Kram

cing my body into a heavy, restles

was stiff, and the room had grow

automatically recalibrated, sharp and clinica

er extract on Charly's shawl would have faded by now,

for that bottle of lavender and chamomile essential oil

e touched my lips

nto her skin, believing it to be a sooth

ready reacting with her body, temporary dissolving the delicate bi

absolute perfection and unblemished honor-was abo

would be met with what appeared t

ummed through my veins, washing away

detta could wait. M

ide. I reached out and placed my hand against Demetri's

hed, my heart cle

sign that the infection was winning, spreadin

y up my throat. I forced it down. I was a d

ol water, laying them on his forehead, his neck, his chest

room. I was alone, fighting a losin

re terrifying than any physic

ly a second, a faint, almost imperceptible rustle of the

the basin of cool water slo

er basin slipped from my grasp, crashing t

tri's eyes were open. They were a startl

. And he was