I nodded, still unable to form a word.
She reached across the tub, her arm sliding against my thigh, and turned off the shower. After handing me a towel and having me dry off, she sat me on top of the tub. There, she touched the bullet wound in my shoulder. A gentle heat emanated from her palm, warming my skin. I glanced down and saw a dark-yellow glow. After a few seconds, she removed her hand, and the wound was scabbed over. I touched it. A lingering pain registered—but soft and gentle, as if the injury had been healing for a week.
“What if the bullet’s still in there?” I asked, managing to spit out a sentence.
She sniffed. “The magic dissolves any foreign substances, poisons, or infections. The bullet, like most hardened material, melted beneath my gentle touch.”
I coughed to ward against crying, giggling, and jolting out of the bathroom. How was I supposed to respond to this entire situation? Was she given me some pretty solid and clear signs, or was she just teasing me? I honestly couldn’t tell.
She repeated the process with the second bullet wound, with the slices across my hand and wrist, my battered ribs, my busted wrist, and finally, the gash across my forehead. When she finished, my body tingled with warmth. Her hands trembled, and she wavered on her feet, obviously exhausted from her spent effort.
“I can’t do anything about your torso—where Medea injured you. My power doesn’t extend to magic-based injuries.”
Without thinking, I touched her cheek. Her skin was cold despite the warmth she’d covered me in. “Thank you,” I said. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “The healing transfers my energy into your wounds, speeding the healing process. That’s why they’re only scabbed and not scarred over yet. I didn’t want to risk going unconscious.”
“You did more than enough,” I said, brushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear.
Dakota licked her lips. “You need to rest and continue to heal. You fractured your wrist on that wall. I was able to restore some of the injury, but your grip will still be weak. Also, I couldn’t heal the toll your expended power took on you. To recover that energy, you have to rest, Joey.”
“In the car earlier—I didn’t just kiss you because I thought I would die,” I said, cringing at the way it came out.
She smirked, shaking her head. Leaning forward, her lips a half-inch from mine, she whispered, “Not until you take me on a date… and pay for it.” Pushing away from me, she walked backwards, grinning. “And if it’s Mexican, like you mentioned, I drink a lot of margaritas.” She shut the bathroom door, leaving me alone again.
I placed my hand over my heart and sighed. Funny how life works out. A guy like me, after seven years of self-destruction, only gets a date during the fucking Apocalypse.
Joseph Hunter will return in Shadow Magic
Shadow magic
Joseph Hunter Book 3 Preview Chapter
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank you, the reader for the time you spent in my twisted, dark world. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
Second, I would like to thank my wife, Madison. Without her confidence and support, I would be a burnt-out English teacher in some under-funded classroom. But she allows me to live my dream.
