#Chapter 190 – Tested

Ella When I return to the present, the room is completely silent. Henry is still holding my hand, though he also holds a bucket in case I need to be sick. Leon is watching me closely, as if trying to decipher my mental state. Gabriel, Philippe and Roger look on from the doorway in a horrified hush. I hadn’t been wild about having them here with me during such a vulnerable time, but in the end we agreed that we needed as many brains on the case as possible. Besides, I’m discovering that I don’t really mind having so many friends on hand – this really is a strange new world for me. “Do you want me to bring you out of the ether, Ella?” Leon finally asks, and I realize that he hadn’t been forced to give me the antidote this time. I’m still floating along under the influence of the drug, still in the safe embrace of the high despite the horrible things I’ve just remembered. I’m not feeling yet, not processing, and I don’t think I want to. I shake my head in refusal, moving my hand to