CHAPTER 29
“Em? Em!”
Ru’s shaking me, his eyes flooded with tears. I cough and shake him off, the muscles in my face stiff as I attempt a grin.
“I’m okay, Ru,” I breathe, the sensation of air filling my lungs strange after spending time in my vessel body.
Footsteps echo around the door and dad comes in with a tray of tea. His face is worn, and he has dark circles around his eyes. He sees me sitting up and freezes.
“Em? You’re really back?” he says, his voice quivering. He flings the tray down onto my bedside table and throws himself at me, sniffing thickly into my shoulder. “You were unconscious for such a long time, we thought you might have slipped into a real coma. We didn’t know what to do!”
“I’m sorry. The things I had to do were very different from what I expected. And I ran in
