Page 135 of The Demon's Spell

Lilian went quiet, but she seemed to back down. Finally, she cleared her throat. “We will speak with your doctors. We’ll get your tests scheduled as soon as possible. Expect a call from your doctors soon.”

I could hardly contain my excitement as we left the Imperium headquarters. I waited until we were at the bottom of the stairs and alone before I exclaimed, “We did it! We actually did it. Nadine, you’re going to get your kidney! You’ll go into remission!”

She beamed, and tears beaded in her eyes. “Oh my Goddess, I could!”

I grabbed her around the waist in a tight hug and spun her around. She laughed, sounding so relieved. I set her down, and she stilled. “There’s still a chance my lupus could return.”

“What did Dr. Yonker say? A three- to five-percent chance?” I asked. “I’m liking those odds.”

Nadine smiled, then pulled me into a tight hug again. “I can’t believe you’re doing this for me.”

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Of course. You’re my best friend, Nadine. I’d do anything for you.”

If that meant giving her a piece of me, I’d gladly do it.

A week was all it took for us to get scheduled for surgery. I didn’t know what the priestesses had said to Dr. Mack, but they’d convinced her to recommend me for the transplant. She wasn’t technically my therapist anymore, but no one seemed to care. We were getting the transplant, and that was all that mattered.

We spent the following week preparing for surgery. We gathered our homework early so we could make it up while in recovery. The doctors did all kinds of blood tests, scans, and x-rays, and Nadine went to her last dialysis appointment the day before the surgery. I was required to take a course to ensure I understood the implications of donating my kidney, and they made us both write out a will in case we didn’t make it. That made me a bit nervous, but the surgeon assured us it was merely a precaution.

“Living donor transplants have a high success rate,” the doctor had told us. “Compared to a deceased donor kidney, risk of complications is much lower, and recovery time is quicker. You have nothing to worry about.”

We sat on the floor in Nadine’s dorm room the night before the surgery. Grant, Talia, and Mandy had joined us for a game of Clue. The last thing I wanted was for Nadine to feel worried or scared about the procedure, so I figured we could make it into a celebration. I was elated this was finally happening.

We couldn’t stop laughing at Grant. He kept tossing popcorn in the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. Most kernels ended up across the room.

“I’ve got it this time,” Grant insisted. “Check this out!”

He tossed another kernel, and it bounced off his cheek and flew across the game board. It landed down Mandy’s dress. We all bust a gut laughing. I hadn’t felt this at ease in a long time.

“Wow! Nice shot!” Mandy said, reaching into her dress and popping the kernel into her mouth.

“You guys are making a mess!” Talia was on her knees behind Nadine, braiding her hair. I thought it was a nice gesture, so Nadine wouldn’t have to worry about it in the morning before surgery.

I reached into a bag of chips and shoved a handful in my mouth. Crumbs fell onto the floor.

“Me?” Grant balked. “Lucas is being a slob.”

“I have to stuff my face,” I teased. “Doc says I can’t eat after midnight.”

“He’s right,” Nadine said with a full mouth. She was eating some of the Pad Thai I’d brought over, and she had noodles hanging out of her mouth. “Doctor’s orders. Your turn, Lucas.”

I rolled the dice and moved across the game board.

“I can’t believe this is happening!” Mandy exclaimed. “I mean, part of Lucas is going to be inside Nadine. It’s crazy, isn’t it?”

I shrugged. “I’ve been inside her before. Never this deep, though.”

I’ll never know how I managed to keep a straight face when I said it, but my friends roared in laughter.

“Hey, no one will ever beat your record for how deep you’ve been inside a girl,” Nadine cracked.

“And you’ll never beat your own record again,” Talia laughed.

“Deeper, Lucas,” Grant mocked in a high-pitched voice. He could barely get it out between his deep-belly laughs. “It holds a whole new meaning.”

“Was that supposed to be me?” Nadine asked with a smirk. “It’s more like this: Deeper, Lucas, you fucking animal!”

Mandy howled, and tears started leaking out of my eyes from laughter.

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