[ The longer they wait, the harder this is. Gansey feels sick. So clear in his memory is Adam with the demon inside him, Adam whose body was forced to attack his friends. None of them had been willing to harm him then.
But if they could have removed a part, just one part, to get the demon out, wouldn't they do it? Wouldn't they have done anything they could do to save their friend's mind? There are two ways this could go down, as far as Gansey can see. They take off the hand, and stop the infection. Or they let Adam turn and then kill him, so that Hope can bring him back new.
That would mean dying. Gansey has died twice in his life, and he knows that you can't just give yourself to that and not be changed by it. A hand is so much less than a life. If Hope can grow whole bodies, he can grow a damned hand.
He looks firmly at Ronan. ]
We do this. We save him now, and when this is over, we take him to Hope for healing. He brings people back; he can fix your hand, Adam.
We have to have faith.
[ The symbol on Gansey's hand blazes brighter, even though there's no more it can do. Gansey is good at having faith. They'll do what they have to do and Adam will be all right. He has to believe that. He tightens his grip, ready to heal as soon as the cut has been made.
It hasn't occurred to him that Adam will scream. It hasn't occurred to him to give him something to bite on. Practicalities aren't in his head. He just wants to do this quickly. He can still feel the threads of the illness under his hands, pushing at him and working hard to get past the healing he's still doing. His hands are covered in Ronan's dream medicine, and he can feel the virus remaking itself around them both. Nothing should be able to do that, not so quickly. He breathes hard, shoulders trembling. No matter what, he absolutely can't keep this up any longer. And as soon as he lets go, it will be moving again. More than Adam's hand will be at risk. ]
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But if they could have removed a part, just one part, to get the demon out, wouldn't they do it? Wouldn't they have done anything they could do to save their friend's mind? There are two ways this could go down, as far as Gansey can see. They take off the hand, and stop the infection. Or they let Adam turn and then kill him, so that Hope can bring him back new.
That would mean dying. Gansey has died twice in his life, and he knows that you can't just give yourself to that and not be changed by it. A hand is so much less than a life. If Hope can grow whole bodies, he can grow a damned hand.
He looks firmly at Ronan. ]
We do this. We save him now, and when this is over, we take him to Hope for healing. He brings people back; he can fix your hand, Adam.
We have to have faith.
[ The symbol on Gansey's hand blazes brighter, even though there's no more it can do. Gansey is good at having faith. They'll do what they have to do and Adam will be all right. He has to believe that. He tightens his grip, ready to heal as soon as the cut has been made.
It hasn't occurred to him that Adam will scream. It hasn't occurred to him to give him something to bite on. Practicalities aren't in his head. He just wants to do this quickly. He can still feel the threads of the illness under his hands, pushing at him and working hard to get past the healing he's still doing. His hands are covered in Ronan's dream medicine, and he can feel the virus remaking itself around them both. Nothing should be able to do that, not so quickly. He breathes hard, shoulders trembling. No matter what, he absolutely can't keep this up any longer. And as soon as he lets go, it will be moving again. More than Adam's hand will be at risk. ]
Ronan. The infection.