Chapter 231: Facing the Truth

LUMINA   The taste of Andy's blood still lingered in my mouth as I sat in our living room, staring at my bruised and swollen knuckles. Carol had healed Andy just enough to keep her alive -- we weren't done with her yet, not by a long shot. But the hours of torture had yielded nothing useful, nothing that would help us undo the psychological damage she'd inflicted on Riley. Xenois paced near the window, his phone pressed to his ear as he spoke in low tones with the hospital staff. "Any change in Lake's condition?" he asked, his voice tight with stress. "And Riley -- how is he doing?"   I watched my mate's face fall as he listened to the response, and I already knew what the nurse was telling him. No change in Lake's comatose state, and Riley hadn't left the boy's bedside in over forty--eight hours. He'd refused food, refused to speak to anyone who tried to enter the room, refused to acknowledge the existence of a world beyond those four walls.   "Thank you," Xenois said quietly, ending