Gray stared at the red vial in his hand. “I have to use it,” he surmised.
“Gray, no. What if they are not returning? If you pull Celine back before she’s achieved her goal of rescuing Damien and Michael, it could be disastrous!” Alexander cautioned.
“Both Michael and Damien appear to be improving. It stands to reason they are returning. Then, Celine should be, too. She’s not because something is wrong.”
“Gray, we have no clue either of those are the case. Nor do we have any idea what’s in that vial!” Alexander warned.
Gray weighed the options. “We may have no choice. If we allow Celine to slip away, we may lose her for good. And if she disappears, we’ve doomed Michael and Damien, as well,” Gray assessed. He uncorked the top, approaching Celine.
“Gray, wait,” Alexander advised, barring Gray from accessing Celine’s limp form. “What if it doesn’t draw her back?”
Gray glanced between Alexander and Celine. “What’s the difference? She’s not coming back now as it is.” He pushed past Alexander’s arm. He yanked Celine’s hand from Marcus’, tilted her head back and poured the red liquid down her throat. Alexander approached, and they waited with bated breath for her to recover.
Across the room, Damien groaned again, thrashing his head back and forth on the pillow. Without warning, Celine gasped, shooting upright in her seat. Her eyes opened, and she choked to catch her breath.
“Celine!” Gray shouted, racing to her side. “Celine, are you all right?” He cupped her face in his hands, staring into her eyes.
Celine caught her breath. “Yes. I’m fine. Damien?”
“Not awake yet, but he has been becoming more responsive,” Millie reported. “And his body temperature is rising, as is Michael’s.”
“He should have been back before me,” Celine answered, her brow furrowing with concern. She leapt from the chair, rushing to his side. She took his hand in hers. “D? D, come back!”
Marcus gasped, awakening a moment later. He glanced around the room as he caught his breath. “Isn’t anyone going to welcome me back?” he asked, standing from his chair.
“No,” Gray answered, grabbing him by the collar. “I had to give Celine the red vial to revive her, and neither Damien nor Michael are back yet. What have you done? What the hell are you trying to pull, Northcott?”
Marcus pushed Gray away, slamming him against the far wall. “I have done nothing,” he responded. “The red vial worked as intended, did it not? I have no idea why the others haven’t awoken.”
Gray leapt to his feet, ready to attack. “Tell me why you and Celine remained unresponsive when Michael and Damien were already in the process of returning?”
“Stop it!” Celine shouted.
“Yes, please stop,” Mille answered. “This may be for the best.”
“For the best?” Celine queried.
“Yes. Their temperatures are rising, but their heart rates are high, and they are still below their normal body temperature. This may be their bodies’ way of protecting them. Like a coma. They may only awaken once their bodies have normalized.”
Celine nodded. Gray straightened his blazer, shooting a menacing glance at Marcus as he approached Celine, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Let’s hope Millie is correct,” Gray said to her. He turned to Marcus. “Your work is finished here. You should leave.”
“I’d prefer to stay to see my work through until the end,” Marcus countered.
Gray began to answer, but Celine responded first. “Let him stay. In case we need him,” she murmured, her eyes remaining fixed on Damien.
Marcus stalked to the armchair, taking a seat as he smirked at Gray. Celine squeezed Damien’s hand. “Come on, D,” she whispered to him. “Wake up.”
They spent another twenty minutes on edge before Damien began to groan. Celine gasped, inching closer to him. “D? Damien?” she prodded. He continued to moan, moving his head back and forth on the pillow. Within a few moments, he opened his eyes. “Damien?” Celine questioned. “Can you hear me?”
He glanced around the room, focusing on Celine. “Hey,” he breathed, his voice soft and shaky.
“Hey,” Celine answered, a smile crossing her face as tears formed in her eyes.
“I had the weirdest dream,” Damien muttered.
“I’ll bet you did,” Celine answered.
“Is it cold in here or is it me?” Damien questioned, shivering.
“It’s you,” Celine assured him. “Your body temperature dropped. We’ll get you another blanket.”
Alexander burst through the door. “Michael is awake.”
“I’ll go to him,” Millie answered, following Alexander to Michael’s room.
“Michael?” Damien questioned, trying to sit up.
“It’s all right, D,” Celine assured him. “Rest. It’s fine. You need to recuperate.”
“But…” Damien argued, glancing around. His eyes grew wide. He gasped, stuttering and pointing toward Marcus. “Ah… Ah… Ah… bad guy… him… Duke… there…” he gasped out.
Marcus rolled his eyes at him.
“Yes, D. We know he’s there. It’s all right. Don’t panic.”
“But… but…” Damien stammered.
“D, it’s fine. He’s here because he helped us. You and Michael were trapped in Alterra, an alternate reality. We needed to retrieve you from there. Marcus helped us.”
“Helped? Him?!” Damien exclaimed.
“Yes, Marcus helped us,” Celine responded. “Relax, D. Everything is all right.”
Damien glanced around, staring at Marcus for a while, a frown on his face. “Everything is all right? You sure? Like everything is normal, right? You married Gray in the 1700s and you were Josie and everything, right?”
Celine smiled, patting his hand. “Yes,” she answered. “Yes, you’re back in normal time. I married Gray after you helped me that night in Martinique. I was Josie, you’re my cousin. My adopted mom’s name is Monica. Convinced?”
Damien laid his head back on the pillow. “Just making sure.” He shot a glance toward Marcus.
“Do you mind if I go check on Michael for a moment?”
“No. In fact, I’d prefer you did then let me know how he is.”
“Okay,” Celine agreed, kissing his forehead. “Be right back.” Celine exited the room, heading next door to Michael’s room. Alexander greeted her as she entered.
“Hey,” she said to Michael. “How are you feeling?”
“A little fuzzy. Like I was dreaming. Something tells me from everyone’s reaction, I wasn’t just experiencing a
