Page 60 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Mind

But what if they found a way to do that so no one would know?

The hope in Frankie's eyes as she looked at him added fuel to his determination to find a solution. It wasn't about turning her immortal because it probably wouldn't, but rather about making her whole again.

"I have an idea." He took her hand. "How good are your acting skills?"

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Once you no longer need to be hooked up to the IV, I can thrall Bridget into releasing you from the clinic into my care. I can convince her that I was trained as a medic and release her from the need to take care of you. She will have enough work with the women who are on their way here as we speak. I will give you the transfusion, which will most likely heal you in a matter of hours, but you will have to pretend to still be injured. You can't dance at the weddings, and you will need to affect a wince here and there, but at least you'll get to attend and wear your fancy dresses."

The smile that bloomed on Frankie's face was bright enough to melt his heart. "I can do that. I will also hold my side and limp a little." Her smile turned sultry. "But when we are alone, I won't have to pretend, and we can dance as much as we want."

Dagor chuckled. "Are you sure that we are talking about dancing?"

"Among other things. After all, if the transfusion is not enough to induce my transition, we will need to do it the old-fashioned way."

The room seemed to spin as he processed her words. "I thought that you wanted to wait until you got to the village?"

"I changed my mind again. I want you to do it."

"Why? Don't you want to find a mate among the immortals?" The words tasted like dirt in his mouth, but he needed to say them.

Frankie needed to enter this with a clear head.

It suddenly occurred to him that her indecision, which was not typical of her, might be the result of drugs that the doctor had put into the drip bag. He didn't know much about that, but he'd read that opioids used for numbing pain could have undesirable side effects and even become addictive.

How could Frankie give him her informed consent when she was in a compromised state?

And why hadn't Kian thought of that when he suggested Dagor should wait for her to wake up and then ask her?

Pulling her hand out of his, Frankie sighed. "You are even worse than me. One moment, you are trying to persuade me to accept your transfusion, and the next, you are trying to dissuade me. Make up your mind."

He groaned. "I'm sorry, but it has just occurred to me that you might be under the influence of drugs and that you are not in the proper state of mind to give your consent."

"Don't be ridiculous. My mind is perfectly clear, and I know precisely what I want."

"It doesn't look like that from where I'm sitting."

She glared at him. "So maybe you should change seats."

"Or maybe you need to convince me that you are not compromised."

Frankie

Frankie had never been so close to slapping someone across the face as she was now.

Good thing that she didn't have the energy to lift her hand to do so or Dagor would have been the first person she'd ever assaulted.

He was so infuriating. Not only was he obtuse and disconnected from his feelings, he couldn't make up his mind about a single thing.

Instead of harming him physically, not that a slap from her would have hurt anything other than his overinflated ego, she just glared at him. "You want me to convince you that my mind is clear?"

"Yes, please."

"How very polite and considerate of you."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"Brilliant observation, my dear Watson."