Page 63 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

"Any news?" she asked Bridget. "I know nothing visible has changed. But what about the inside?"

"They are improving." Bridget moved to the nearest monitor. "The circulatory systems are stabilizing. Heart rates are stronger and more regular. That is good news. The bad news is that the features you're waiting for will take much longer."

Annani tried to remember how long it took for Ell-rom and Morelle. It was not that long, for sure. But then they had been in stasis pods, their bodies supported for thousands of years until the pods malfunctioned. They hadn't been as depleted as these five.

"How long before they become recognizable?"

"I don't want to give you an estimate," Bridget said. "And then it takes longer, and you are disappointed. All in good time."

Alena walked over to the nearest bed and looked upon the emaciated body with curiosity rather than distress. "It's remarkable that there's a whole person in there who's waiting to be rebuilt from almost nothing."

"I do not find it remarkable. I find it unbearable." Annani drifted, as she always did, toward the bed in the center of the row, drawn by nothing rational, only that persistent, foolish pull. She knew it did not make sense, that they had been placed here in no specific order. And yet that one called to her.

She looked down at the skeletal face, searching it for the thousandth time, and found nothing to latch on to. If only shehad something of Khiann that contained his DNA, Bridget could have figured out who he was with ease.

But what if she could do that even without a sample?

"Is there a difference between a god's and an immortal's DNA?" she asked. "If there is, you can find out which one is Khiann because he is the only god among them."

Bridget shook her head. "Kian refuses to let us take a blood sample from you or Toven. But given that we can't even find the difference between immortals and humans, I don't expect to find the difference between immortals and gods."

"How is that possible?" Alena asked. "These days humans can have their genes examined to find out which diseases they are predisposed to. How can it be that you cannot tell an immortal from a human or a god?"

Bridget shrugged. "I have my suspicions, but no proof."

"What are they?" Annani asked.

"Genes adapting and rearranging themselves."

Annani lifted a brow. "Are you suggesting that they rearrange themselves as soon as tissue or blood is examined?"

"Why not? They might be operating on a quantum level. Until they are observed, they don't assume a specific role and keep their flexibility. Once they are observed, they collapse to the lowest common denominator, which is human."

Thinking about quantum physics was the last thing Annani wanted to do right now. Her eyes were fixed on the hand lying atop the blanket, and she had an uncontrollable urge to hold it.

Slowly, she reached for the hand.

"Don't." Bridget's voice stopped her with her fingers hovering an inch above the skin.

Annani looked up. "Why not?"

Bridget shook her head, crossing quickly to the bedside. "Not yet. The skin is still extremely fragile. Paper-thin. The slightest pressure, even a gentle touch, could tear it, and any wound diverts resources the body needs elsewhere. Once the tissue rebuilds, you'll be able to hold his hand as much as you like. Or any other hand. We don't know if this is Khiann."

Annani withdrew her hand and clasped it together with her other one to prevent it from doing anything without her permission. "I have a feeling this is Khiann. I know it does not make sense, but I have learned to trust my gut feelings." She sighed. "Still, I cannot be sure, and it is so frustrating not knowing which of these five I am aching over. I am drawn to this bed, but it may just be my longing playing tricks on me."

Alena slipped an arm through hers. "The best option is to give each of these five males the same kind of attention. The others don't have a loved one to pray for them, so let's pretend that they are all Khiann."

That was so sweet of Alena to say. She really had a big heart.

"I want to speak to Khiann," Annani said. "Wherever his soul is drifting while his body rebuilds itself, I want to call him back. But following your logic, I should talk to all five of them. Morelle said that she heard Brandon telling her stories when she was in stasis, and that helped her want to wake up. Transitioning Dormants who lost consciousness have also benefited from loved ones talking to them."

"Turner did," Bridget said. "He said it helped him find his way to the surface. Several Dormants who had difficult transitions later reported hearing the people around them. They said hearing a familiar voice gave them something to move toward. It sounds mystical. A person on the outside, holding the thread so the one inside finds his or her way along it. But I've seen it work."

Alena grinned. "You are great at telling stories, Mother."

Annani felt the vise squeezing her heart loosen its grip, some of the knot that had been pulled tight for days unraveling, because at last there was something she could do rather than merely wait to be told there was no news.

"I have so many stories to tell that I could talk for months and not cover them all."