Page 45

Damen POV

Finn and I were meeting in the library when Julian’s shout set off alarm bells in my head. Abandoning my brother, I followed the sound toward Bianca’s room.

I entered just in time to witness Julian slapping Bianca on the cheek.

My blood rushed through me as I moved to them. “What the hell, Julian?”

Hardly glancing my way, Julian shook her shoulders. “She won’t respond—I had to try something.”

“Well, that’s not going to work,” I snapped at him. What was he even trying to do?

I ignored Julian’s hovering and touched her cheek. “Bianca? What’s wrong?”

But there was nothing, not even a glimmer of recognition, as she stared dimly past me.

I stepped back and allowed Julian to move Bianca into a chair, focusing on her form as she remained detached from the world around her. Her head was cocked to the side, and her eyes were vacant. She didn’t respond to his urgent questions or even seem to notice our presence.

A knot formed in my throat. I had witnessed this behavior before, in my undergraduate days.

“What happened?” I demanded, turning to Bryce. “Did you push her too hard again?”

Bryce raised his hands defensively. “It wasn’t like that,” he replied earnestly. “We discussed our mother, and we showed her a photo. Then she just... shut down.”

That explanation didn’t quite add up. “Why would a photo trigger this?”

Before I could probe further, Julian looked up as Finn entered and shot him a wary look. “What do you know?” he challenged.

I was about to defend him when I noticed him watching Bianca with a strangely curious look.

“Finn?” I probed.

He blinked, his startled eyes turning toward me. “I was thinking…” He sounded unsure. “She used to get a bit like this back when she talked about her first spirit. This is much worse, obviously, but it’s the same look.”

My heart skipped a beat, pulling my focus back to the woman seated lifelessly before us. There was a locket clutched in her hand. Bryce had mentioned that it contained a photograph of their mother.

Damn.

A heavy dread sank in my chest, and I silently prayed that my growing suspicions were mistaken.

“You don’t think…” Brayden’s voice trailed, tinged with hesitance .

“Alyssa died shortly after Bianca was born,” I murmured, running a hand over my face, the pieces aligning in my mind. “It’s likely that the first spirit Bianca ever encountered was her mother’s.”

“I’m glad you called me.” Trinity stepped from the room, closing Bianca’s bedroom door behind her. Julian remained inside—much to my everlasting annoyance—while the rest of us, including Miles and Titus, had been sequestered in the hallway.

I’d been excluded in my own home. It was difficult not to take offense. But this was more important—

“What do you think?” I asked, pushing myself from the wall.

Trinity gave me a sharp look. “Damen, you’ve encountered catatonic patients before. Gregory’s sub-specialty is psychological disorders.”

“I’m aware of that!” I felt my cheeks warm with frustration. “I recognize the signs. I didn’t want to assume without—”

“You’d be right to assume,” she said, her expression troubled. “She’s suffering from a severe catatonic stupor. It’s been two hours, and she’s not responding to external stimuli.” Trinity turned to Bryce. “If the situation doesn’t improve, I’m going to insist that she go to the hospital.”

“You can’t do that!” Titus had moved to protest, but I spoke up first. “She has trauma related to hospitals. Especially after what happened last time. It might exacerbate the condition, and she could never come out of it.”

Trinity held her clipboard to her chest, and she squared her shoulders. “Damen, she is not even responding enough to eat or drink. I’ve already started her IV, but that is not a good sign. If it were anyone else, I would have already admitted her. She needs to be monitored.”

Bryce seemed to contemplate this. “Do you think—”

“No!” I pointed at him as a seething hatred burned through me. “Don’t you dare make it worse!”

Bryce glanced at Finn.

“Don’t look at me.” Finn shrugged. “This is one of the reasons for your joke of a marriage. Make a decision.”

“I haven’t forgotten that you offered.” Bryce gritted his teeth. Surprise chased away my anger—I hadn’t known about this. But Bryce had already moved on. “You’ve known her longer than the rest of us, and you understand how she thinks. What would you do?”

Finn frowned, his gaze turning to the floor as his shoulders slumped. “She’ll never trust you again if you put her in the hospital. It’s probably the worst thing you could do right now. I would give her some time.”

“Then not yet.” Bryce crossed his arms, turning to face Trinity. “What other options do we have?”

Trinity clenched her jaw, pausing a moment before she responded.

“Well, if she doesn’t return to normal soon, you won’t have a choice.

But for now, keep her under observation.

