I didn’t even notice. I was too enthralled by the process. Seeing the puckered scars on his body resorb and fade felt like watching a timelapse in reverse. His eye shut by scar tissue slowly took back its former shape, eyelashes and eyebrow growing at an accelerated pace.
When Thesala lifted her hand, imitated seconds later by Willow, I held my breath. Halfway through, Jaek had closed his eyes. If not for him occasionally squeezing my hand, I would have believed he’d fallen asleep. His eyelids fluttered, and he turned his gaze towards me with both his perfectly formed eyes.
My vision blurred as a powerful emotion settled on his now flawless features.
“I see you,” Jaek said in a shaky voice. “Don’t cry, Dawn.”
“They’re happy tears,” I said, feeling silly as I sniffled.
He made to sit up on the hover stretcher but almost fell back down.
“Careful!” Thesala warned, supporting his back with one hand. “I had to use a lot of your energy reserves to mend you. You will need to eat and rest a lot over the next couple of days.”
“We’ll make sure of it,” I said firmly. “Thank you. What you have done is a miracle.”
“Yes, thank you. I have no words. I can never repay you for giving me my life back,” Jaek said, his voice full of emotion and gratitude.
“There is nothing to repay,” Thesala said warmly. “There is no greater gift for a healer than to see a patient restored to health.”
After sheepishly wiping the tears off my face, I helped Jaek off the hover stretcher and led him to one of the seats in the room. Only then did I notice everyone else present caught in animated discussions, happiness on their faces as they showed flawless skin to each other… or rather the females.
While Jaek had allowed Thesala to remove every single scar on his body, many of the other males appeared to have only allowed the healers to heal aches and pains but not to remove the battle scars they took pride in.
“Let me get you some food,” I said to Jaek.
He smiled with gratitude. I hurried to the large tables where Melinda and I had laid out the catering. Although the others were also picking at the food, most of them seemed too amazed by their miraculous healing to focus on such trivial things as eating.
As I filled a plate for Jaek, my gaze roamed the room in search of Keran. He and his guards were nowhere to be seen. He had mentioned that he would meet with the Veredian Scholars to go over the evidence we had found so far.
I returned to Jaek, my heart filled with joy. When I first took over the shelter, I had hoped to accomplish something big that would significantly improve the lives of the hybrids. While I couldn’t take direct credit for any of this, I rejoiced that calling Keran for help had allowed this wondrous outcome.
“Thank you,” Jaek said, taking the plate from me.
I smiled and watched him eat, still flabbergasted by the transformation. “You look amazing,” I blurted out.
Jaek stopped eating to look at me, a million emotions flitting over his face, a glimmer of uncertainty and timidity sparkling in his eyes. I immediately kicked myself for my stupid mouth running away with me, even though I meant what I said.
“Amazing enough to finally have a chance with you?” he asked softly.
My cheeks burned, and I shifted in my seat. “Your appearance was never the issue,” I replied honestly. “It never bothered me.”
