Page 87 of Twisted Gift

He nods. “You’ve only successfully reversed the transition on fae who weremadenot born, correct?”

After a moment of hesitation, she nods. “Their DNA is broken down differently, so depending on how long they’ve been fae, it would take more or less time to reverse the transition.”

“Have you ever tried the process on a fae-born?”

She swallows. “No.”

He claps his hands together. “Congratulations, Dr. Collins. I’m going to be your first.”

“Tristan,” I cut in. “I don’t think—”

“You want me to make you human, and then you’ll let me go?”

“Precisely. Afterward, we’ll clear your memories of the fae. I may not be fae after this is over, but I’m going to protect those who are.”

“No!” she shouts. “You can’t do that.”

“You’re right. I won’t be able to, but I’ve got enough friends who can.”

She shakes her head. “I won’t do it. I’ve given my whole life to this organization.”

I scowl, stepping forward. “Exactly. Haven’t you given enough?”

“I promised my daughter I wouldn’t stop until humans were safe from the fae.”

“Do you truly believe Corrine would want you to die for The Experiment?”

Her eyes narrow at me. “You have no idea what it’s like to lose—”

“I’ve lost plenty,” I snap at her. “Don’t pretend you don’t know that.”

Tristan’s hand rests at the small of my back. “This is happening today,” he announces. “So you’d better eat that food and get your energy up.” He reaches for my hand and laces his fingers through mine before the two of us leave the room. The door is almost shut behind us when Richelle starts screaming.

After briefing our friends on the plan—and after Tristan calms Skylar down when she flips on him for deciding to become human—the three of us prepare to take Richelle to the lab.

Nikolai and Allison stay back at the hotel with Oliver, but I’m glad Skylar is with us. I’m not sure I could get through this alone.

We drive through the city in a tinted SUV. Richelle is sitting in the passenger seat giving directions to the fae guard driving the car. Skylar is sitting in the seat behind her, ready to pounce if necessary. By the sharp expression on her face, she’s just itching for the chance. I don’t blame her.

I’m sitting next to her, while Tristan is behind us, sitting with the other fae guard. He reaches forward and slips his hand into mine, holding it the entire drive, tracing slow circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. I focus on that to keep myself centered.

With traffic, it takes us almost an hour to get to the other side of the city. The car turns onto a long dirt road and finally comes to a stop in front of a run-down gray brick building. It’s all on one level, aside from the basement, but it’s spread out. The windows are boarded up, and ones that still have glass are mostly broken.

“Need a new investment property?” Skylar asks Tristan in a dry tone.

He chuckles.

We get out of the car, the two guards on either side of Richelle as we walk into the building. If anyone were to wander into the building, they would see nothing but an empty, dusty old warehouse. Except we’re not anyone. We’re here for a reason.

Richelle leads us to the far side of the room. Our shoes echo off the cement floors until we come to a stop in front of a wall. Richelle runs her hand along it, pausing a few times, then stops and presses her hand firmly against it.

My eyes widen as the wall moves back and to the side, revealing a doorway to a landing and a set of stairs to the basement.

“Creepy,” Skylar mutters. She’s not wrong.

The group of us descends the stairs. At the bottom, Richelle leans over and flips a switch, bathing the room in harsh fluorescent light. The room looks pretty much the same as the one I found Max in. White floors and walls. There are glass cabinets against the far wall, filled with vials of blood and other colored liquids that turn my stomach. The counters are metal, and there’s a sink in the middle. Off to one side is a row of black filing cabinets, no doubt filled with research and information on the fae, and beside that is a desk covered with stacks of paper and a computer.

Tristan tells the guards to pack up the computer and files. We’ll take it back to the hotel and go through everything there.

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