dangerous combination. Now my immune system was taking a shit, and I was paying for it with a nice cold.
Well, I wasn’t going anywhere today. Might as well get a head start on my infusion. I forced myself to stagger to my desk, so I could fill the plastic syringes with plasma and prime the four needles for insertion. As I was putting the needles into my stomach, Queen Antonia’s words popped into my mind. I could take away your medical care.
I scowled. Only evil people threatened to take treatment away from sick people. The cold-hearted bitch. She could go suck an eggplant.
I hated how my treatments made me vulnerable like that. She knew I couldn’t live without this stuff. I’d die without it. And she was willing to exploit that in an act of revenge.
Well, screw her. Whatever she did, I’d stay alive out of spite, just so I could stick it to her. I was an Arcanea, too, and I could be just as big an asshole as she was.
After I got my needles in, I turned on the infusion pump, then climbed back in bed and propped up my pillows so I could breathe. I pulled my blanket over me and hoped the plasma would work miracles. I really didn’t want to be sick all weekend.
There was a knock on my door. Ethan poked his head in.
I hadn’t told Ethan about his mother’s threat. I couldn’t. How did you tell the love of your life that his mother was a venom-spitting cobra?
His face fell when he saw me. “Oh, Emma. I was going to ask if you wanted to go skiing, but you’re obviously not feeling well.”
“Don’t rub it in,” I groaned. My voice was stuffy. “I knew you’d say I told you so.”
“Your pain is never a cause for my celebration.” He entered the room and shut the door behind him. I shoved the infusion pump underneath the blanket so Ethan wouldn’t notice, but he caught me doing it.
“Can I see?” he asked curiously. He sat on the bed beside me. “It’s fine if you don’t want to.”
I hesitated. My first instinct was to tell him no— I mean, I figured he’d see all the tubes sticking out of me and think I was a robot or something. He’d realize how sick I really was, get scared and run.
But I was tired of hiding it from everyone, and he was my mate. He had to see it sooner or later, no matter how self-conscious I was about it.
I removed the blanket. Ethan’s eyes fell downward. I showed him my pump, and his eyes traveled up the length of the tubes and to the bottom of my shirt as I began to explain.
“This syringe is filled with plasma, which carries the antibodies my immune system doesn’t make. The pump pushes the medicine into my subcutaneous fat layer through needles, and it’s absorbed there into my bloodstream.” I lifted my shirt to show him four butterfly needles placed in a semicircle around my stomach, kept in place by medical tape. “I usually do it in my stomach, but I can do it in my hips and legs, too. I try to rotate between my stomach and hips, so they don’t scar as badly. I avoid my legs because... you know, I need to keep those perfect for skating.”
“And this helps you?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Yes. People who donate plasma are very important. They give me an added defense against infection. Without it, my body would shut down.”
Ethan nodded. “That makes sense. How long does it take?” he asked.
“Two hours,” I said. “Give or take. I have to do it every week.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Doesn’t bother me. Gives me an excuse to avoid everyone.”
Ethan laughed. “Typical Emma.”
He frowned as I pulled my shirt back over my stomach. “Does it hurt?”
“Sometimes,” I said. “Though it’s getting easier now that my body is becoming used to it. It was painful in the beginning, but I’m doing better.”
“That’s good to hear.” He carefully ran his fingers over my hip. “Are there any side effects?”
“I get freaking starving,” I confessed.
My stomach gave a rumble, and Ethan laughed lowly. “As I can see. I should get you something to eat. Can’t have my onawilke going hungry.”
“It’s still early morning,” I said, though food sounded amazing right now.
Ethan cocked an eyebrow. “It’s almost noon.”
Shit, I’d slept in a long time. I really was sick. “But you were going skiing,” I protested.