Within minutes, the wad of fabric I was holding pressed to Vali's wound had soaked right through and was slipping under my hand's pressure. With a scream of frustration, I threw it aside and tore the sodden shirt fabric away from the bullet hole. Hopefully the pressure from my hand alone would be enough to keep him alive until help arrived. It had to be better than the soaked fabric slipping and bumping the injury every few seconds.

“Don't die, don't die, don't die,” I chanted in a panicked whisper to keep myself from completely dissolving. My breath was already coming in short, sharp gasps, and the tears were flowing so fast I could barely see. The only reassurance I had that he was still alive was the wet, gasping sound of his breathing and the slight suction against my hand where air kept trying to pull through the wound.

Fuck! What use was this supposed magic if I couldn't save someone's life?

Despite Dupree's claims that I should be able to heal others just the same way I heal myself, I had yet to work out how. Or even if I could. In the time since her revelation, I had stubbornly refused to allow the boys to deliberately hurt themselves in order for me to practice. It was madness. What if she was lying? Or just plain wrong? I hadn’t been willing to risk that.

Come on you stupid, good for nothing magic. If you actually do work on other people, now would be the perfect fucking time!

I stared hard at the seeping blood beneath my hand, straining, pushing with every mental facet I possessed, trying to make the healing work. Nothing happened.

Why wasn't Jonathan back with help yet?

Collapsing beside Vali's huge body, I made sure to keep the pressure on his wound while I lay my face on the floor beside his.

“I'm so sorry,” I whispered. “Everyone around me keeps ending up hurt. I'm like Midas, but instead of turning things to gold, everything I touch turns to shit.” His lashes fluttered slightly, giving me a small spike of hope.

“Hey, I saw that. Can you hear me?” His deathly pale face didn't show any sign of consciousness, but I was positive his lashes had moved before. “Don't you ignore me you… you… dickhead.” I was upset; it was the best I could come up with. “If you die on me right now, Dragomir, I am going to find some spell, or something, and bring you back just to kill you myself!”

This time when his eyelids fluttered, I knew I wasn't imagining it.

“Hey,” I coaxed, trying to get a reaction from him. “I see you. I still can't work out why you seem so familiar, by the way. Have we met before?” I was rambling, but it was better than crying. It was all I could think of to do until help arrived. My hand was still on his back holding pressure against the wound, but optimistically, it almost felt like the bleeding had slowed. Which was a good thing, right? Or did that mean he was dying? Shit!

“Vali! Hey!” I said a little more sharply, worrying that the eyelid twitches had been him slipping further away from me. “Hey, wake up. Talk to me. You still have to tell me why the hell you keep saving my life, remember?” His eyelashes fluttered again, but this time stayed open a bit longer. His mesmerizing gray eyes peered at me from behind his heavy lids. His mouth twitched, like he was trying to say something, and I shushed him.

“Don't try and talk, you idiot. I just wanted you awake so I knew you weren't giving up. Talking with a hole in your back just seems like a dumb idea.” My nervous rambling was reaching all new levels as my tight voice stepped up an octave.

Vali glared at me, I think, then moved his mouth again. This time a tiny whisper came out, and I reflexively leaned closer to hear what he was trying to say.

“…am I hot?” was what I heard, but that can't have been right. I leaned back to look at him, frowning.

“Did you just ask if I think you're hot? Seriously? I really don't think now is the time.” I rolled my eyes at his vanity, and he gave a tiny headshake.

“Why am I so hot?” This time when he spoke, the words were a little clearer but still made no sense.

“This seems like a really weird question to be asking when you've been shot, Vali. I don't know why you're so hot. Maybe it's the bad boy thing you have going on? Or the whole two percent body fat situation that I am sure you have spent too much time in the gym to achieve. You've got pretty great hair, I guess. I don't usually go for the longer hair on guys, but you pull it off well. I think it's your eyes I like the most though.” Oh god, panic was making me word vomit even worse than when he had drugged me on the plane.

A tiny smile played across his lips, marred only by the blood that was pulling through his damaged lung with each breath. Proof that if he didn't get help soon, he would either bleed out or effectively drown in his own blood.

“I'm not that vain,” he whispered. “I mean, why is it so hot in here? I feel like I'm on fire.”

“Oh.” My face flamed in embarrassment. Stupid, Kit. I took a moment to consider the temperature and frowned. It was freezing in the garage, especially where we lay on the floor. How hadn't I noticed how cold it was sooner?

Sitting up a little, I ran my free hand over his face and found him sweating.

“Shit, you really are burning up!” I exclaimed, running my hand down to his neck and yanking his tie loose to undo his shirt.

