Was he seriouslysmiling? We’d spent an entire year trying to prevent me from doing exactlythat, and now he looked pleased about it? What the hell was going on?
"Yes, well, we can discuss all of it later," Stephen interrupted, as he pulled up a chair near the bed, his stare now level with mine. "First, my dear Emma, how are you feeling? Any dizziness? Nausea?"
I nodded once, my head still pounding. "All of the above. Plus, my head's killing me. Can I get some aspirin?"
Justine snorted. "Let me," she said, stepping forward.
Right. Healing powers. Much more efficient than aspirin. Gods, I was still such a human.
She placed her hands gently on either side of my head, and a soft lemon-colored haze began to spill from her palms—warm and shimmering, like sunlight filtering through mist. It sank into me with a quiet pulse, soothing the ache behind my eyes and dulling the throb in my skull.
As her translation did its work, I glanced at James, searching his face for any flicker of the anger that had clouded his eyes just the day before. But it wasn’t there.
Confused, I edged closer, murmuring. "Aren’t you still angry with me?"
James leaned in, and whispered back, "Later." Then he winked. Hewinked. Was this his way of telling me he wasn’t angry anymore? It had to be, right?
My heart started hammering in my chest, instant hope filling my thoughts.
Once Justine finished clearing up my headache and checked me over thoroughly, I took in air through my nose, letting it out in a slow sigh and asked, "So. What happened next?"
"You mean after you blew up the Universitas?" Justine replied sharply, scathing even, as her expression remained grim.
"I blew up the Universitas?" I shrieked, pulse roaring in my ears.
"No, you didn’t. At least, not entirely," James cut in, but he kept his tone casual as if none of it were a big deal. "Only the Spring Palace."
My vision snapped wide.What the…?
"Don't worry; we've already rebuilt most of it," Stephen quickly reassured me, and I appreciated the scolding look he sent Justine’s way.
"You rebuilt the entire Spring Palace inoneday?" I gasped, struggling to process the enormity of it all.
"Uhm… No, not in one day," James answered hesitantly, then glanced sideways at Stephen.
"You think all of this happened yesterday?" Stephen asked in a soft voice, his expression taut with careful worry.
I frowned. "Yeah. Why? How long was I out?"
A heavy silence fell. Even Justine—sharp-tongued and unflinching just moments ago—stayed quiet.
My pulse spiked as I locked eyes with her. “Tell me,” I demanded, my voice tight.
"You were in a magically induced coma," she said with caution, while holding my stare. "For three weeks."
"Three weeks?" The words burst out of me, too loud to care.
"Shhh, Emma, you have to stay calm." Stephen tried to soothe me, but his attempt scarcely scratched the surface of the panic surging inside me.
I’d blown up the Spring Palace. I’d been unconscious for almost a month.
And he wanted me tostay calm?
My mind was spinning, trying to process it all: the destruction I’d caused, the coma, the lost time… But the most disorienting part was James. How had his anger disappeared so suddenly? The same man who had pushed me away when I’deventually told him what he meant to me was now acting like none of it had ever happened.
I almost didn’t want to ask, but I had to. "What about Ju—the Elder?"
James smiled again—hesmiled. "Julian left. He told us to take good care of you, but he had urgent matters to attend to. No one really knows where or why." Then he shrugged, as if Julian’s sudden departure was no big deal.
