Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,88

don’t wanna. I wanna play with you.” A small frown grew on her face, and my chest clenched as I wondered if this was what my niece was like—playful, silly, and sweet. From what I’d been able to ascertain, she didn’t have the hybrid characteristics these children did, so she wouldn’t bear the cute horns or the shimmering scales that some of the children carried. But that pout they all threw on when they wanted something? I had a feeling she would be the princess of that look. My sister had been… I shook the thought away, trying to focus on the project in front of me.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” I apologized as kindly as I could. “Molly was around here earlier. You could see if she wants to play?” Sia grumbled, kicking at the ground. “Or you could ask the others to play a different game. Candyland, maybe?” I wheedled. The little girl loved Candyland and was surprisingly good at it. I’d lost a number of times to her and very few of them had been on purpose.

“Okay.” Her wings drooped as she turned away.

“I’ll play with you soon, okay?”

She nodded, though she didn’t look my way. I wondered if I’d be able to have these kinds of talks with my niece. Would she hate me for not saving her mother? Would she have any idea who I was? Would she—I cut myself off with a sigh. Focus. I needed to focus. I grabbed the mug from my desk, downing the cold coffee in a handful of swallows as I grimaced. Why was there such a difference between coffee that had gone cold and coffee you made cold? I loved my bottled coffee beverages or even an iced mocha, not that I was able to get one of those around here, but coffee that had become cold was like drinking dirt.

“How’s it looking?” Angela ducked through the door of my little office, wiping her hands on a towel. Knowing Angela, she’d probably been busy cleaning something. My mates accused me of being hyperactive, but I swore that woman was always moving.

“It’s fine,” I murmured. “I wish I’d been able to do more training before all of this,” I admitted when she just arched a brow at me. She had the mom look down and I, for one, wasn’t strong enough to avoid it.

“We all wish for things,” she reminded me gently. “Your healing powers are invaluable here. Your medical knowledge, as limited as it is, is still a skill. Have you found anything so far?” I knew she was referring to the shifters who were rotating through our available beds.

“I’m wondering if it’s stress,” I told her, leaning back in my chair with a sigh. This was more of Theo’s territory. He would have been an incredible healer with his ability to think everything through, to see what others couldn’t. “I can’t see anything wrong with their bodies when I heal them,” I explained, thinking of the young Kitsune who had come into the clinic today. She’d been vomiting and had a splitting headache. While my powers were able to seek out and soothe the symptoms she was experiencing, I was unable to find a cause. It had been that way for two weeks now, with at least one person coming in sick every few days.

“It’s not a poison?” she inquired, chewing her lip as she thought.

I shook my head emphatically. “No. Definitely not. I’ve seen what poisons do to a body. My magic can find it, trace it. This, there doesn’t seem to be anything there when I get to them. Just their pain. Even a weak poison wouldn’t be out of their systems that fast.”

“An allergen maybe?” I knew she was racking her brain, relying on her own years spent as a nurse to the Council to see what she could come up with.

“Unlikely. None of the same foods have been served, and the issue isn’t causing congestion or skin complaints. Headaches are the common factor, with more severe symptoms appearing from there. I wondered if it was CO2, or some other chemical, but I’ve experimented a little and I’m still able to read traces of it.” And the stupid test had left me nauseated and dizzy myself. Next time, I was going to make Theo be my practice dummy. At least it had led to a night of pampering by Nix and Hiro as they rubbed my back, brushed my hair, and… Color infused my cheeks as