The Healer's Hellion - Miranda Bridges Page 0,16
ones to rival it are fear and rage. I believe it is why you exhibited so much power despite your diluted bloodline. However, it still flows through you with great strength. I know many Dravians who do not possess the gift and even some that do who cannot repeat what you did on Earth.”
“If only I’d gotten there sooner,” I say, choking back a sob.
“The result would have been the same.”
My eyes fly open, and I spin in his arms, planting my hands on his chest. “How do you know?” I ask, my tone desperate, unhinged. “I could’ve saved them.”
He sighs and shakes his head slowly, his hands now resting on the small of my back. They don’t restrict me, which relieves me greatly, yet I somehow want him to hold me tight. “You would’ve witnessed their murder and been taken prisoner,” he says. “Your gift would not have been triggered by anything else, so no, you couldn’t have saved them.”
I fist handfuls of his uniform and squint up at him. “At least I would’ve tried, done something.”
“You have done something by avenging their deaths.” He slides his fingers up my arms, along my shoulders, and then holds my face. “And you are doing something now. Every moment you breathe, every second you live, honors their memory.” I bite my lip to keep it from trembling. He takes his thumb and runs it over my mouth in a gentle caress. “They would want you to survive and in time be happy once more.”
With a sob, I close my eyes, uselessly trying to hold back tears. As they fall down my cheeks, Braxton wipes them away. “It is okay to grieve them,” he says softly. He presses my head to rest against his chest and then secures one arm just above my hips while cupping the back of my head with the other. He weaves his fingers into my hair, his fingertips grazing my scalp with gentle pressure.
“I miss them so much,” I choke out. “I can’t believe they’re gone.”
“The pain you feel is the equal measure of how much you love them, Skylar. It is to be embraced and tended, not suppressed and denied.”
The emotional dam within me not only bursts but shatters at his words as my grief overruns me.
I don’t know how long I stand there crying, but eventually Braxton takes me in his arms and sits us on the bed. He leans back against the headboard, cradling me, gently stroking the length of my spine. He doesn’t speak, but he doesn’t have to. It seems as if he’s said everything he needed to say. And I’ve heard everything I needed to hear.
I wipe my face, still lying against him a long while later. It confounds me that not only am I comfortable in his hold, but I’m okay with it. If I’m being completely honest, I’m more than okay with it. I like it.
“Are you sure you’re not a philosopher disguised as a physician?” I ask.
There’s a smile in his voice when he answers, “I am quite sure.”
“Are all Dravians like you?”
He pulls back to look down at me. “In what way?”
Now that he’s staring at me, I’m finding it hard to concentrate and to not feel nervous. I swallow deep before answering, “Well, it’s just that you seem to be…nice.”
His brows rise. “Nice?”
“I don’t mean that in a bad way. What I’m trying to say is that you’ve been very pleasant to deal with.”
“Deal with?” This time, his mouth turns down into a frown.
I huff. “Never mind.”
We fall silent, and I’m surprised that I have no desire to move from his embrace. It’s warm, and the strength of his massive frame makes me feel safe. The concept is almost as foreign to me as Braxton is, and yet…
I sneak a peek at him through my lashes, running my gaze along his face. He stares straight ahead, the blue in his eyes glittering as though he’s thinking. There is not a look of malicious intent or underhandedness, just a simple expression of contentment.
“Are you like this with all your patients?” The words come tumbling from my mouth before I can stop them. Immediately I’m aware of how ridiculous I sound, and I cringe as he swings his gaze back to mine.
“Why do you ask?” he says.
Instead of answering my question like a normal person, he responds with an inquiry of his own, effectively evading and not giving me the information I want. And for some stupid reason,