Chapter 197
“We’ll monitor her closely,‘ Dr. Graze said. “If she shows any signs of distress when she wakes up, we can sedate her again. But right now, her physical health
is the priority.”
He set up an IV line and hung a bag of fluids. ‘I’ll come back to check on her in a few hours,” he said. “Call me immediately if anything changes.”
After he left, the three of us sat in the living room again. None of us spoke. We all knew what we were facing now. In a few hours, Athena would wake up.
And we had no idea what would happen when she did.
1 thought about the way she’d looked at me in the cave when the power was in control. Her silver eyes had been empty of everything I loved about her. If
she woke up like that again, I didn’t know what I would do.
But I also couldn’t watch her waste away in an unconscious state. She was already too thin, too weak. A few more days of this and we might lose her
anyway.
“We’ll take shifts,” Orion said quietly. “Someone should be with her when she wakes up.”
‘I’ll take the first shift,” I said.
“Tristan, Sarah said gently. “You need to rest too. You look like you’re about to collapse.”
She was right. My body was still recovering from what Athena had done to me. I was exhausted and weak and probably not much help to anyone right now.
“Just a few hours,” I said. “Let me sit with her for a few hours.”
Orion nodded. “I’ll relieve you at midnight.”
I went back to the guest room and settled into a chair next to the bed. Athena’s breathing was a little deeper now that she had the IV fluids. Her heartbeat was stronger. But she was still so thin and fragile–looking.
I reached out and carefully touched her head, stroking the soft fur between her ears. She didn’t react at all.
‘I’m here,” I whispered. ‘I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to figure this out, okay? We’re going to find a way to help you.”
I didn’t know if she could hear me, but I kept talking anyway. I told her about the drive home and how worried Sarah had been. I told her about Dr. Graze and the IV fluids. I told her how much I loved her and how I wasn’t giving up on her.
The hours passed slowly. I dozed fitfully in the chair, waking up every few minutes to check on her breathing.
Around eleven–thirty, I heard footsteps in the hallway.
Orion appeared in the doorway with two cups of coffee.
“Any changes?” he asked quietly.
‘No.‘ I said. “She’s been still the whole time.”
He handed me one of the cups and I took a grateful sip. The caffeine helped clear some of the fog from my brain.
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Chapter 197
‘You should get some real sleep, Orion said. “In a real bed.”
‘I don’t want to leave her,” I said.
“I’ll be right here,” Orion promised. ‘If anything happens, anything at all, I’ll wake you up.”
I knew he was right. I was no good to Athena if I collapsed from exhaustion. Reluctantly, I stood up from the chair.
“The sedative should wear off around six in the morning,” I said.
“I know,” Orion said. “I’ll wake you at five.”
I walked to the door but stopped and looked back at Athena one more time.
She looked so peaceful lying there. It was hard to believe that something so dangerous was sleeping inside her.
“We’re going to save her,” Orion said quietly.
I wanted to believe him. I had to believe him. Because the alternative was unthinkable.
“Yeah,” I said. “We are.”
I went to the spare bedroom Sarah had prepared for me and tried to sleep. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Athena’s silver glowing eyes staring at me
with no recognition.
I saw the withered corpses of Daxon and Seraphine. I felt the emptiness inside me where my life force had been drained away.
Tomorrow, Athena would wake up. And we would find out if the woman I loved was still in there, or if we had lost her to something ancient and hungry and
deadly.
Either way, I would be there. I would fight for her until there was no fight left in me.
Because giving up wasn’t an option when everything that mattered was on the line.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
