Page 59 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

She had no idea what he was talking about. "What source am I close to?"

"The gods, of course." He took a small penlight from his pocket and shone it into each of her eyes in turn, asking her to follow it. "The closer you are to the original god or goddess who gave you their genes, the faster the transition. Usually, but not always. There are many other factors that affect the process."

"I didn't transition fast. It took almost three weeks and sixteen venom bites."

Julian chuckled. "You counted?"

"Of course I did. I was so worried. I thought I wouldn't transition at all, and that what they'd told us in the enclosure was true."

Julian's handsome face hardened. "Bastards," he hissed. "What they did to you and the other female Dormants is inexcusable."

Gertrude lifted the back of the hospital bed. "We have the one responsible for all that suffering, and instead of punishing him, we are nursing him back to health and building him a house. That's not justice."

No, it wasn't, but Sullha knew why they weren't executing Navuh. His mate was the Clan Mother's sister, and she had begged for his life because she loved the monster.

Julian put the stethoscope in his ears and listened to her chest and back, telling her to take deep breaths and release them.

The nurse put something that looked like a plastic gun to her forehead. "Fever is down."

"That's an excellent sign," Julian said. "It indicates that you're out of the critical first stage."

"So, it's done?"

He smiled. "It's only begun. The big change happens in the first day or two, and the rest keeps going for months. For males, it takes about six months to produce venom. The fangs come in pretty quickly, but without the venom they can't do any of the fun stuff." He winked at her.

He took a cloth measuring tape from his coat pocket, the kind the women in the enclosure had used to alter clothing, and unrolled it.

"What's that for?"

"I need to take your measurements." He held one end against the top of her head and let Gertrude run it down the bed to her heel, over the blanket, then read the number. "And no, it's not to order you a wedding dress or a casket."

Gertrude snorted, but Sullha didn't find the comment funny.

"No change," the nurse said. "We took your measurements yesterday when you came in, and you haven't grown."

"Was I supposed to?"

"Many transitioning Dormants gain height. Males often gain quite a bit. But it's not a rule, and it's still early." Julian rolled the tape back up. "You might still get taller."

"I wish." She sighed.

Sullha would have loved to gain a few inches so Yaaf wouldn't tower over her as much as he did. She liked it that he was big, but she didn't like being small. People always thought that she was younger than she actually was.

"Merlin was here yesterday," Julian said while measuring the length of her right arm. "He boasted that it was his elixir that made your body ready for the transition."

"The elixir tasted horrible, but it helped me relax, so he might be right."

"I'll be sure to tell him." Julian recorded the measurement he'd just taken of her feet.

"Did they grow?" Sullha asked.

"No."

"Good. I don't want to have to buy new shoes."

"One more thing," Julian said. "If you stay awake and don't slide back under tonight, we can do the ceremony tomorrow and discharge you."

Her gut tightened. "Is that possible? I mean, losing consciousness again?"