Page 111 of Bent Out of Shade
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I calledEli to pick me up in the aquarium parking lot at the real Stanley Park. It was a bit of a walk, but the fresh air would do me good. However, I blinked at the sunlight like it was a cruel tease, not trusting the hope that a new day brought because this nightmare wasn’t over yet. Not by a longshot. Laurent hadn’t recovered, Sabrina hadn’t woken up, I didn’t have the Ascendant, and Dumah…
Later.
I got to the meeting place first, sitting on a bench and clocking every vehicle that entered the lot. When Eli pulled up and Sadie bounded out, I launched toward her faster than an Olympic sprinter off the starting block and hugged her tight.
Eli scratched his stubbled jaw, yawning. “I know you want to check on Emmett and Laurent first, but you need to rest. That’s a direct order from your boss, your healer, and your family.”
“I better do as I’m told.” I opted to sit in the back seat with my kid so she could lean against me. “How are they?”
“Emmett will be fine.” Eli wove through the park back to the exit. Sunshine filtered through the trees and happy music played over the speakers. “Jude said the damage was mostly cosmetic.”
“Is she sure?” I put my arm around Sadie. “He looked like he was coming apart.”
“Fatigue and stress. Once he’s whole again and rested, he’ll be good as new.”
I clamped my lips together but couldn’t prevent the weird sob that escaped.
Sadie squeezed my hand.
“And Laurent?”
My daughter turned earnest brown eyes to mine. “Juliette is working really hard on him.”
“I know, and she’s very good at what she does.” Sometimes, though, that wasn’t enough.
“What’s the latest update?”
Eli merged into the lane leading to the west end. “It’s complicated. The demon infused magic into Laurent making it impossible for him to shift.”
Whitecaps danced on the waves in English Bay, and the seawall was filled with people enjoying the beautiful weather, but the sight of my favorite beach left me cold.
“Juliette can’t get it out?” My voice was strained.
“The supermoon is screwing everything up.” He zipped through a yellow light. “She can only remove the demon’s magic out of him a bit at a time. Trouble is, once, say, Laurent’s hand is free of the demon magic, the moon exerts its pull and he shifts. A wolf part turns human and vice versa. She’s worried about the strain on his heart with this constant transformation, and he needs to be in one unified form to heal.”
“It’s going to be this way for the next two nights?” Technically, the full moon was only one night, but it took three for its effects on shifters to wane. “He’s at least in a magic coma, right?”
There was a long, weighted pause, then Eli met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “No.”
“What? She’s doing this while he’s conscious?”
“Not exactly,” Sadie hedged.
I rested my forehead against the cool glass, torn between wanting to be by Laurent’s side and not leaving my daughter. I tried to tell myself that he had Juliette and Tatiana and he wasn’t even awake, but I still felt like shit.
“Putting him into a coma might be one magic too many for his body to handle,” Eli said. “For now, it’s a waiting game.” He whipped past the enormous silver globe housing Science World and turned onto Main Street for the final stretch home. “Hopefully tonight, he’ll shift fully to wolf. That’s the sign he’s out of danger.”
My family wouldn’t let me phone anyone until I’d showered, eaten, and slept. I figured I’d humor them, but the hot water felt so divine, unlocking knotted-up muscles, that I stayed in there until it ran cold.
Eli had bought matzoh ball soup from one of the Jewish delis and warmed it up before he left. When I smelled the chicken broth, I devoured three bowls and was starting to doze off on the sofa when Sadie poked my arm.
“Mom?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
She sucked her top lip into her mouth. “Can we talk about my grandparents?”
