He crumpled to the floor, face red from the strain as tears leaked from eyes squeezed shut in pain. I coughed softly from the dust his falling body disrupted, grasping his healthy human hand instead of the one of metal. This time when I reached inside him, the pressure of the foreign magic wasn't as strong. I was able to slide past it, work around it while it flailed at me for attention. I ignored it as best I could, calling up on my water element magic to heal Jack.
His reaction was nearly instantaneous. The stress lifted from his face, his body easing. He released a long, slow sigh of air, sweat standing out on his forehead and upper lip. I dabbed at it with the hem of my gown as he opened his eyes and looked up at me.
"Thank you," he said. "I feel much better."
"Impossible." I looked up to see we were being watched from the doorway. I'd been so intent on the healing while I fought the foreign magic I hadn't noticed Josephine's arrival.