case of Headless Horseman, V disengaged his palm and sagged. It would have been great to get the weight off his bum knee, but he just didn’t have the strength.
His last thought, before he passed out, was that he prayed his boys kicked this one fast. The mhis wasn’t going to linger if he wasn’t there to support it . . . and that meant they would be fighting in public on a big scale—
Lights. Out.
TWENTY-NINE
As Payne’s feet hung off the side of her bed, she flexed one and then the other over and over again, marveling at the miracle of thinking something and having her limbs follow the command.
“Here, put this on.”
Glancing up, she was momentarily distracted by the sight of her healer’s mouth. She couldn’t believe that they had . . . that he had . . . until she . . .
Yes, a robe would be good, she thought.
“I won’t let you fall,” he said as he helped her into the thing. “You can bet your life on it.”
She believed him. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He jogged his arm. “Come on . . . let’s do this.”
Except the gratitude she felt was so complex she could not leave it unexpressed. “For all of it, healer. Everything.”
He smiled at her briefly. “I’m here to make you better.”
“You are.”
With that, she carefully pushed herself onto her feet.
The first thing she noticed was that the floor was cold on her soles . . . and then her weight was transferred and things went haywire: Her muscles spasmed under the load and her legs bowed like feathers flexed asunder. Her healer was there when she needed him, however, scooping his arm around her waist and supporting her.
“I stand,” she breathed. “I . . . am standing.”
“You sure the hell are.”
Her lower body was nothing like it had been, her thighs and calves trembling so badly her knees knocked together. But she stood.
“We shall walk now,” she said, gritting her teeth as shafts of hot and cold rocketed up and down her bones.
“Maybe taking it slow is—”
“To the lavatory,” she demanded. “Whereupon I shall relieve myself unattended.”
The independence was absolutely vital. To be allowed the simple, profound dignity of taking care of her body’s needs seemed like manna from above, proof positive that blessings, like time, were relative.
Except as she tried to step forward, she could not pick her foot up.
“Shift your weight,” her healer said as he pivoted her and moved in behind her, “and I’ll take care of the rest.”
When he clasped her about the waist, she did as he’d told her and felt one of his hands grasp the back of her thigh and lift her leg. Without cueing, she knew to lean forward and place her weight gently as he put her knee in the correct position, restricting the bend in the joint as she straightened her leg.
The miracle was mechanical in its expression, but no less heartwarming for its one-step-two-step: She walked to the loo.
When the goal was obtained, her healer gave her privacy at the toilet, and she used the handlebar bolted into the wall to aid herself.
She was smiling the whole time. Which was utterly ridiculous.
After she had finished, she stood herself up using the bar and opened the door. Her healer was right outside, and she reached for him at the same moment he put his arms out for her.
“Back to the bed,” he said, and it was a command. “I’m going to examine you and then get you some crutches.”
She nodded and they slowly made their way across to the mattress. She was panting by the time she stretched out, but she was more than satisfied. This she could work with. Numb and cold and going nowhere? That was a death sentence.
Shutting her lids, she swallowed through deep breaths as he checked her vitals with efficiency.
“Your blood pressure’s up,” he said as he put aside the cufflike object she knew all too well. “But that could be because of what we. . . ah, did.” He cleared his throat. Something he seemed to be doing rather a lot. “Let’s check your legs. I want you to relax and close your eyes. No looking, please.”
After she did as he requested, he said, “Can you feel this?”
Frowning, she sorted through the various sensations in her body, from the softness of the mattress, to the cool breeze on her face, to the sheet her hand was resting upon.
Nothing. She felt—
Sitting up in a panic, she stared at