Page 25 of Branded By Shadow
“It’s a recent development.” Cora’s eyes had gone slightly distant, her voice slightly mellow and slurred. “In the past couple of days. I think my body is just starting to recover from the stress.”
“Maybe.” Cassandra answered, though she didn’t sound very convinced. “How’s your appetite?”
“She’s eating well,” I answered before Cora could. “I’ve been tracking everything.”
Cora snapped out of her trance. Surprise and resignation warred in her expression before she looked away. Of course I’d been monitoring every detail. Sleep patterns, food intake, time spent in the conservatory versus the bedroom. She was mine to protect now, and I took that responsibility seriously.
Cassandra definitely didn’t seem to blame me for it. “Good. Keep doing that. The last thing you want right now is for Cora’s diet to suffer.”
“But this isn’t about my diet, is it?” Cora asked. “If it had been, you wouldn’t be so worried. It’s about the mark.”
It wasn’t a surprise that Cora had chosen to address the proverbial elephant in the room herself. Temporary marks usually remained fairly inconspicuous. Some could even fade within a week. Hers was doing the opposite. Practically overnight, it had darkened to near-black.
A part of me was pleased. This was a sign her body was accepting the bond, claiming her as mine in ways that went beyond my conscious intention. But her body was doing something it shouldn’t be able to without full claiming ritual, somethingIhadn’t told it to. That wasn’t right, either.
Between that and the strange way her suppressors had interacted with the bond, I didn’t like where this was headed.
“I’ve tried to figure this out too, Healer Reed,” Cora said. “But… It just makes no sense.”
She was afraid. I could see it in the way her breathing quickened slightly, the tension returning to her shoulders despite the healing fire’s effects.
“Your body might be trying to make the bond permanent.” Even throughout the clinical explanation, Cassandra kept her tone warm. “That shouldn’t happen without full claiming ritual, but we don’t have recent data on House Demeter and House Hades pairings. Your bloodlines are… potent.”
“Is she in danger?” The question came out rougher than I intended. My power flared, and shadows bled across the moss-covered ground.
“Not from the mark itself.” Cassandra withdrew her healing fire, but her calm presence never faltered. “But I want to check for internal complications from the heat.”
She reached into her medical bag and withdrew a crystal the size of her palm. It was perfectly clear, cut into facets that scattered the light in rainbow patterns. Much like Helena’s tools, it was House Hephaestus craftsmanship. This one was designed specifically for House Hestia healers to use in diagnosis.
“This will let me check on your reproductive system.” Cassandra held the crystal over Cora’s lower abdomen, about six inches from her skin. “It’s completely non-invasive. You’ll feel pressure but no pain.”
The crystal began to pulse with soft light. Colors shifted across its surface in patterns only Cassandra could interpret. She moved it slowly, methodically, her expression growing more focused with each passing moment.
After what seemed like forever, Cassandra lowered the crystal. The light faded, leaving only dim artificial illumination from the overhead fixtures.
Something was wrong. I could see it in the set of Cassandra’s shoulders, the way her jaw tightened.
“Well?” I couldn’t keep the protective edge from my words. “What did you find?”
Cassandra set the crystal aside carefully, choosing her words with the precision she used for difficult diagnoses. “The good news is that there’s no permanent damage. Dr. Ellis’s reproductive system recovered well from the heat stress.”
“And the bad news?” Cora asked.
She was bracing for impact. Always expecting the worst. I couldn’t blame her. In her position, I’d do the same.
“There are unusual energy patterns in your womb.” Cassandra met Cora’s gaze directly, not softening the truth. “Not dangerous, but not normal either. It could be residual from your power awakening, or...”
“Or what?” I stepped fully to the nest’s edge, unable to maintain distance any longer.
Tendrils of darkness traveled toward Cora like a living thing. They wanted to wrap around her, protect her from whatever threat Cassandra was about to name.
“Or evidence of external interference.” Cassandra’s gaze shifted to me, and I saw confirmation of my suspicions in her eyes. “Someone triggering the heat artificially would leave traces in the body’s energy systems.”
A void of fury cracked open inside me. Alexander. If he had forced her into heat, had violated her body’s natural cycles for his own purposes, I would tear him apart. Slowly. Pull him into the darkest corners of existence and keep him there until he begged for death.
“Can you tell which it is?” Cora pressed her hand against her lower abdomen, right where the crystal had hovered. “Whether it’s from my powers or from... someone else?”
“I need a few days to analyze the crystal’s data properly.” Cassandra’s healing fire shone brighter, wrapping both of us in renewed comfort that pushed back my murderous rage. “The patterns are complex, and I want to be certain before drawing a final conclusion.”
