Page 6 of For the Ghastly and Beautiful

“Aye,” he agrees. “I feel as though I’m juggling boulders. I know the slip is coming; I know it will hurt. But I keep catching the falling stones, careless of my shaking legs or my straining arms. I merely want to keep her from the pain.”

Does he not see her as I do? What she carries with her? She stayed because she had nothing to go back to. This is her second chance at happiness—life.

“She knows pain already, Tal. You need only peer into her eyes to see it.”

“I’ve seen it, felt her reactions to the trauma she’s endured.”

“Healing the past and shielding the future are two different things, neither of which you can do for her. She may want a hand to hold, but she has to walk on her own two feet.”

“When did you become so insightful?”

I run my fingers through my damp hair, tugging at the knots. “When I decided to heal myself. I’ll always bear the scars, but they’re no longer festering wounds that keep me down.”

After a moment of wordless understanding, Talodus frowns. “Should we try to wake her?”

“Yeah. Be gentle. Don’t scare her.”

Talodus touches her face gingerly, rubbing his knuckles from her temple to her chin. She doesn’t react. He shakes her shoulder, and again, nothing. His blue irises solidify as his apprehension leaks through.

I squeeze her hand, lifting and dropping her arm. Then I ran a thin line of icy water over her face. The only motion she makes is her eyes twitching behind her lids.

“Why isn’t she waking up?” Tal asks.

I don’t have an answer.

I long to see her lashes flutter, her cheeks tint pink, her ruby lips quirk before she says something sarcastic. I want those delicate hands to trace my scars, to help me remember I can be damaged and still be whole.

“Dammit. Where’s Imy when we need him?”

“Here,” the doc calls from the hall. “I’m here.”

Ecaeris rushes into the room behind Imryll, sliding across the floor with still-damp shoes. “Is she awake?”

“Does she sound awake to you?” I reply as Talodus says, “No.”

“Did you try to wake her?” Imy inquires, checking her pulse.

“Yes,” Tal responds quickly as I snark, “No, of course not. We’ve been watching her sleep like creeps.”

Imryll snorts. “You wouldn’t be the only one since she’s been here.”

Ecaeris cuts his eyes at Tal and me, suspicious. “How did you get to her so fast?”

“We followed her to the shore where she met Isolde,” Talodus states. “There was a power exchange with Spiran, but she was under the water for too long. I’ve never seen a mongrel hold their breath that long.”

“I haven’t either,” I absentmindedly agree, observing Imy for any sign that Ada isn’t improving.

“Something happened, something strange,” Tal continues. “Isolde was taken aback by what was going on, but she tried to hide it.”

I point my finger at him. “I’ve been thinking about that, too. But I can’t figure out what to ask her to get the truth. We all know how she adores her games and making us work out the issues for ourselves. This is getting out of hand, though.”

“Right,” Talodus chimes in. “Whatever she’s hiding about Ada could help us keep her safe.”

“She is hiding something,” Ecaeris acknowledges.

“But what?” Imryll speculates.

“I don’t know,” Ecaeris whispers to himself. “If what we just did was any indication—”