Marcus laughs, the sound surprisingly warm for someone usually so reserved.
"If that was the case, you wouldn't have been in charge of shit, because this crew was jackass until I arrived."
"Well, sorry I'm not the fucking board director of medicine," Theo snaps back.
Their voices wash over me as darkness threatens to reclaim my consciousness. I fight against it, clinging to these fragments of conversation that reveal more about the men surrounding me than hours of direct interaction ever could.
"Anyway," Marcus continues, his tone shifting back to professional, "the memory loss is likely temporary. The brain has remarkable plasticity, especially regarding traumatic events. The poison will be diffused out of her system. Whether that takes days, weeks, or months is beyond being able to tell, but the possibilities thanks to the intervention is high enough to stay hopeful."
"So she might remember everything?" Warren asks, unexpected hope coloring his voice.
"Or nothing," Marcus cautions. "We won't know until she wakes fully. The hippocampus?—"
"Spare us the neuroscience lecture," Zander interrupts, impatience edging his words. He usually isn’t so sniped with his commentary, which means he’s worried. "Just tell us if she'll be okay."
A sigh – Marcus, presumably – followed by the sound of papers shuffling. "Physically, yes. The cardiac damage from the venom is healing nicely. Brain function appears normal except for the inflammation I mentioned. Her body is healing from the shot which thankfully didn’t hit any major organs."
"And mentally?" Zander asks, his voice closer than the others. He must be the one sitting beside me, his presence solid and unwavering.
I’m already further relaxing knowing he’s in touch.
Marcus hesitates before answering.
"That's harder to predict. Trauma manifests in unpredictable ways, especially when coupled with potential memory loss. She might wake up exactly as she was before, or..."
He trails off, leaving the alternative unspoken.
"Or what?" Ren presses, unusual tension straining his normally carefree tone.
"Or the gaps in her memory might change her," Marcus says quietly. "Personality is built partly on experience, and let’s be real, having her earlier condition and the potential of biopolar personas isn’t helping with this current predicament. If significant experiences are suddenly unavailable to her consciousness, it could affect how she perceives herself, her relationships, and her place in the world. She could suffer delusion of grandeur, which I mean, could be beneficial regardless because her feeling empowered will make our lingering enemies believe she isn’t as wounded as they wouldhave hoped for, but obviously, not something we’d “want”. Not permanently.”
Silence falls heavy across the room as they absorb this possibility.
"She's still our Ruthless Queen," Zander states finally, no room for argument in his tone. "Whatever she remembers, whatever she forgets…that doesn't change."
"Easy for you to say," Theo mutters. "You've got documentation. The rest of them? Not so much."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zander demands.
Theo's laugh holds no humor.
"It means your precious relationship exists primarily in her head. If those memories are gone, what exactly is left? A bunch of stalkers claiming ownership of a girl who might not remember consenting to any of it? Not to forget, all this started with her volunteering to become a Ruthless Maiden. She attended this university for whatever hidden motives or promises she made to someone outside these walls. Authority you have no clue she still remembers. If she doesn’t recall any of that, where does your relationship stand? You have nothing to show for getting through the tiers of Carnage, Havoc, and Obsession. You’re not going to reach the final title without her memories. You won’t completely become official Ruthless Kings, and she won’t achieve the title of Ruthless Queen, so all of this "Playing House” shit will mean nothing.”
The heart monitor registers another jump in my pulse, matching the cold dread spreading through my veins.
Could he be right? How much might I have forgotten? How much of myself might be lost in the darkness clouding my mind?
I want to try and remember everything but just the idea makes my mind pound in irony. There’s no need for me to pushit yet, but it’s obvious that I need to confront this dilemma sooner rather than later.
Just need to see where I stand in all of this madness and what are our odds of winning this game of chess.
"That's not how this works," Marcus interjects, professionalism barely containing his evident irritation. "Memory loss isn't like erasing files from a computer. The information often remains accessible on some level, even if conscious recall is temporarily compromised."
He’s speaking clinical, which is only because Theo is present. He feels threatened by his presence which makes sense because at th end of the day, regardless of his relations to Warren, he’s an outsider.
A Savage Heir…
And he can turn or betray us at any point if he needs to.