“Told you,” he murmured. “I don't hurt as much any more. That's probably not a good thing, huh?”

No, it probably wasn't. “Keep your face on the ground; it's freezing cold so might help bring your temperature down. I can't believe you're still alive right now, by the way; you have lost just so much blood.”

“Anyone ever tell you how great your bedside manner is, dragă?” he snorted but really did sound better than he had moments before. The wet, rattling gasp to his breathing was gone.

“Sorry,” I muttered, chewing my lip. “I suck in these situations. Where the hell is Jonathan with that help? How hard is it to call a freaking ambulance? Where the hell are we anyway? I don't even know what fucking country we are in right now!”

“Kit, calm down. Can you have another look at my back? It's burning. Like, really burning.” Vali whispered the words, but there was a thread of tension in his voice that snapped me out of my rambling.

Careful to keep the pressure over the wound, I scrambled to my knees and gave his shirt a sharp tug from the collar to tear it so I could see better. Superhuman strength definitely came in handy for tasks like that. Not that being able to see his skin helped much, considering it was slick with blood.

“Vali, I don't know what I'm looking for. Where exactly is it burning? Maybe there is an injury I haven't seen? Or is it this one, and it's like a side effect of the pain or, I don't know, something?” Paramedic, I was not. I ran my fingers across his stained skin, searching for anything I might have missed in the dim lighting.

“I don't know,” he said from behind clenched teeth. “It's your hand, I think. It's like you're holding a cattle brand against my back.”

Hesitantly, I lifted the hand that I had been keeping pressure with but kept it ready to press down again if the blood started gushing.

“Is that better?” I asked and got his long, low groan for a response.

Take that as a yes?

When no fountains of blood began squirting out like in a Tarantino movie, I withdrew my bloody hand a bit further and peered at the wound. Then blinked. Leaned closer and tried to swipe some of the blood aside to get a better look. Holy shit…

“What are you doing?” Vali groaned when my fingers touched his skin again.

“Um, so I don't know if it's the shock, but I am pretty sure…” I started to say I am pretty sure I'm healing you because the place where you literally just got shot now looks like a way less serious injury. But he knew nothing of my abilities, and I was sure to sound like a lunatic.

“Pretty sure, what? What's going on?” he demanded, and I debated what to say. I did know, regardless of what I was going to tell him, that the burning pain he was feeling must have been the healing magic, and it needed to finish what it had started.

“Um, I'm pretty sure I need to keep my hand on it. Sorry…” I muttered and placed my hand back on the considerably less serious injury, lighter this time. Excitement and terror battled for domination within me as I tried not to think about what this new development might mean.

Vali let out a small cry of pain, and I bit my lip hard. How the hell am I going to explain this? Just, oh by the way, I have magical-fucking-powers, and I just saved your life?

Now that I knew what was going on, I too could feel the heat where my hand was touching his flesh, although nowhere near the burning level he must be feeling.

“How is it now?” I asked when I felt the warmth fade.

“Better. Good. Actually, really good. I feel… incredible…” His voice was stronger, back to its usual velvety richness, and he rolled his shoulders. I lifted my hand away from his back, and from what I could see through the blood, the wound was completely healed. Not even a mark remained; the only evidence that I hadn't imagined it was the blood, which was everywhere. Almost his entire back was slick red, obscuring the tattoos I could see outlines of. Both my hands were coated right up to the elbows, and I could feel my dress sticking to me where I must have been lying in a pool of it.

“Kit,” he said cautiously, rolling over to sit and face me. “What did you do?”

“Huh?” I replied, at a loss for how to explain. “I didn't do anything. I guess maybe you weren't hurt as badly as we thought?”

“Dragă, don't bullshit me. I was dying, and we both knew it. I will ask you again, what did you do?” The way he was looking at me, his eyes wide in his now healthy-looking face, spoke volumes to how freaked out he must have been.

“Kit!” Jonathan called out, saving me further questioning. “We need to go. Dragomir's men are right behind me. If they see all of this…” He trailed off as he came around the car we were crouched behind and saw Vali sitting up, unhurt.

“He's right,” Vali muttered but looked like the words pained him to say. “If you're leaving, now is the time. My men won't take kindly to this… mess…”

Not needing to be told twice, I scrambled to my feet, still wearing the gorgeous Jimmy Choos. Jonathan grabbed one of my blood-covered hands and took off at a run with me clicking behind him.

As I ran, I risked a quick glance backwards. Vali was on his feet, and the stare he gave me felt like it was searing his mark against my soul. I had no doubt this wasn’t the last I would be seeing of Dragomir Valeriu du Romane.