Page 64 of Nazab

“Is something wrong, little sister?” Ramiel asked Grace when he noticed how quiet she was.

“I’m fine,” the kid said. “I’m just thinking.”

Queegly shook his head when one of the other knights was about to grill her. He sensed the teen’s special talent to fix things was in motion. Zoe gave him an enquiring look, but he shrugged to indicate he hadn’t had a vision yet.

“You two are definitely going to bond, right?” Oak said to the newbies. “We can all see how you feel about each other.”

“You can’t rush these things,” Grace said. “Some people need more time to make a decision that will affect their lives for eternity.”

“I would rather wait a couple of days before I make up my mind,” Monica confessed, glad someone wasn’t expecting her to bond with her knight immediately.

Queegly’s intuition was in overdrive by now. Grace had just used her ability to see the present to manipulate Monica. He knew she had a plan and didn’t call her out on it. Besides, her skill was their secret.

Qiana got up to visit the bathroom a while later. Grace was waiting for her in the hallway outside her bedroom when she was done. Tor had taken the newbies to their storage rooms to choose clothes for their closets. “Hey, Qi, can I talk to you for a minute?” the teen asked.

“Of course, short stuff,” the doc said.

“Let’s go to the lake,” Grace suggested.

Kochab sensed his mate leaving the base through the back door and hurried to catch up to them. “Where are you two ladies going?” he asked.

“To the lake,” his mate said, hooking her arm through his. “Grace wants to speak to me in private.”

“It’s okay, Koach,” the teen said. “You can come, too.”

They walked the short distance to the lake, then sat at one of the picnic tables. “What’s on your mind, kiddo?” the surgeon asked.

“It’s about Mon,” Grace said. “I have an idea of how to fix her leg.”

“This should be good,” Kochab predicted in anticipation. Their littlest sister often came up with innovative ideas.

“Hear me out before you shoot me down,” Grace said. Qi nodded, but she already looked doubtful. “Sin can duplicate pretty much anything now, can’t she?” the kid said and they nodded. “We’ve eaten the meat she creates and it tastes exactly like normal food.”

“Yeah,” Qiana said. “I’m not sure what that has to do with Monica’s severed leg, though.”

Grace knew they wouldn’t like her plan, but she thought it was brilliant. “I think Sin will be able to duplicate Mon’s right leg just below her knee, but reverse it, so it becomes a left leg. I think you could sever the ends of her stump and the new leg, then use your power to attach it to her.”

Qiana was utterly speechless for a few seconds. “Even if Sin could duplicate a left leg for Mon, I have no way of knowing if I can attach the limb to her,” she said. “I’ve never tried to reattach a severed limb before.”

“That’s why I want you to practice on me,” Grace said, then braced herself for the fallout.

“Absolutely not!” the trauma surgeon denied in an implacable tone. “It goes against my ethics to cause unnecessary harm to someone, especially to someone I love.”

“Aww, I love you, too, doc,” the kid said, putting her fists beneath her chin like she always did when she was moved by something. “I still want you to do it,” she added.

Kochab had a disturbed look on his handsome face, but at least he hadn’t discounted the idea. “Practice on me,” he said, shocking his mate.

“I’m not going to let someone cut one of your limbs off!” Qiana said, face turning red with impending rage.

“Besides, Qi will feel your agony if the anesthetic doesn’t work properly, which will distract her from her job too much, Koach,” Grace reminded him. “I’m the only one who doesn’t have a mate. It’s only logical for Qi to use me as her lab rat.”

“I’m not doing it,” the doc said mulishly.

“Not even if it means Monica will finally be whole again?” the kid asked, allowing her eyes to mist over. “Just think of how happy she’ll be to be able to walk on two legs. She never even got that chance. She was just a baby when some evil person took her mom and her leg away from her.”

Grace was worried she’d laid it on a bit too thick, but her sister now looked less doubtful. Her analytical scientific side was probably mulling over whether this could actually work. “Why don’t you sleep on it and let me know your decision tomorrow?” she suggested.

“We’re not going to talk about this idiotic plan with anyone else,” Qi said, rising to her feet. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”