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He ran his thumb over my bottom lip, making me tingle. “I will. Soon.”
My eyelids closed again.
I gritted my teeth and hoisted them up.
If I had to glue them open, I would. I refused to sleep until I knew Jealousy was okay and Sully wasn’t about to die on me.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry again, Sinclair,” Campbell muttered, adding a different solution to Jess’s IV.
Sully grumbled, “Help Jealousy and Eleanor, and maybe I’ll think about accepting your apology.”
Campbell wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, the muggy island refusing to abate even with the air conditioner cooling the space. “At least that was the last of elixir.” Measuring out yet another injection, he tapped the syringe for air bubbles. “Drake came asking if I had any spare. I’m glad you only had a few left.”
Sully stretched out his back, sighing heavily. “I have four hundred vials ready to go.”
The doctor spun to face him, fury pinking his wrinkled face. “What? Where? Get rid of it.” He waved his hand at me and Jealousy. “I’m guessing you saw the effects first-hand after last night. I heard the guards saying that Jealousy had a seizure while serving in the hallucination, yet Drake just kept right on fucking her.”
“Shit.” Sully hung his head, raking a hand through his tangled hair. “Will she be okay?”
“She’ll die if she has another dose.”
My heart flurried. “Is the damage reversible?”
The doctor made eye contact with me, his anger subsiding a little. “I don’t know yet. Only time will tell. Time and detox from that heinous drug.” His gaze narrowed, locking back on Sully. “What do you plan on doing with the four hundred vials you have? Tell me you’re going to use them on those poor goddesses, and I’ll march out of here and get a gun to shoot you myself.”
Sully stiffened, sucking up the shadows of the room, wearing a cape of authority and dominion. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but I’m destroying them.”
Campbell glared, suspicion glinting off his glasses. “Why should I believe you?”
Sully tore his attention from him to me, saying, “Because my lab creation almost killed the purpose of my creation. I watched it try to steal my future, and I’m done. No more elixir. Ever.”
Goosebumps spread over me.
I wanted to kiss him.
Hug him.
Tell him just how much I loved him.
Dr Campbell sighed with relief. “I’m glad you’re finally seeing sense. That you learned to love people and not just beasts.”
Sully shook his head, lowering his voice to a murmur, “Not people, Campbell. Just one.” He gripped my hand with possession, fire sparking and love tying us together with almost visible strings.
The doctor grunted and continued to treat Jealousy.
Sully swayed, bumping against the bed as his face contorted, and he rubbed his chest where his heart resided.
Fear sprang.
I was relieved Jealousy received help, but the longer the doctor fussed over her, the more my impatience grew for him to tend to Sully.
His knees suddenly buckled beside me, his own fatigue making it impossible for him to stay awake.
“Sully…are you okay?” I grabbed at him, trying to hold him up.
He groaned, pushing me away gently. “I’m fine, woman. I need to return and deal with Drake.”
“Sit down, Sinclair, before you fall,” Campbell muttered. “I’ll tend to you shortly.”
“But—”
“Sit just for a moment, Sully. Please.” I tugged him with annoyance. If he went to deal with Drake now, the guards would kill him easily.
“Fine. Ten minutes, and then I’m leaving. I’m not dragging this out any more than it already has.” Sully permitted me to pull him onto the bed. The frame creaked under his weight, and another heavy sigh spilled from his lips.
After everything he’d been through and everything I’d been the cause of…he couldn’t escape sleep any more than I could.
Please let it just be tiredness and nothing more.
Needing him close, I tugged him until he scooted closer. We leaned against the wall, every inch of our bodies—from our shoulders, hips, and knees touched—as if we couldn’t bear to be separate.
My head fell into the comforting crook of his neck and shoulder.
His rested on the top of my hair.
Our hands linked.
Our breathing slowed.
And the world went dark as we lost the battle to stay awake.
* * * * *
“Here, drink this.”
I hoisted up the heaviest eyes in existence, blinking back fuzz and cotton wool.
Pika was the only splash of colour in the otherwise white sterile room, his emerald feathers perched in the corner on a packet of gauze.
Dr Campbell leaned over me, his wizened face imploring. In his hand, he held the most delicious-looking smoothie I’d ever seen.
My mouth watered, my stomach snarled, and I sat up with a groan, allowing him to help me. Once I slumped in a sitting position, he passed me the smoothie.
A muddy colour, unlike the vibrant rainbow colours of Sully’s other concoctions.
