“Could be a lot of things,” Ann replied. “Pain and physical or mental exhaustion are big factors.”
I looked at them, staying silent. Listening to Dimitri’s heart beating fiercely in his chest. The IV dripped steadily, working to rehydrate him.
He’d freak out if he’s still plugged in when he wakes up. I needed to stay here. With him. Make sure he felt safe when he came back to himself.
“Lola? Did you hear me?” I looked at Ann, confused. “You should go home and rest. We have everything under control here.”
I shook my head, my hands clasping on Dimitri’s wrecked T-shirt.
“He won’t wake up for hours, if not days,” she added. “We’re monitoring him, and his brain activity shows he’s not in a state that could allow him to emerge. He’s fighting the madness, Lola. And I’m pretty sure he won’t let it win.”
“But what if he wakes upmad?” I finally spoke. “What if he’s not himself, and I’m not here, where I should be, to appease him? Are you ready to deal with a mad Nephilim without hurting him? Because if you do, I’ll be the one you’ll need to worry about.”
She smiled, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “We’ll call you at the slightest change. If something indicates he’ll wake up, you’ll be the first one to know. As soon as the bag is empty, we’ll take the IV off.” I thought about it and she gave me the time to do so, waiting patiently until I came to a decision.
“What time can I come back?” I asked.
“Anytime. If you feel like stopping by during the night, I’ll inform the staff to let you in. But if you’re being reasonable and get some rest, official opening hours start at nine tomorrow morning.”
Nine. It was barely 6:00 p.m, so it meant over twelve hours away. It felt too long.
“Come on, baby. I’ll bring you back if you’re too anxious, but you need to get some rest.”
I did. It wasn’t like we slept a lot the night before and my body and mind were starting to shut down.
“Do you need me to take a look at your wounds?” Ann asked, crouching to my level.
“They’re superficial,” I commented.
“They are, yes. But the guards blades are infused with magic and cause brutal infections that can keep you out for a few hours. I’m surprised you kept fighting after it cut you.”
I frowned. I didn’t feel anything strange except for a sharper pain than a common cut.
“I’d like to take a quick look at it, if you don’t mind? Now that Dimitri is all set.”
I glanced at my thigh, at the dry blood and the slitted, stained jeans. “I feel fine.”
Ann leaned closer too, inspecting the wound with a careful eye. I flinched when her finger parted the sticky fabric that stuck to the skin.
Okay, that hurt more than I thought.
“Your blood is fighting the infection and it didn’t spread,” she said. “You’re lucky, you might not even get sick. I’m guessing it has to do with your age.”
So everyone saw my ears.Great. Carter stepped closer, placing his hand on the small of my back.
“Why would it have to do with her age?” he asked.
“Arc’s blood reacts the same. He never gets infections from any nicks or deeper cuts. Might be a pointy ear thing.”
Ann patted my shoulder and winked. At least they took it well. And here I thought they’d either be upset or see me differently.
Maybe I should have listened to Arc and not given a single fuck about people knowing. Tonight, I slipped. I used my emotion enhancing powers, and they noticed something was wrong. On the bright side, they didn’t expect me to fight back the way I did. But now, my element of surprise was gone. The word would spread and if I was ever attacked again, they’d be prepared.
Which sucked.
But it also meant they mightnotattack again. When the terrified guard would come out of his trance, he might not even be able to cross my path without flinching.
I hope he had a couple of little heart attacks. That’ll teach him to follow dumb orders.
