Page 134 of His Retribution

So many things I want to say, so much I want to do.

Will I ever see them again?

Can't I just feel what it would be like to hug my parents, my real parents that actually love me?

They both smile but Ellida speaks. "You will see us again, my child. Once your battle is won, once your world is at peace, you will see us again whenever you wish."

"And though it isn't quite the same, we can show you what it is like to be hugged by your real parents who love you more than you will ever know."

And they do.

I watch Ellida and Tolan wrap me in their arms, feel the warmth and the love they have for me as well as each other without the pressure and weight of a body.

It isn't the same but it is everything.

"It is time, my child," Ellida whispers. "It is time for you to wake."

I jolt upright, practically pop up like a piece of bread in a toaster, my chest heaving, tears running down my cheeks.

"Cora?"

My eyes dart to my left and I sigh.

Grace is sitting at my bedside, a book in her hand as she leans toward me.

Wait.

Wait, what?

My bedside?

I look around and find that I'm in a very sterile room, all kinds of monitors and machines around me, shit that I'm once again hooked up to.

A sharp pinch and tug in several different places prove that fact, and when I wrap my arms around my waist to hang on to the feeling of my parents’ embrace, my eyebrows raise.

I'm in a goddamn hospital Johnny.

"What the hell happened?" I whip back the blankets to do inventory, which is when I realize I'm hooked up to a goddamn catheter. My eyes shoot to Grace. "Really? A fucking catheter, Grace?"

She nods slowly. "You've been out cold for seven days, Cora. We had to do something or else Havok would have had to change your bed pan constantly, in addition to everything else he's been doing."

My heart flutters at the mention of his name.

"Where is Havok?"

"War room with the boys."

"Why?"

One orange brow lifts. "You don't remember what happened?"

I scrunch my nose and search my mind for a beat.

Shit.

Fucking Joyce.

But not Joyce.