Chapter 6
SIX
EMMA
The first week after Maurice’s death was nothing short of chaos.
Maria spiraled into a manic state, and sealed Cyclos off beneath a bubble for days. No one could translate—not even to get basic things like food or water—without risking death. It took James over forty-eight hours to coax her back from the brink of madness.
When Nino finally returned from Crown, she resumed our lessons at the Academy, mercifully putting an end to AJ’s little power trip.
I hadn’t told anyone about my newfound ability to heal myself. But I’d been testing it—patching up smaller wounds whenever I could. That is, until Maria’s bubble cut off all translation, and left the whole Collective powerless.
While James was helping the whole of Cyclos dealing with their new loss, the questions in my mind were piling up, and I had no idea how to get answers without raising suspicion about my “talent.”
One late afternoon, I sat alone in my room—again—replaying every moment since I left the Human World, and I realized there was one person who might have some intel for me.
Someone who had healed me more than once.
Justine.
It took effort—and no small amount of courage—knowing she wasn’t my biggest fan. But curiosity won out, and I found myself making my way to the Healer’s wing of the Academy.
The hallways were quiet, save for the faint rustle of movement. Glimpses of Healers passed in and out of view, their footsteps whispering against the floor. My pulse quickened as I neared one of the 'labs' and caught sight of Justine through the open door.
She was at the far end of the room, hunched over a table of vials, her long, blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail. The room was dim, bathed in the pale lemon glow of her haze. I knocked gently on the doorframe, careful not to startle her.
Justine looked up, her demeanor hardening the moment she saw me. “What do you want?” she asked, her voice laced with indifference. Her gaze flicked over me, as if searching for some sign of injury, probably hoping I had a legitimate and impersonal reason to be there.
“Not hurt this time,” I said with a small, uneasy smile. “I thought it was about time I thanked you—for everything. You have saved my life more than once.”
Her hands stilled over the vials, hesitation flickering in her eyes for a split second before she turned back to her task. “I was only doing my job,” she said, her tone clipped.
Coming in here, I knew she had a problem with me—her feelings for James probably hadn’t disappeared when I’d showed up, and I figured it didn’t make me her favorite person. But I couldn’t get sidetracked by it. I needed some truth.
I stepped closer, clearing my throat. “I was thinking…maybe we could get a drink? Just the two of us. As a thank you. I owe you that much.”
Justine paused, her head cocked sideways as she studied me. For a moment, doubt or suspicion flickered across her face before she forced a tight smile. “You want to take me out for a drink?”
“Well, not out, I was thinking we could raid my liquor cabinet,” I said, doing my best to sound confident. “It’s the least I can do for saving my ass.”
Her eyes lingered on me, as though she were trying to figure out my angle. But after a moment, she shrugged. “Fine. But don’t expect us to start a fucking podcast together.”
I smiled broadly, pleasantly surprised this maga knew what a podcast was. “Deal.”
As we left the Healer’s wing, Justine’s walls were firmly in place, and I knew breaking through them wasn’t going to be easy. The silence between us stretched as we walked to my dorm, growing more uncomfortable with each passing minute.
When we arrived, I offered her the only thing I had left in stock—my personal stash of Scotch, which she luckily accepted. I poured two glasses and found myself to be rather nervous sitting down with her in my small, sparsely furnished space.
The woman intimidated me more than I wanted to admit.
“I thought you wanted to thank me?” Justine broke the silence, her voice tinged with sarcasm.
“I did! I do. You’ve healed me more than once, and I thank you,” I blurted out hastily, when I realized I hadn’t actually said the words.
She rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. “You could’ve done this back at the lab. No need to drag me all the way out here.”
“Well… I wanted to talk to you about something else,” I admitted, while trying to maintain some composure.
She tilted her head. “Yeah, I figured. So, what’s on your mind?”
I hesitated for a moment, then dove in. “When I imploded from the Amplifier… you saved my life. At least, it’s what I’ve heard, because I don’t remember. How did you do it?”
She frowned, her expression guarded. “You want to know how I healed you?”
I nodded.
“Why?” she asked, her brows narrowing slightly, as if she could sense there was more to my question.