Try to talk to her. It might bring her out of it.

But I will move her, with or without your approval, if nothing changes within the next twenty-four hours. ”

Bryce opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “You cannot be afraid to make her angry at you,” she said, cutting him off. “It is now your responsibility to make difficult decisions, but if you can’t, I will go to your father directly. Once I plead my case, he will agree.”

The following day passed slowly, and Bianca was never left alone. Occasionally, she’d sleep. But when she woke, there was no change to her condition.

Finn’s fiddling had been getting on my nerves. Between his nervousness and Julian’s sullen attitude toward him, I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I eventually sent him to deal with Belial. Usually, I would never let even my Er Bashou communicate directly with the Overseers. But this was an emergency. The demon had been vying for my attention, and I had no patience to talk business with him.

I hadn’t seen him since—but Kiania wasn’t alarmed. This meant that Belial had, most likely, started telling Finn his entire life’s history, and my brother had passed out from boredom.

Still, the Underworld no longer mattered.

I often found myself by Bianca’s side, running my fingers through her hair, speaking gently, and seeking any sign of recognition or recovery. But the void remained, and Trinity’s looming deadline was fast approaching.

“Nothing is changing.” Brayden’s voice broke through the silence, his hands twisting together in worry. He looked at Bryce. “We should just take her.”

“I have an idea…” Miles began tentatively, only to abruptly halt, his gaze moving to Julian, who was lying on Bianca’s bed. Miles dismissed his thought with a slight frown, muttering, “Never mind.”

My attention flickered between him and Julian, who seemed oblivious to Miles’s aborted suggestion. I was about to probe further when a harsh ringtone cut through the room.

“Could you have made it any more obnoxious?” Miles stalked across the room and snatched my phone from the top of Bianca’s vanity. He threw it at me .

“It’s Gregory,” I protested, glancing at the screen. “And since I don’t always know where my phone is, I have to make sure I can hear it.”

“Then put it somewhere you’ll remember,” Miles said. “No one wants to listen to your stupid theme music.”

“It’s Gregory!” I repeated as a sudden bolt of excitement coursed through me. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? And it was perfect because he was due to arrive at any moment.

I knew this would work out!

“You just said that.” Bryce shot me a barely concealed look of concern.

“He can help us, you idiot.” I lowered my phone, glaring at him. “He meets me on Mondays to go over the schedule for the week.”

“It’s Monday?” Bryce sounded unsure, although I’d just told him. “I didn’t realize.”

“Did you seriously abandon your classes and not post a warning?” Brayden frowned at his brother.

Bryce shot him an annoyed look. “I’ve had other things on my mind.”

Miles seemed to catch on to my excitement and jumped to his feet. “When is he supposed to be here?”

“He’s here now.” Titus had been sitting with his legs straddling the back of a chair, and at his statement, he rested his chin on his folded arms.

“That’s right,” I said, and the doorbell echoed through the room. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere!”

“Where are we supposed to go?” Brayden called after me, but I ignored him.

We only had a short amount of time before Trinity came back.

“Gregory!”

The older man jumped when I threw open the door, and before he could blink, I’d already grabbed his arm and dragged him into my house.

He’d barely regained his footing as he spoke, “What in the world—?”

But I was already pulling him up the stairs.

I didn’t have a lot of time to explain.

“Bryce and Bianca got married. Then Bryce triggered her, and now she’s unresponsive.” I breathed. “Trinity wants to take her to the hospital. But I’m concerned because she’s got trauma related to hospitals, and it might make her condition worse. So now you need to figure out what else we can do.”

By the time I’d finished my explanation, we were in front of Bianca’s room.

“See!” I threw open the door, revealing the interior and the others.

Gregory took a deep breath, sparing only a glance around the room before he muttered, “Again, I say, what in the world? Happy nuptials.” His voice dripped with sarcasm as he eyed Bryce, who flushed.

“I—” he began, but Gregory ignored him.

“Move aside,” Gregory commanded, stepping forward to assess Bianca.

“What exactly am I looking for?” he asked, his clinical gaze sweeping over her. “She’s catatonic! How long has she been like this?”

“Almost twenty-four hours,” Julian replied, his voice strained.

“And Dr. Kohler wants to admit her?” Gregory paused, looking at me pointedly. “What do you expect from me? You know what must be done. ”

“Isn’t there any other way?” I pressed, hoping his extensive network could offer an alternative.

“No,” he said flatly.

Despair washed over me. “But why?”