“No. No. No,” Emily, too, wasn’t enthusiastic about his idea once he explained it.
“What do you mean no?” He asked, an eyebrow raised. “Do you have a better solution, Ems?”
“Ems?” Both Serena and Tatiana echoed in hushed tones after him.
Emily could only flash them an uncertain smile before waving their worries off. Theodore forgot all about her, it was therefore only natural that he wouldn’t remember his endearment for her.
He looked at them, his eyes slightly narrowed.
“You may be family now, Tatiana,” he began without preamble, “but don’t take liberties with me.”
“Theo!” Emily let out in soft admonishment.
“Yes?”
“Just because you don’t recall all that had happened in the past few months doesn’t give you the right to be a jerk.”
His grim and serious look went joyous at once.
“Despite your innocence, you have quite the backbone on you,” he told her in a stunned tone.
She rolled her eyes at him.
Tatiana didn’t breathe a word. And whether his words hurt her or not, it didn’t show on her face. That was what amazed Emily the most – the queen’s ability to school her features.
Hell, she even smiled sweetly at him, and kept a cool head considering the situation.
Emily realized then, more than ever, that she would have never been able to fulfill the role of queen of the dragons as per the etiquette.
“Earth to Emily,” Serena snapped her fingers in front of Emily’s face, and this latter stopped looking unseeingly ahead.
She muttered a shy “Sorry,” at that, and then turned to Liam, wondering what his take on the matter was.
Her silent question must have been glaringly obvious to the dragon prince that was her mate’s brother. He soon enough said, “We don’t know what potion was used. The effects could last a lifetime or dissipate by next week. I am not sure seismotherapy is the best way to go about it, but it could work.”
“My point exactly,” Theodore pointed out. “It could work. I am betting on it.”
“If she used a potion, there must be a potion out there somewhere,” Emily tried to argue.
Theodore let out a “Definitely,” while the rest nodded.
“So?”
“I am not in a trusting mood, lover,” he said with a wry smile. “I don’t want to give a witch the opportunity to inject me with something – anything really, be it a poison or an antidote.”
Emily couldn’t help but bite on her bottom lip at that. She then crossed her arms on her chest, and kept thinking of ways that could ensure the witches’ cooperation – she found none, especially as she didn’t know the dynamics between the two species.
She hadn’t learned that much during her month of training. And in light of recent events, she had all but forgotten everything.
“There must be some other way,” Emily insisted.
“Let us first try the seismotherapy, Ems. If it doesn’t do anything, we’ll have to find some other way.”
It felt as if he was pleading with her despite his choice of words.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt,” she said in a hushed tone.
“You don’t have to watch me go through that,” he tried to compromise with her, eyes soft on her face.
“I am not leaving you alone during such a critical procedure,” she told him, her decision already made.
“I will be heavily sedated, Ems, and thus won’t feel a thing,” he tried to reassure.
“Nevertheless,” she argued, “I am not leaving your side, not now, not ever, not as long as I can help it.”
He nodded at her.
And then, he turned to his siblings and said, “Kindly make the necessary arrangements. Let’s have it performed this afternoon.”
“So soon?” Serena asked, worry painted on her face.
He nodded at her, “Why delay the inevitable?”
“True,” she conceded. “I am going to bring the strongest and most effective sedatives. I trust Liam can handle the other details.”
Her brother nodded at her.
** ** ** ** ** ** **
A few hours after lunch, the gang retired to the basement where they had arranged for an examination table. The device that was to deliver the electroshocks to Theodore looked almost frightening to Emily.
She felt like she was parched, and like her lips were dry. She was immensely scared – scared of how this procedure could affect her beloved mate – and also undeniably hopeful.
Her emotions were all over the place and seemed to be at war.
“Are you sure?” She asked Theodore one last time as he laid on the examination table.
“Positive, Ems,” he assured her with a nod.
“I believe in you,” she then told him softly before placing a soft kiss on his forehead.
Liam fastened the binds at his wrists and the one across his midriff that was to keep him on the table.
“Is this necessary?” She whispered, on the verge of tears.
“You know it is, dearie,” Serena told her as she placed the electrodes on Theodore’s temples.
Serena expertly inserted a needle in Theodore’s arm and instructed him to count out loud until he could no longer count.
She added to the flow of the sedatives, and within a few seconds, he was out.
And then, the device came to life. And once calm Theodore started to become agitated, almost as if he were in pain… but as Serena explained it was totally normal. His body was merely reacting to the electric current going through his head.
“It’s called electroconvulsive therapy for a reason, dearie,” Liam tried to joke about it.
Emily, however, wasn’t well enough to even crack a smile at his attempt to lighten the mood.
All stares were on Theodore.
A few more seconds, just as Emily was about to put an end to this procedure, and Serena turned off the device, saying it was over.
Theodore’s muscles started loosening up at that.
“He’s not waking up,” Emily said in a worried tone.
“He’ll be out for a few more minutes,” Serena immediately reassured. “I am no psychiatrist but the procedure was performed as per the book. Now, was it effective? I am not sure.”
“I could care less about that,” Emily spat out almost angrily. “He seemed to be in pain. I don’t want to ever see him in pain again!”
“He wasn’t,” Serena reassured. “He was well sedated when I delivered the electroshocks.”
“If you say so,” Emily said on a sigh after some time, not fully convinced, her gaze trained on her mate.
All the while, Liam unbound his brother.
Three minutes later, Theodore came to with a groan.
Emily was by his side in an instant.
“I was so worried,” she let out half angrily half worriedly. “Don’t ever do this to me again!”
“Yes, little one,” he said with a lopsided smile.
She stilled at that, not knowing whether he used the endearment because he remembered or if it was an ironic twist of fate.
“It’s still all hazy to me,” he then said as he straightened up, “but it wasn’t in vain, dorogoya.”
Tears sprang to Emily’s eyes at that, and he opened his arms in welcome for her.
Emily vaguely heard their audience sigh in unison at that.
What a truly supportive family!