Page 53 of Rhuyin

“What the hell was the kid doing there?”

I shrugged. Naya hadn’t given us any clues, but her drug-addled words made a pit open in my stomach. I truly hoped this sassy kid had nothing to do with the explosion.

As I held Luke, his magic seemed to move fuzzily over me and I found myself absentmindedly stroking his arm.

Winnie adjusted something on Naya’s IV then looked at where I was touching Luke.

“Are you guys new?”

“New?”

“Newly Bonded.”

“Oh, um, no, we’re not Bonded,” I said abashedly.

She shook her head at me skeptically, as if waiting for a punchline.

“What? Of course you are,” she said in disbelief, her gaze jumping to Naya.

“Seriously. We just met.”

She shrugged.

“If you say so. You better Bond that boy pretty damn quick, then. You’re feeding him energy even while you sit there. I can feel the magic sizzling between you two!”

I was taken aback because I hadn’t realized that was what I was doing. Somas were known to develop healing abilities of varying degrees, but it hadn’t been my best subject. I’d done well enough with the theory, but there was no way to practice until you actually found your Mageia.

Our arrival at the infirmary stopped any more discussion.

Naya was taken away to a curtained room, the doctors muttering about surgery. I had done all I could for her, so I decided it would be best if I stayed with the unconscious Mageia.

The harsh light of the infirmary shone on Luke’s face. His hair was long, longer than mine had ever been. His honey brown hair was shot through with streaks of copper and gold. I noticed he had a scar over one eyebrow and several on his arms. With Soma healing, we rarely scarred, so it seemed strange to see someone with skin marked like his. I found myself absently stroking a scar on his hand. It was small and shaped like an eight-pointed star and I wondered what had made it. A blade? It felt too thick to be from a knife. Could it be a burn?

Doctors and nurses came and went as Luke slept on, constantly reassuring me about his condition. My eyes closed, just for a minute. I wasn’t sleeping, really, just resting my eyes. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but suddenly I felt someone gently shake my arm.

I woke, my hand still gripping Luke’s, and stared into Dagan’s face, strain and worry etched across it.

What the hell happened?Dagan signed.Where were you? I’ve been going crazy trying to find you!

It’s a long story,I began signing one handed.

“Well, you can start with why the hell you weren’t participating in the Touchpoint line and who the fuck he is,”he signed angrily, gesturing at our joined hands.

Shit. I had forgotten about the Touchpoint.

“They disqualified me,” I finally admitted.

Dag’s eyes narrowed, and I saw him begin to marshal his arguments.

“Dag,” I said, holding up my hand as he started to sign frantically. “Wematched.”

He stopped in shock, his hands mid-word as I gestured at Luke.

“That’s great!” he said, rushing over to wrap his arms around me then sat in the chair next to me.

“There’s no guarantee. He matched with other people, too, but something happened. When we touched…”

My voice trailed off.