Page 77 of City of Love

He listened to the chanting, felt the healers moving around the bed, felt the tug of the other world. And then he felt… something shift.

The activity on the bed stilled, and the tug ‘o war rope went slack. Her world was no longer fighting him.

He risked opening his eyes. She was still. She was breathing. Was she… okay? Was it over? He glanced at Roberto with the question in his eyes.

“We’re close,” Roberto said. “We’re almost there. Her body has accepted our vibrations as its own. She’s made the conversion.”

Gideon let out a huge release of air, his shoulders relaxing into place for the first time in hours.

“But we’re not out of the woods yet. Her heart rate is uneven, irregular, and I can’t seem to steady it by any of the tools at my disposal.”

No! What does this mean?

To come so close and lose her now? Because of this? No!

“Gideon,” Roberto was saying. “Don’t panic yet, we’re almost there. I think you can help her.”

“How?”

“Use your telepathy, the connection you share with her.”

“But she’s not awake. She’s not conscious.”

“It doesn’t matter. You can still connect with her mind on a deep subconscious level. Connect with her body there. Find her heartbeat. Bring it into synchronicity with your own. Her heart to your heart. Try, Gideon.”

It seemed so unlikely, made no sense, had to be too simple. But then, wasn’t Lexi always the one saying the same things to him when he taught her to use her abilities?

He opened his mind and searched for hers. It was quiet, but open to him. He sensed her deep sleep, her unconsciousness. But listening, he discovered too the hum and flow of her body, the residuals of intense pain, the fatigue and weakness, the familiar vibration of his home world.

And there—the beating of her heart. Roberto was correct. It was jerky, unstable. Trying to find its rhythm, its step, but it had lost its way. His own heartbeat was strong and steady, and he held the two sounds in his mind, letting his own pulse take the lead, pulling hers along. He could sense her heart trying to catch his, match his, marry its pace.

It ran with him for a minute and then lost the rhythm, then ran with his again and… held it. The two hearts literally, gloriously, beating as one.

He opened his eyes and found he’d been holding her hand.

And Roberto was smiling.

She opened her eyes, sought out his face, and smiled. And in that moment, Gideon felt a weightlessness, a joy, a complete lack of burden.

He took her hand, turned it palm up, and kissed the center of it. “Happy New Year, sweetheart. You’re home now.”

Lexi tried to sit up in the bed, but Roberto gently placed his hands on her shoulders, encouraging her to lie back down. “You need to rest,” he said. “I know I don’t have to tell you your body has been through a horrendous ordeal tonight.”

He mixed a tea with several different powders and placed it on the bedside table.

“When you’re ready, after we’ve all cleared out of here,” he said, “go ahead and sit up and drink this down.”

“What’s in it?” Gideon asked.

“It’s a combination of things, a sedative to help her sleep, a painkiller, and a general tonic to strengthen her body’s systems. In a few days, she’ll feel good as gold.”

“Thank you, my friend,” Gideon said. “Do we need to worry about anything else?”

“No,” he said. “She’ll be fine now. Once the transition is complete, it’s complete. There’s never been any aftereffects that I know of, and her body is stable.”

The storm died down to a soft trickling of rain pattering on the windows.

“My only suggestion is that she get plenty of rest and relaxation for the next week or so. She’ll be a little fatigued for a while. Just take some time off and enjoy each other’s company.”

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