“You okay?” Trent asked. He remained seated right next to me on the bed. Concern blanketed his expression.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “It just tastes gross, but I’m okay.”
Isach took the jar from me and set in on the nightstand. “You might be more comfortable if you lay down.”
Side-eyeing him, I inched down so I was flat on my back. Heat spread through me like a wildfire, igniting my nerve endings and scorching the blood in my veins, but it wasn’t unbearable. It felt more like the sting of a burn from touching a too-hot pan.
Isach held his hands above my chest, closed his eyes, and began to chant a bunch of words in a language I didn’t understand.
My chest constricted violently, sucking the air from my lungs. I gasped and clawed at the comforter, fighting for breath.
“Chloe?” Even though Trent was right beside me, he sounded like he was miles away.
Was he in pain, too? I couldn’t tell by the sound of his voice. He took hold of my hand.
Slowly, like inflating a balloon, my lungs filled with air, but my relief was fleeting. My ribs cracked, and my back arched involuntarily. My body writhed uncontrollably. I could feel my bones realigning and fusing together.
I whimpered and cried, sobbing an incomprehensible, “Ow, it hurts” repeatedly. Bile coated my tongue and throat, and the room spun. Suffering through six weeks of pain had to be better than this. Was it too late to stop now?
Isach’s voice faded away, and darkness greeted me. My muscles went limp, and I sank into the mattress.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
A New Person
“MMM.” I STRETCHED MY ARMS ABOVE my head and twisted my body. That was the best sleep I’d had in months.
My eyes snapped open, and I bolted upright. No pain. I gingerly pushed against my ribs. Nothing. I took a deep breath. Then another. No sensation of swallowing razor blades. Despite the terrible agony I’d experienced, Isach’s magical cure had worked.
I glanced around—I was in Trent’s room, which was completely dark. Not even a hint of sunlight filtered in around the drapes that were haphazardly pulled across the window. What time was it? Carefully, I leaned over Trent’s sleeping form to peek at the clock on his nightstand.
“It’s almost midnight,” Trent mumbled.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” I whispered. “Wait. Wasn’t it midnight when Isach showed up to heal me?”
“Yes. That was Friday. It’s now Saturday.” Trent shifted so he was on his back. “You’ve been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours.”
“Seriously?” No wonder I feel so good right now. “Aunt Beth!” I gasped. “I was supposed to check in with her. She’s going to be so mad.”
“Abby and Whitney have been calling her. It’s fine.” His voice was sleep-laden and sexy. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a new person. I don’t have any more pain at all.” I twisted around again just to be sure I wasn’t dreaming of a miraculous recovery. “But now I’m wide awake.”
And Trent was still half asleep. I didn’t want to keep him awake, but I didn’t want to go wandering around his house, either, solely because I didn’t trust Jax not to try something. Slipping out from beneath the blankets, I stood.
“Trying to sneak out?” Trent asked, a trace of humor in his tone.
“No. I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
Quietly, I left his room and went straight to the bathroom. The rest of the house was silent, and I prayed everyone—namely, Jax—was sleeping.
I did my business, washed my hands, then turned the faucet all the way to cold. After letting it run for a few minutes, I tilted my head and drank some water. The aftertaste of the potion Isach gave me was almost as bad as the liquid itself. I turned off the water, wiped my mouth, then hurried back to Trent’s room.
Tiptoeing across the floor, I slid back into bed. Even though I wasn’t tired, I’d be content to just lay next to Trent while he slept. And, now that my mind was clearer, I could try to make sense of what Isach had told me about Felicity.
She needed to be dealt with so that the rest of our plans could stay on track. I’d come too far and had fought too hard to get where I was, and I wasn’t going to let anyone jeopardize my future with Trent.
We were going to be married in a few months, and hopefully, shortly after that, we’d be expecting a baby. A baby that Trent was already planning for. I still couldn’t believe he’d asked Doctor Mattias to care for me while I was pregnant. But was it really smart to have a baby now? Between Felicity and the Zoya… This part of our plan now seemed irresponsible.
I rolled onto my side and let out a surprised yelp when I came face to face with Trent.
“I thought you were sleeping.” I inched closer, and he draped his arm across my side, yanking me even closer.
“Not really. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” His breath was warm against my lips, and I leaned into him. He flattened his hand on my back, his touch searing. “I was worried. Isach said you’d sleep, but—”
“I don’t want to talk about Isach.” I brushed my lips across his. “I want to forget everything for a little while and pretend it’s just you and me. Like it used to be before all this… stuff started happening.” I pressed my mouth to his, and he welcomed my kiss.
THE SUN BEGAN TO rise, its rays sneaking in around the edges of the drapes, shattering our perfect night. Sighing, I aimlessly dragged my fingers across his chest, down his stomach, and back up. He groaned with satisfaction and tightened his hold on me.
“I don’t ever want to get up,” I said. Because once we did, we’d have to face the world and all the problems that were
