Page 15 of Sweet Giant

Disbelief filled her eyes, and she swallowed hard. She appeared shaken, as if she found the information I’d just shared with her terrifying. But I couldn’t fathom how healing energies could be fear-provoking. To my surprise, she slowly slid to the floor and tucked her knees up to her chest.

I longed to move closer to her, but I sensed she needed space right now, though I didn’t understand why. “Liv, is something wrong? You look distressed.”

“How many?” she blurted. “Exactly how many of your people can heal others by touch?”

“At present, there are six individuals in the Starblessed tribe who are considered touch healers. Five are female, and one is male. It’s an ability that is more often seen among our females.”

“How do your people treat the touch healers? Are they exploited? I mean, are they driven to exhaustion being forced to heal injured people all day, day after day? Are they allowed any freedom?” She gulped hard and leaned closer, looking me directly in the eyes.

“Our touch healers are revered as highly as our elders, and they have just as much freedom as any other member of our tribe. They are never driven to exhaustion or forced to work—our tribe is small and even if we came under attack and there were lots of wounded, there are six healers to work at once.” Her question had taken me aback, and I tilted my head to the side as I became increasingly confused by the urgency that was radiating off her.

Before I could inquire why she’d asked about how healers were treated, she shot forward and placed her palm on my chest, touching one of the painful areas where I’d been shot. Not wanting to appear weak, I endeavored not to grimace. She closed her eyes and a look of concentration fell over her.

I stilled completely. I didn’t dare take a breath, fearing the slightest movement might scare her off.

While I couldn’t fathom why she was touching one of my wounds, I liked having her close, and I liked the feel of her hand upon my chest. Even if it pained me somewhat.

I would gladly take a hundred shots to the chest if only she would keep touching me like this.

All at once, the pain of my injuries faded, and when I glanced down at my chest, I stared in amazement at Liv’s glowing hands. The scorched areas on my chest, as well as the wound on my arm, started to mend before my eyes. Once I was completely healed, her hands ceased glowing.

Stunned to the depths of my being, I waited for Liv to open her eyes. When she finally did, my heart swelled with affection for her.

“You healed me. Bytouch.” I inspected the places I’d been shot but saw no hint of injury. Even my fur had grown back. “How? I’ve never heard of a human possessing the same healing energies as Montikaans. And to think… you have one of the rarest manifestations.” I suddenly found myself second guessing everything I knew about humans.

“I’ve never heard of a human possessing touch healing powers either,” she said with a brief smile as she retracted her hand from my chest. “But I’m not a full-blooded human. Surprise.”

Chapter12

LIV

Sure,I’d vowed to never reveal my healing abilities to anyone ever again… but what did it matter if Mastorr knew? His Montikaan tribe hadsixhealers among them, and his people treated them well. They weren’t overworked. They weren’t exploited. They weren’t imprisoned.

So, I’d decided to heal Mastorr.

His injuries had been bothering me all day. Each time he’d touched the scorched areas on his body and winced in pain, I’d felt terribly guilty for not helping him when it was within my power to do so.

Given the way his people treated their touch healers, I didn’t think revealing my big secret to him would put me at risk.

However, revealing my big secrethadshocked him. A full minute had passed since I’d finished healing him, and his eyes remained wide with shock, and his lips were also parted in surprise. Was he more astounded that I had the ability to heal others, or by the fact that I wasn’t a full-blooded human?

“Where are you from?” he asked. “Are you… from the stars? I-I know there are lands in the stars where beings that aren’t human live. One of my brothers’ mates has a friend who lives in the stars, and she is mated to a non-human.”

Now it was my turn to be shocked. I’d assumed Mastorr wouldn’t know what an alien was, assumed he wouldn’t understand the concept of distant worlds. Wow. Well, at least explaining myself wouldn’t be as difficult as I’d thought.

I exhaled a long breath. “I was born on an outpost in the stars, though my parents died when I was just six months old. So, I have no memory of my parents, and I was taken back to Earth and given to my maternal grandmother to raise.”

“Your father was an alien, then?” Excitement sparked in his gaze, and I flushed under his attention. “What kind of alien? The only alien I’ve personally encountered is a Feshhallian, though I do not think you are half-Feshhallian.”

I felt my eyes widen. “A Feshhallian? Those creatures are deadly, and they were banished from Earth a while ago… on account of their propensity for starting fires and eating humans. I’m stunned that you ran into one and survived.”

“Well, it wasn’t easy, but I will tell you about the encounter at a later time,” he said. “Right now, I would like to learn more about you, sweet one.” He smiled and gave me an encouraging nod. “Please, tell me more about yourself and what kind of alien fathered you.”

“Well, my father was a Vaxxlian. You see, not long after my twentieth birthday, I accidentally healed an injured puppy that I was holding. After experimenting and healing more injured animals, I finally went to see a doctor, and a blood test showed that my father was a Vaxxlian. I was surprised, of course, because Vaxxlians didn’t make official contact with Earth until about eight years ago, but I guess a rogue alien traveler somehow met my mother.”

“That is extraordinary,” he said in a voice filled with awe. “Youare extraordinary, Liv. Thank you again for healing me. I have been shot before, but never by the type of weapon the evil man used today.”

His gentle praise caused me to flush. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help you. I-I wanted to heal you sooner, but I feared that if I revealed my abilities to you, I might be putting myself in danger.”

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