Ezra placed his hands on Margaret's temples while Aria placed hers over Margaret's heart. The traditional positions for deep healing. Together, they reached into Margaret's life force, feeling the hollow place where her gift had been torn away.
It was awful. Like a wound that had scarred over wrong, twisted and painful. Aria could feel the echo of trauma, the violation of having something fundamental ripped out.
"Now," Ezra said quietly, opening the vial.
The essence flowed out, drawn by the connection between Aria and Margaret. Aria guided it with her healing light, directing it back toward that hollow space. It resisted at first. The extraction had damaged the pathways, made them unsuitable for the gift to return.
So Aria healed those pathways. Slowly, painstakingly, she mended the damage the Collectors had done. Made space for the gift to return. Prepared Margaret's life force to accept what had been stolen.
