“That’s the game, then?” he continued. “You return home, undoubtedly back into the nest of the viper himself?” Grace nodded, all laughter gone. “We can’t have that.” She reached for him, and it was his turn to flinch. “This is why I ask for it, Doctor. I cannot go back. If you change me permanently, I won’t be wanted at home. They can say what they like about my fate, I’ll live and die here, happily unaware of the present, and all traces of the past taken from me.”
