a€?Corrine? Is she all right?a€? Alice asked, standing up from the bed. She carefully rolled Sadie onto her side as she slipped her arm from underneath the sleeping child.


    Bell motioned for Alice to follow her out of the room. With ast nce at Sadie, Alice followed after Bell.


    Once they were outside the room and the door was closed, Bell took a deep breath and turned to Alice.


    a€?Peter is taking care of her,a€? she began, a€?from what I understand, she had several internal injuries and some swelling in her spine. But mostly, she was exhausted. Something must have happened out there to make her use her powers. They are a great gift but take a heavy toll on the body.a€?


    a€?Swelling in her spine?a€? Alice asked quietly. a€?Will she recover?a€?


    a€?For now, Peter is taking a conservative approach on the spine. He wants to give her natural healing a chance to address the issue over time. He has her on antibiotics and a strong anti-inmmatory. She''s being very carefully monitored over the next couple of hours.a€?


    Alice nodded and took a deep breath.


    a€?Have we heard whata€?s going on out there?a€? she asked.


    a€?Only in bits and pieces,a€? Bell sighed. a€?Obviously, the arrival of Summer is pretty crazy, but they brought soldiers, and they immediately went out to help.a€?


    Alice looked at Bell.


    a€?Galen?a€? she asked.


    Bell lowered her eyes and shook her head.


    a€?ra said thest time they heard from him... wasna€?t good.a€?


    Alice reached her arm around Bell and pulled her close.


    a€?Hea€?s strong and very devoted and stubborn. He would not fall without your permission,a€? she smiled.


    Bell let out a soft scoff and smiled.


    a€?He better not,a€? she replied.


    Alice chuckled and looked away. Then, her thoughts moved to Axel. After his announcement over the radio, they heard that he had joined the fight. Several groups had reported seeing him on the battlefield, taking on feral and fallen enemy groups.


    But it had been a long time since anyone had reported seeing him.


    Bell caught the look of worry on Alicea€?s face.


    a€?Hey,a€? she whispered.


    Alice turned to look at her.


    a€?I told you before, Axel is strong. He wille back.a€?


    a€?Yea,a€? Alice nodded, instinctively moving her hand over her stomach. a€?He wouldna€?t dare leave us behind....a€?


    Bell nodded with a smile.


    They stood together quietly. Both worrying for their lover, neither saying so out loud.


    After a few minutes, Bell was called away to help with one of the injured from Summer. Alice returned to the room with Sadie, watching the sweet girl sleep. But as she stood there, she started to feel a deep anxiety creeping over her.


    She swallowed as the fear grew in her stomach and then felt a sharp pain in her leg. She gasped and reached her hand down but just as quickly as it hade, it was gone.


    Alice took a cleansing breath, closing her eyes and focusing her mind.


    a€?Hea€?sing back...a€? she whispered.


    Taking another deep breath, Alice opened her eyes feeling much calmer.


    She noticed that the nket had fallen off Sadiea€?s shoulders. Alice moved to the bed and pulled the nkets over the little girl. But as she pulled her hand away, her heart sank, and a white-hot dread tinged over her.


    Looking down at her fingertips, they were blue and covered in ayer of frost.


    pαпdα Й?νê|,сòМ Alice swallowed and took a slow breath. She closed her eyes, counting to five before opening them again. This time her fingers were normal, with no frost, no blue.


    But the cold she felt didna€?t go away. Instead, it covered her body like a second skin. It burned and made her bones ache.


    Again the sharp pain in her leg, but the cold covered it this time, spread over it. Contained it.


    Taking slow short breaths, Alice tried to keep her heart from beating out of her chest. Then, she quietly left the room, finding one of the nurses just outside.


    a€?Excuse me,a€? she called to him.


    a€?Yes?a€?


    a€?I need you to sit with her,a€? Alice said, pointing into the room where Sadie slept.


    The nurse peeked into the room and nodded.


    a€?She is frightened and does not trust easily. But, if she wakes, find Peter or Bell. She knows them.a€?


    He nodded.


    a€?Thank you,a€? she said, taking onest look at Sadie before hurrying down the hall toward the stairs.


    She climbed the stairs to the main floor and carefully avoided being seen by anyone as she made her way to the exit.


    Alice looked back at the hospital, knowing that Bell would be angry, but she couldna€?t worry about that now. She needed to find Axel.


    The actual entrance to the Safe Zone was currently being guarded on the inside by some of the Summer soldiers, while the outside was guarded by Valkyrie.


    The Summer wolves might let her through simply because Axel hadna€?t instructed them not to. The Valkyrie, on the other hand, was a different matter.


    She took a deep breath and decided it was best to avoid contact altogether.


    She searched for a way out, a scble wall, or a hole to slip through. While it was great that she couldna€?t find one, it also hindered her progress.


    Finally, she noticed that one of the buildings was just close enough to the wall that she might be able to jump to it. The problem was she had no way of knowing what was on the other side of the wall.


    Another more subtle problem was the way her hand rested on her stomach. As much as she wanted to push forward and do anything to find Axel, she was scared of risking her pregnancy.


    a€?What are you doing out here?a€?


    Alice turned quickly to find Myka staring at her, his arms crossed over his chest and one brow raised in suspicion.


    a€?I thought you were at the way gate?a€? she asked.


    a€?I was,a€? he replied. a€?But ita€?s been a while since thest group came through, and they needed help getting to the hospital.a€?


    a€?So is the portal closed?a€? Alice asked, then with a hint of hope in her voice, she added, a€?is Ashleigh back?a€?


    Myka sighed and rxed his body, lowering his arms from his chest.


    a€?No,a€? he said sadly. a€?The portal is still open. But thest group that came out said they were thest to go in. Meaning Ashleigh was still holding it open for them. But from what Fiona said, it will only close when Ashleighes through, so shea€?ll be here.a€?


    Alice took a breath and nodded.


    a€?Ia€?m headed back now,a€? he said. a€?Or at least, I will be after you exin why you are out here when you are supposed to be back at the hospital.a€?


    Alice sighed.


    a€?I cana€?t just sit around and wait,a€? she said. a€?Therea€?s something wrong. I can feel it. Axel needs me.a€?