Page 98 of Grave Revelations

She glanced up, giving him a stern look. “Now, Mr. Carey. We won't have any of that negative talk today. It’s a new day, and that means it's a new start.”

He glowered at her, but she only met his stare, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe a little better than yesterday,” he relented.

Her brow fell. “That’s right. And tomorrow will be the best so far.”

“Would you pass me my laptop?” he asked, infusing some of the charm that usually worked on ladies into his voice.

“Not yet. It’s time for your physical.”

He frowned as she came around the side of his bed, holding out a blood pressure cuff. He lifted an arm, letting her wrap it tightly. She pressed the button on the sphygmomanometer, and his vitals appeared on the screen.

“Looking much better than yesterday,” she said, removing the cuff. “Now, look up at the ceiling and tell me if you feel anything.”

He looked up. “I think I felt something just then.”

“I haven’t started yet.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, focusing with every ounce of energy he had on his numb appendages.

“All finished.”

He glanced down, watching as she replaced the blanket over his legs. He couldn’t even feel the brush of fabric over his skin. It was as if he didn’t exist below the waist.

Swallowing, he accepted his laptop, resting it on what may as well have been a laptop stand for the lack of pressure on his legs as the computer came down on them.

“Is there any chance it’s just delayed?” He had scoured the web for answers the doctors wouldn’t give him. The surgery was supposed to fix things, but after three days, he felt nothing.

The nurse patted his shoulder. “Have faith.”

Simon lifted his laptop, exhaling a long breath.

She left the room, closing the door behind her.

When she was gone, he opened his Ring app, typed in the passcode, and brought up the live feed, smiling as Rebecca rolled over in her bed. Alone. She was alone.

It had taken some time and effort to find the right person, but someone was always willing to hack a security feed—for a price.

The audio didn’t work in her room, and he couldn’t rewind to watch anything other than live footage, but he didn’t need to see every moment of her life. He only needed to check in to be sure she was safe. After all, it was his one purpose. To look after her.

And Simon would never fail her again.

Chapter 65

Sophia

Sophia sat up, spinning in a circle. She’d landed in her usual place, but where souls usually littered the banks and trudged through murky water toward some destination, the in-between was devoid of life. The boat—typically making anchor just around the time she arrived—was a speck on the horizon. The soldiers, normally patrolling the banks of the river, were suspiciously absent as well.

She went right. On the previous two days, she’d moved laboriously through the fog until she broke through, finding the other place where Adalaide lived. Today, gray streaks of mist hardly obscured her view in any direction, giving her hope. She’d gone in search of her coven the first day but, finding the thick mist too daunting to push through for any great length of time, had settled for learning what she could from the Naphil.

Now, though, she was free to explore. To find her sisters.

She bounded into the thinning mist and marched in a new direction. There was no way of knowing how large this place was, but if the others landed in the river each day as she did, they couldn’t be far from it. She would mark her path from the river, setting off in a different direction until she found them.

After three days at sea, she guessed they had five remaining until they reached America. That meant she had five days to find her coven and free them from this place.

Together, they would overpower Elizabeth.

---