Helen went through both scenarios in her head, and neither of them felt right. Either way her father, the person who deserved to suffer the least, was the one who would be hurt the most. Eventually, her brooding was interrupted by Noel, who let Helen know that Claire and Jason were awake.
Helen went upstairs to Jason’s room and pushed the door open a crack. Daphne was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Claire, holding her hand and looking down at her with a fretful tenderness. Daphne had loved Claire when she was a baby, she had explained to Helen the night before, and she had always worried for Claire’s safety growing up alongside a Scion. In the hotel during the storm, Daphne had removed Helen’s curse, and she had also explained that she had left Claire excluded from being able to trigger the cramps, even though it could have exposed Helen, just in case Helen ever needed to protect Claire. Helen had thanked her for that, although there was little else her mother told her that night to make her grateful.
“Did you sort things out with Lucas?” Daphne asked as Helen entered the room. Helen flinched when she heard his name, nodded hastily, and put the attention back on Claire.
“Hey, Gig. You really freaked me out,” she said. She came over to stand next to the bed.
“Freaked myself out,” Claire said, gesturing for her to sit down. Then she noticed Helen’s puffy face. “Are you okay?”
“Not important,” Helen said as she perched next to her mother. “How are you two?”
“It was easier than I thought it would be,” Jason replied. “We never went into the rubble, all we did was climb the dry hills.”
“Good,” Helen said, smiling with relief. “That’s far away from the river.”
“I know,” Jason said, smiling back at Helen before he looked back down at Claire. “She really is strong.”
“What river? What rubble?” Daphne interjected, glancing from Jason to Helen, but she was overruled by Claire’s urgency.
“That was real?” she blurted out, her eyes dark and wide with fear.
“Yes and no,” Jason said softy, briefly brushing his lips against Claire’s forehead as he sat up painfully and gently pulled her up with him. “It’s a real place, but we only went there in spirit.”
“But I was so hungry. So thirsty,” Claire whispered, suddenly terrified.
She trustingly turned her face into Jason’s neck and he held her close to him. The bond they had forged in the dry lands still tied them to each other, and Helen had a feeling that Jason was reluctant to let it dissolve.
“Don’t be afraid, we only walked along the edge of it, we never crossed the river and went in. Not even the best Healers can go all the way in and make it out alive,” Jason said reassuringly. He met Helen’s eyes as if to ask her to help him explain.
“The place you went is just beyond the place you go when you’re sleeping. It’s not something you should be afraid of,” Helen said, putting her hand on Claire’s back and trying to comfort her. “Just think of it as an intense dream if that makes it easier, because that’s what it feels like.”
“Nightmare is more like it,” Claire said as she pulled her face away from Jason and got ahold of herself.
“Well, you almost died,” Helen said with a shrug. “That shouldn’t be fun.”
“Helen?” Daphne asked, comprehension dawning on her face. “How many times have you been to this place you’re talking about?”
“I’ve lost count,” Helen said softly, shaking her head.
Daphne stared at her daughter with a hard look on her face. There was a knock on the door. Matt poked his head in sheepishly.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Matt said with a slight grimace. “Hey, Claire. You okay?”
“Come in,” Claire responded as she tried to sit up a little straighter. She reached out to Helen, who helped brace her. “I’m glad you’re in one piece,” she said gratefully.
“Yeah, so am I,” Matt said with relief. “But there’s still a big problem that we need to fix. I noticed some people staring at us when we . . . uh . . .”
“Hit Luke with your car?” Jason finished for him with a humorous glint in his eye.
“Right. So I need to go take care of that. Before it gets out of control,” Matt said uncomfortably. “The longer I stay here, the more everyone will talk. If I start denying it, showing everyone that I couldn’t have been in an