Grace plucked at the blanket beneath her legs. “What if I take the virus to negate the bond? It’ll speed up the process, and then maybe I’d be okay? The slow unravelling is too hard to experience.”
Emma shook her head. “I really don’t know. If you ended up human again, then you might be fine, or you might end up in a coma again, since that was the state you experienced before being mated.” She looked at Faith, who just sat still, shock on her face.
Adare swallowed. “Absolutely not. We’ll mate completely this time.” To him, the answer was so simple.
So when Emma blanched, he nearly stood. “Well now, that’s a problem,” she murmured. “Since you half mated, for lack of a better term, Grace’s system has developed antibodies to yours, and basically her cells have defied you, while yours are on the attack. It’d be a war inside her, and I can’t tell you what would happen. She might survive or you might kill her.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you,” Grace said, facing him directly. “There’s nothing you can do.”
* * * *
It didn’t take an empath to decipher the multitude of emotions bombarding Grace from every direction in the room. Faith was concerned and angry, Emma was concerned and confused, and Adare was just out and out pissed off. She might as well take advantage of the fact she was looking all helpless on a hospital bed. “I’m sorry I lied to everyone, but there wasn’t anything anyone could do, and I had a few things to take care of before ending up here.”
Faith patted her arm. “It’s okay, Gracie. We’ll figure it out.”
“We will,” Emma said, obviously trying to sound encouraging.
Adare didn’t say a word. Just stared at her with those deep black eyes, his jaw clenched so hard he had to be getting a migraine.
Grace swallowed. “I’ve given this a lot of thought, and the unraveling is happening no matter what I do. I think the best option is to take the virus and end up human again.” Then she could figure out where to go from there. If she was in a coma again, then there wasn’t anything to do. If not, she’d proceed.
Adare tilted his head. “You’re a Key, Grace. That’s how you survived the coma initially.” His voice was silky and thoughtful, rough and dangerous.
Grace’s abdomen warmed and her heart rate picked up. Big time.
Emma pursed her lips. “That’s true. Perhaps it’s time you shared what that really means, Adare.” She gestured to the medical records. “Not one of those doctors knew she was a Key, or even what a Key is. Neither do I. There’s no way we can create a good medical plan without all of the facts.”
Adare kept his gaze on Grace but spoke to Emma. “Could anybody else have survived that coma for two years?”
“No,” Faith answered before Emma could. “It was a medical mystery, along with the fact that Grace’s body didn’t atrophy in the slightest, and her breathing and heart functions remained in the healthy range for nearly two years, until she started to decline rapidly and almost died.”
“That’s when we mated,” Adare said quietly. “The fact that she’s a Key kept her alive much longer than normal.” He finally released Grace’s gaze and looked directly at Emma. “I can’t tell you much, but you’ve studied your three prophets, right?”
Grace leaned up. “I’ve heard of the prophets but don’t know much about them.”
Emma picked up a pen and twirled it between her fingers. “There are three prophets, supposedly determined by fate, and they’re kind of the spiritual leaders of the Realm. They have a marking down their necks and backs, and when one dies, another takes his or her place.” Her nostrils flared. “They’re psychic and powerful, and we have no idea how they’re chosen, to be honest.”
Grace tugged the front of her shirt down to reveal the perfect mark of a key set between her heart and clavicle. “I have this birthmark, but I don’t believe in fate and all of that.”
“Why?” Adare asked. “Obviously there’s an entire world you didn’t know existed and can’t explain, so why not fate? Do you really think this path, any path, is arbitrary?” His gaze burned as he looked at the birthmark. “How do you explain your surviving the coma? Becoming immortal? Seeing things in other people nobody else sees?”
She couldn’t explain any of it. “What’s your point?” She went with irritation instead of uncertainty.
“My point is that we know for certain what happens to you as a human. You go into a coma and eventually die.” He stood, looking powerful and determined. “Taking the virus to negate the mating bond will only land you back in a coma. Your dying is not an option.”
Because they needed her as a Key? She swallowed, her stomach now doing flip-flops. “Listen, Adare—”
“No. I’m done listening, since all you do is lie.” The anger in his eyes would scare a charging grizzly bear. “We don’t know what would happen if you mated, but I believe that being a Key will save you. It’s the only thing that will.”
She sat straighter on the bed. He was actually saying what she thought he was saying. “This is my decision.”
“No. It really isn’t.” His expression showed absolutely no give. “It would’ve been your decision if you’d been honest years ago when all this started, when you might have had more options. Right now, there is only one. As a Seven, it’s my duty to make sure the Keys survive until the ritual.”
She tossed her head, anger finally sparking through the fuzziness in her brain. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. And as your mate, one you’ve left in the dark for far too long, it’s my duty to make sure you dinnae die. The best way to keep you alive, the only option really, is for us to mate.” He jerked his head at the medical records spread over the counter. “You can go over those for hours, and when you’re finished, you’ll reach the same conclusion.”
Emma cleared her throat. “Maybe. Maybe not. I need to study your blood. Not for nothing, but you look pale for yourself, Adare. How are you feeling?”
