“No, Syn, they can't just flush it, because our blood absorbs anything introduced to it. For most things, it is not a problem, as our metabolism can process it and move it along like waste. But iron will fuse to our cells and spread like a poison, understand?” Ryder snapped harshly, his face a mix of annoyance and helpless frustration as he watched them suffer.
I closed my eyes and nodded. I understood it. They were all dying and we couldn’t save them. I was so fucking tired of feeling useless. I groaned in frustration, anger, and not a small amount of despair. I felt my magic roar to life, pulsing inside, boiling in my veins. Anger that mixed with magic was one of the worst combinations when you only had dark magic at hand. I tried pushing it down, but it refused to go.
“Ryder…” Ristan warned.
I could hear the blood pulsing inside of me, but, worse. I could feel the blood of every victim in the room. I closed my eyes and pulled it to me. I could smell the iron, thick and putrid. The power was consuming, dangerous, and the smell of their tainted blood was overwhelming. I wanted it gone.
I felt as if I'd left my body, and maybe I had. I felt as I had when I'd lost it the first time and been unable to control it, until Adam had balanced it. Only this time, I had control. I pulled at the tainted cells, wanting them gone.
I just needed them to live. I was tired of watching people die, finding dead bodies and feeling useless when I couldn’t help them—always too late to save them. I opened my eyes and cried out as something poured through me, as if tiny molecules were tearing through me, but promptly propelled into the air where they vanished.
“Holy shit,” Ryder said barely above a whisper.
It was as if I was able to pinpoint the cells within each victim, and pull the iron to myself, and disposed of it through my body like a filter. I could hear them crying and whimpering. I sought those who were screaming and the closest to death, and tore the iron from them disposing of it effortlessly as if I was doing it methodically with my mind alone. When I'd cleaned the last Fae inside the room, I turned to find the three men staring at me with a mix of shock and confusion.
“Did she just clean their blood?” Ristan asked.
“No fucking clue,” Ryder whispered, never taking his eyes from me.
“Look at the patients. Either she just killed them all, or she cured them,” Eliran said softly, and stepped closer to Ryder as the world spun around me and became very dark.
Chapter Seven
“Syn, it's okay. Look at me.” Adam's voice penetrated the haze from which my mind had retreated to. I could see and hear, but everything was out of focus. The buzzing still humming inside my head was overwhelming, and the tanginess of blood filled my mouth, but it wasn’t mine.
I met his turbulent green eyes, and winced at what I found. He'd changed. His brands pulsed thick black Celtic designs up his arms, and his eyes were changing to the double colored irises most Fae had. His hair was longer as well. “Adam,” I whispered, afraid he would disappear if I spoke too loudly. I looked around to those still watching us inside the medical ward.
“I got you. I got you, Syn,” he replied, licking his lips and pulling me against his naked chest. He was warm and smelled of wild magic. He whispered against my ear as he naturalized the magic I'd used. I wasn’t even sure what I had done.
“The people?” I asked, wondering when I started considering the Fae as people.
“They are alive,” Ryder said from behind us. “How did you do that, Syn?”
“Do what?” I swallowed and hugged Adam tighter against me. He'd be lucky if I let him go anytime soon.
“Whatever the fuck you did, Syn, you cured them.”
I swallowed past the metallic tanginess on my tongue and shook my head. I hadn't done anything besides get angry. Had I?
“You cleaned their blood, Syn. I felt you doing it,” Adam replied. I pulled away and looked at him, really looked at him. His brands were pulsing, and they weren't just on his arms…they were crawling up his neck to a few inches below his face, which had matured since I'd seen him last. He looked one hundred percent Fae now.
“Do I look that bad?” he asked coldly.
“No. No, Adam, you don't look bad. You just look different,” I lied.
“Liar. I can feel your response. I can feel you, Syn. Don't fucking lie to me.”
“I'm sorry, Adam. It’s not bad. I'm just not used to you like this yet.” I saw Dristan sift in and approach Ryder carefully.
“He got away, sorry,” Dristan explained in a low voice, nodding toward Adam.
“How did he escape?” Ryder asked carefully, quietly, his eyes on me. “He should have been mindless with the effects of Transition still.”
“He is very lucid. Claire told me that he has been extremely agitated a couple times since he entered Transition, but this time, he managed to sift. He’s way past the time when most panic, so they didn’t think he would need the collar anymore. I’ve never seen a Transitioning male sift from his feeding. Adam though was mid-feed and just disappeared.”