Page 79 of Taken By the Fae

Give him a hug for me and keep me posted!

I go back and forth, wanting to text Tristan on the elevator ride to the pediatric floor, but the softdingtells me I’m out of time. I’ll call him after I see my brother.

I head to Elijah’s room and find the door ajar. The nurses’ station is empty, and soft conversation filters through the air from several rooms. I step forward to walk inside and freeze at the sound of his doctor’s voice.

“I’ve run all the same tests, and they have provided the same conclusion.” There’s a pause, as if she’s on the phone with someone who’s speaking, and then: “I can’t be certain without running further tests, but it appears unseelie. The presence of seelie magic is typically lighter in the bloodstream.”

My eyes pop wide and my stomach plummets. I shove the door open, then slam it shut, narrowing my eyes at the doctor. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“I’ll call you back,” Dr. Collins says into the phone, pulling it away from her ear and slipping it onto her white coat. Her cheeks are tinged pink, and her eyes are wide with a mix of surprise and fear. “Before you—”

“No,” I cut her off. “You’re going to tell me why you’re talking to someone about fae magic while standing over my unconscious brother.”

She frowns briefly before nodding. “I’m not sure what you think you heard—”

“I know exactly what I heard, so now you’d better start talking.”

Dr. Collin’s pales. “You… you know about the fae?”

I nod, crossing my arms over my chest. “Clearly, so do you. Areyoufae?”

“No.” Her tone is sharp, and there’s a hint of what sounds like disgust. She glances toward Elijah before turning her attention to me and sliding her hands into her pockets. “As I said yesterday, there is nothing physically wrong with your brother.”

“You’re saying Elijah not waking up has to do with the fae?” My heart is in my throat as I wait for the doctor to confirm my inkling that the fae somehow did this.

Shock crosses her expression before she schools her features. “How much do you know about them?”

Something tells me to keep my cards very close to my chest. “Enough,” I answer vaguely.

She purses her lips for a moment before continuing. “I’ve been researching the fae for nearly six years, and this—what’s happening to Elijah—I’ve seen it before.”

My pulse pounds in my throat as my eyes bounce between Dr. Collins and Elijah. “If you’ve seen it before, that means you can fix it, right?”

“I’m doing everything I can, I assure you.” She steps closer to me, pressing her lips together when my back stiffens. “Does your family know about the fae?” she asks in a lower voice, as if she’s concerned about being overheard.

I shake my head, finding it harder and harder to pull in a steady breath. “You said fae magic did this to him? What exactlyisthis?”

She hesitates. “In basic terms, Elijah is in a magically induced coma.”

My brows knit, and I blink against the burning in my eyes. “How…Whydid this happen?” I’m not asking her specifically, mostly asking aloud in horror, but she responds anyway.

“It’s hard to say. How many fae do you know? Any that would want to hurt your family?”

Before I can respond, her phone chimes, and she pulls it out, frowning. “I’m sorry. I have to assist another patient. I’ll come back as soon as I’m done.” She heads for the door, glancing back at me. “Please don’t leave.”

The moment the door clicks shut, I hurry over to Elijah’s bed, kiss him on the forehead, then get the hell out of there.

I have the phone to my ear before I even reach the elevator. I jam my fist against the button, holding my breath as the doors slide open and the call connects.

“Aurora—”

“How quickly can you get here?” The words tumble out of my mouth as I step into the empty elevator and hit the button for the ground level.

“Talk to me,” Tristan says in a calm voice. “What’s going on?”

I press my fist against my mouth for a moment, willing the tears to recede. “Elijah…” I finally force out. “He’s in a coma because some unseelie fae did something to him.”

“I’m on my way. Are you at the hospital?”

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