Page 38 of Her Magic Light

Dr. Anderson hissed and looked ready to launch away from me again.

“Meira,” Coop warned.

I’d seen enough, so I dropped my shades back into place. Even Dr. Anderson’s computer was nothing like the box Mona had been typing on in the waiting room where Sylvia had asked me the idiotic questions. The one in this office was narrow-screened and more like a piece of modern art than a piece of technology.

There was carpet in here too. I should have noticed right away, but now I was paying attention, my feet sank into the deep pile, and noises were muted by that and the other soft furnishings.

But all of the apparent luxury was at odds with the examination table, the obvious blood pressure monitor, and other medical equipment. A box of latex gloves sat on a side table, and there was a cupboard on the wall with glass doors that revealed tongue depressors and cotton swabs.

An eye chart hung near the examination table, and there was a stethoscope and white coat on a hook near the door.

“Meira?”

I swung my attention back to Dr. Anderson. Hopefully, I hadn’t missed too much of whatever he’d been talking about, but his lips flattened into a thin line. Possibly—probably—I’d just missed more than I thought.

“Yes?” I bit out the word, but I didn’t need to be reasonable about anything. I was here against my will. They hadn’t explained themselves to me at all. Some stupid shit about being a rainbow mage and wielding magic. They were crazy.

He was unfazed by my curt tone, and he smiled genially, but it was fake. His eyes didn’t change. They remained cold and something calculating entered them as he watched me, like he was already assessing me. Why hadn’t I noticed his eyes were cold when I’d first come in? There was something snake-like about him. A waiting watchfulness that looked like it could change in one rapid lunge forward.

“I said I think we should start as we mean to go on and establish some baseline tests today. Check your baseline health.” He stood and strolled to his white coat before taking it off the wall hook and shrugging into it.

There, now he was the professional doctor ready for work. I pursed my lips to keep my amusement from showing. Professional scientific doctor who believed inmagic.

“Usually, I’d get an MRI scan, do some bloods, but I think we can save that for another day? I mean, it’s not like you’re going anywhere. We can take our time. Have some fun.” He winked, and disgust crawled through me.Fun?

“Actually.” I wiped my hands against the bottom of my T-shirt—the one I’d worn since I arrived. “I don’t think I want any part of this. I’d like a shower and to go home, actually.” I arched an eyebrow before remembering he couldn’t see that. “I refuse your tests.”

He laughed. “But why? I mean, why not?” He dropped his voice lower. “You’re here, I’m here. Seems like the perfect time to get to know each other a little better.”

I shivered at his strange seduction-style bedside manner. “No, I don’t think so.”

“And like I said. There won’t be anything invasive… this time.”

When I shuddered again, he smiled. Maybe he found my discomfort pleasurable.

I shook my head. “I really don’t think so.” When I spoke, it sounded hollow. “Look, I’m only here because I was arrested, right? I’m not who you think I am. It’s mistaken identity.” At his blank look, I probed further. “Was I even arrested? Is any of this legal? Or am I some sort of detainee in a secret government facility?”

He didn’t answer, but a muscle beneath his right eye twitched. This was the brightest room I’d been in so far, and even with the sunglasses on, I had better sight than I’d enjoyed up until now.

“So what was my crime?” I pushed a little. Even if he didn’t give me an actual reply, he seemed easier to read than either Coop or Locke. “Tell me my crime.”

But he sighed as he crossed the room and opened the cupboard on the wall, rattling his pot of tongue depressors as he selected a paper-wrapped one. Then he opened a small metal drawer in a table nearby and removed some vials. “Maybe blood tests today after all.”

I gritted my teeth. “What was my crime?” I repeated. “Why have I been detained against my will?”

He shrugged, the movement both expansive and evasive. “I’ve explained your status here as a guest, I believe.”

“Not really.” My words were tight. “Not to my satisfaction, anyway.” I opened my mouth to ask another question, but the doctor narrowed his eyes once more and glanced at Coop.

I turned my gaze to Coop, too, and he shook his head, the movement almost imperceptible, but I was so used to seeing the man as still as a statue it was like he’d telegraphed his desire that I not continue this line of questioning right now.

I frowned. Why would I care what Coop thought anyway? Of all the people I’d met, I trusted Coop most. So I snapped my mouth shut anyway.

Dr. Anderson nodded like my silence satisfied him. “Good,” he murmured. “Maybe we can all get on the same page after all.” Then he nodded again. “I’ll tell you what. How about a show of goodwill? I’ll give you something you want so you know you can trust me. How does that sound?”

I didn’t say anything at all.

“Although.” He cocked his head consideringly. “A deal has two sides. So if I give you something you want today, next time, it’s my turn and you give me the things I want in return.”

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