I shrugged, then lied through my teeth. “I don’t understand how I survived the Amplifier.” It wasn’t entirely a lie—I truly didn’t know how I had survived.
Her features softened, only a bit. “To be honest, I don’t understand it either. James brought you to me, still breathing, which should’ve been impossible. Once you translated with the Amplifier turned on, your emotions should’ve been so out of control you’d have imploded right then and there.”
“But I didn’t,” I pressed.
“No, you didn’t,” she said, her brow furrowing in confusion. “And I still don’t have the faintest idea why.”
I mulled it over before asking, “Can you explain to me what an Amplifier does?”
Justine took a sip of her drink before answering. “Sure. The energy we have, the energy we’re born with, surrounds our amygdala. You know what that is, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s a part of the brain.”
“Right. It’s where our emotions are processed. Basically, the amygdala links information from different senses and connects it to emotions. You see something, you feel something—that’s what it does. Our energy surrounds it and reacts to it.”
“Okay…”
“Our bodies need to learn to control the energy. If we don’t, it weakens us, to the point where it consumes us entirely.
Which is what we call consummation. I had treated you for consummation twice already, so when James brought you to me, I knew your body was in a weakened state even before the attack. ”
“So, what does the Amplifier do?” I asked, leaning in slightly.
“When it’s activated, it heightens the functions of the amygdala, making your translation so powerful your body can’t contain it. The energy erupts, and you implode, usually taking anyone nearby with you.”
“But I didn’t.”
Justine looked at me, again. “No, you didn’t.”
I leaned in closer. “So, what did you do?”
She hesitated, clearly rethinking the events. “I wanted to preserve your body, so I—"
“Wait,” I interrupted, confused. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, you were still breathing. Which was a good sign, so I had to keep you alive. I put your body in a magically induced coma—a suspended state, so to speak.”
I blinked. “How did you know how to do it? Had you ever done it before?”
Her eyes flashed with irritation. “Is that what this is about? My inexperience? Me not being a fully certified Healer yet?”
“No!” I said quickly, my face wide with conviction. “No, I simply don’t understand how you knew what to do.”
Justine stared me down, with a wary look on her face.
“Healing is a little different from other forms of translation. With regular translation, you cannot influence the body. Non-Healers can age at will, and Offensives can translate away their Skindo tattoo once earned, but that’s it.
Any other translation can never be physically used. Healing is the exception.”
She took a breath. “However, like any other translation, healing is also about knowledge. The more you understand, the more you know, the better you heal. I know the magi-body, I know anatomy, and I know how energy flows through us. So, I figured keeping you in this fragile, barely-alive state was our best shot while we tried to figure out what had happened to you. Physically speaking, at least.”
“But I woke up,” I said, pressing further. “So, you figured it out?”
She hesitated again, a rare vulnerability flickering across her face. “I have no idea why you regained consciousness.”
I stared at her, stunned. “What do you mean?”
Justine frowned, clearly frustrated. “I’ve gone over it a million times in my head, Emma.
You were in a coma for three weeks. James and Julian stayed by your side every single day.
Then, one day, they were both gone. I found drops of blood by your bedside, so I assumed they’d finally come to blows and were off somewhere fighting. ”
My jaw dropped. “James and Julian fought each other?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. It looked that way, but I never asked.”
“So, what happened after?”
“I stayed with you. Nothing changed. You were still breathing but not moving an inch. When they came back, they asked for the room. I didn’t return until the next morning. When I did, Julian was gone, and you awakened. You know the rest.”
I sat there, speechless. All this time, I thought Justine had saved me, had nursed me back to health, but she was as clueless as I was. And why hadn’t James told me any of this?
“So, James woke me up?” I asked, trembling.
She snorted. “James? I don’t think he could even find the amygdala, let alone heal it. But the other guy…”
“Julian,” I whispered.
She nodded. “The Elder has immense power. No one knows how far it reaches, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s a Healer. He’s an Offensive and a Specialist. Why stop there? Why not a Healer too?”
I mulled it over. “So, you think Julian healed me? But then why would he leave?”
Justine threw up her hands. “Hell if I know. Ask your boyfriend.”
I clenched my jaw. Oh, I was definitely going to ask him.