Clay.
I scrambled up. A hand closed on my bare arm.
"It's okay," Nick whispered from beside the bed. "Lay back down. Rest."
"W--where's Clay?"
"He's fi--" Nick stopped himself, as if unable to force the lie out. "He's...okay. Jeremy's looking after him. And that doctor, Tolliver."
I tried to get up again, but Nick's grip tightened.
"Tolliver?" I said. "How can we be sure--?"
"That he won't take revenge?" Nick finished. "Because Jeremy trusts him. And Jeremy's right there, watching every step. If anyone can help Clay, it's Tolliver. He has every kind of medicine Clay could need. That's what Zoe does for him--steals supplies so he can give them to shelters and stuff."
"I want to see--" I began.
"He's okay, Elena." Nick's gaze met mine. "Would I say that if he wasn't?"
I searched his eyes and saw worry, but not panic.
"If he's okay, why can't I see--?"
"Because you'll get upset and Jeremy has enough to worry about right now."
I blinked, not sure I'd heard right. Those words and that tone didn't sound like the Nick I knew. He slid closer, arm going around me.
"I'm right, aren't I?" he said. "You walk in there and see Clay lying on the bed, unconscious, medical stuff all over, you're going to get upset. You know they're working on him, but if it doesn't look like it--if they just seem to be standing around talking--it'll drive you nuts. Same with Clay if it was you lying in there."
"And that will only upset Jeremy more," I said softly.
"Because he'll want to do something. Do more. You're in here with me because Tolliver wants you in bed. Off your feet. What happened today, out there...that's too much for someone so close to having a baby." A small smile. "Babies."
I swallowed. He was right, but there was another, more immediate danger to my babies now: Hull, who could find me, find us, wherever I went. Who was probably outside the hotel right now, watching and waiting--
I shook it off, and turned to the adjoining door, straining to hear Jeremy's voice.
I longed to race to Clay's side, but I had to trust that Jeremy would do everything in his power to help Clay, and that was as certain as the sun rising tomorrow morning.
"What--?" My throat was dry and I had to clear it before trying again. "What exactly is wrong? Is it the infection? Are they going to--?"
Nick pressed a glass of water to my lips.
As I drank, he answered. "It is the infection. Or, right now, it's mostly the fever caused by the infection. They got the fever down enough so it's not dangerous, but it's not going away."
"Did he wake up? Is he conscious?"
Nick hesitated.
"Nick, please," I said. "Whatever you tell me, it's not going to be as bad as what I can imagine. I'm only going to get more worked up if I don't know."
"He...he was delirious for a bit. They had to sedate him. He'd started to Change and the noise...they had to do it. Now the fever's down, and Jeremy wants to wake him up so he can have some say in what they decide, but they're afraid if he does wake up and he's still delirious--"
"Have some say?" I cut in. "In what they decide about his arm. That's what you mean, isn't it? They're thinking of amputating."
Someone knocked on the hall door before Nick could answer me. It was Jaime.
"Oh, geez, I'm sorry," she said when Nick opened the door and she saw me. "I wasn't sure which room...It's the next one, right? I needed to speak to Jeremy."