At ten in the morning, Samantha lay on a soft bed in a special ward at Faoken Medical Center. She had spent the past few hours catching up with John.
Above her, a complex healing array slowly revolved across the ceiling under Wendy's control.
At the bedside, Wendy had just finished her third full examination of Samantha and was compiling the results.
"Ms. Samantha, the backlash from the formula in your body is more severe than I expected."
As Wendy studied the data from the healing array, her usual smile vanished. Her brown brows drew together, and she gave Samantha the news with a grave expression. "According to the array, your magical circuits have at least seventeen serious injuries, and your life essence has suffered varying degrees of depletion."
"But in my medical opinion, you can still make a full recovery with proper treatment."
"The condition is that you'll need at least three months of rest and continued care."
"No. Three months is too long!"
Samantha sat straight up and fixed Wendy with an intense stare. "John just told me about the situation in Faoken. I know a lot of people are watching it, and he must need help right now. I have to regain my fighting strength as soon as possible—"
"Uh, well..."
Wendy's expression turned strange. She looked at Samantha as though she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"What? If you have something to say, say it. Don't beat around the bush!"
"You're right that John needs help."
Realizing that John's sister was the blunt sort, Wendy stopped hedging and spoke plainly. "But what Faoken lacks most right now isn't fighters or bodyguards. It's skilled specialists."
"Skilled specialists?"
"That's right."
Meeting Samantha's surprised gaze, Wendy pulled a file of figures she had compiled as head of the