Page 57 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

It was probably nothing. Tours went long, and Syssi's vision could mean a hundred different things.

23

SULLHA

It was cold. She must have kicked off the blanket, and now only a thin sheet covered her. Her throat was dry. Something was pinching the back of her hand, and then other things started to register, turning the discomfort into panic.

Sullha forced her eyes open and looked at the light fixture.

This wasn't her bedroom.

Where was she?

"Sullha."

Yaaf's voice was rough and close. Then the feel of his hand, closing around the one that wasn't being pinched.

She turned her head, and it took more effort than it should have. Yaaf was sitting on a chair that was pulled right up against the bed, leaning forward, his hand wrapped around hers.

"You're awake." He got to his feet. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

"Where am I?" she asked, her voice sounding weak and scratchy.

"In the clinic." He didn't let go of her hand. "When you wouldn't wake up, Tomek came for me. I carried you here." He lifted her hand, pressed it to his lips, and let out a long, shuddering breath. "I'm so relieved you're awake."

She looked down at herself. A pale-blue gown, a wire disappearing under its collar, a clip on her finger with a small red light glowing inside it. Her body felt strange under the thin blanket, heavy and light at the same time, as if it had been taken apart while she slept and put back together, but the parts didn't fit right.

"Am I sick?"

"No." A smile spread across his face. "You're transitioning."

What did he mean? Transitioning where?

Then it hit her, and her heart kicked into high gear. The beeping to her left picked up its tempo, betraying her.

"How? I mean, I know how. But when? How long have I been here?"

"You lost consciousness about twenty-eight hours ago. Your mother couldn't wake you, and Tomek ran to get me. You were unconscious and had a high fever. I brought you here. Julian says it's a textbook transition and that you are doing very well." He was stroking her hair. "You did it."

"I didn't do anything. I fell asleep."

"You followed Merlin's instructions, drank the elixir, and went on a walk with me."

"It wasn't even two days." She closed her eyes. "After all the years of being told I can't." She needed a moment.

For so long she'd believed the story she'd been told, that she and the other women were inferior stock, that all they were good for was producing warriors for the Brotherhood and more wombs for his production line of immortal soldiers. That limiting belief might have been another reason her body had refused to transition before.

Merlin's elixir had done more than trigger the chemical reaction that somehow calmed her. When the clan's physician had given it to her, he hadn't had a shred of doubt that she was going to transition, and for some reason, hearing it from him had been impactful.

Maybe it was because he looked like a magician.

"Tomek," she said, opening her eyes. "Is he alright?"

"He's in the waiting room with your mother. He refused to go home after he got here yesterday. Julian put a cot out there for him, and Bardov brought him pajamas, a change of clothes, and his computer, in case he insisted on spending another day here. I promised Tomek I would tell him the moment you were awake. Can I let him in?"

"Please do."

Yaaf opened the door. "Your mama is awake, and she wants to see you."