Page 48
“I located a med board,” Carrik tells the healer.
Quinn takes hold of my arm and helps me out of the way so Vornak, Carrik, Horek, and Janik can lift Alik onto it. He’s strapped down to it, and with Vornak’s guidance, the motorized board transports my mate.
“Go with them,” Quinn says. “We’ll be there to check on you soon.”
I nod absently because I’ve already headed away from her to keep pace with the healer. My stomach’s in knots as Alik continues to lie on the board, completely still. What does it mean that his brain scans were erratic? Is he having some kind of seizure? A stroke? Can Bohnari even have either of those things? Is this some other kind of illness? Far too many worst-case scenarios keep running through my head. Alik needs to be okay. We just found each other. This morning was the first time I told him I loved him. It can’t have been the last time he hears it.
“We have no reason to be concerned just yet,” Vornak tries to reassure me. “I should have a better idea what’s going on once I get him into a med pod.”
While I appreciate what the healer is trying to do, I also want to rail at him that he doesn’t know for sure that we shouldn’t be concerned. My husband had some kind of attack and is currently unresponsive with ‘erratic brain scans’, whatever the fuck that means. I keep quiet though, because I know Vornak is merely trying to help and also probably doesn’t want me freaking out.
It feels like it takes us far too long to navigate through the palace and reach the shuttle pad to get Alik loaded up, but in less than three minutes, we land at the healing facility and a handful of healers rush out to meet us. They unload the med board and hurry to guide it inside. Vornak and I follow.
We step into one of the med bay rooms just as the healers get Alik into the large, egg-shaped med pod and the lid makes a pneumatic hissing sound as they close it over him. Vornak pushes a bunch of buttons on the side of pod, keying in whatever programming codes used to run the various tests he wants done.
I stand slightly off to the side while he works so I don’t get in his way, but I can’t be still. My weight shifts back and forth and I wring my hands together before shaking them out at my sides while I bounce on the balls of my feet. Vornak finishes inputting instructions for the machine to follow. Through the square window of the lid, a teal light shines from the interior of the pod as it scans Alik from head to toe.
“The med pod will work to keep the prince sedated and comfortable while it runs its various number of scans. As it finds issues, it will also work simultaneously to repair any abnormalities it comes across,” Vornak explains. “Given that we don’t yet know what’s wrong, I’m not certain how long his healing will take. The brain is a complex organ and requires thorough examination to ensure all the nerves are being mapped and their function assessed accurately.”
Absently I nod, not taking my eyes off Alik lying helplessly inside the med pod. “Thank you, Vornak.”
“I will do everything I can to ensure the prince receives excellent care.”
“I know you will.”
“You are welcome to stay in here as long as you wish. A chair is just over there and I will have a bed brought in here if you’d like,” the healer tells me. “I will be in the next room looking over Alik’s test results if you need me for anything.”
“Thank you, again.”
Vornak bows his head. “Of course, Your Highness.”
He steps out of the room leaving me alone with my mate. I walk up to the med pod and lay my hand on the window, wishing it was his face I was touching.
“I’m here, Alik. Rest and get better. I’m not going anywhere until you wake up.”
The room is quiet aside from a low-level hum coming from the med pod. I’ve always appreciated the peacefulness of a room without sound, but not this time. Already I miss the sound of Alik’s voice when he says my name. I miss the growls that rumble from his chest when he’s aroused and even when he’s angry. Most of all, I miss his laughter that he’s only just found again.
Warm arms and the familiar citrus scent surround me. I lean back into the touch.
“How’s he doing?” Lindsey asks.
I rest my cheek against hers and sigh. “The same as when we left the palace. Vornak is running tests, but he has no idea what’s wrong with him yet. Some kind of seizure, maybe? I don’t know.”
“He’s strong. I mean, he’s the first person to ever break through the madness of the mating fever. Whatever this is, he’s going to beat it,” she says.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Of course I’d be here for you. You’d do the same for me.”
I rest my arms over Lindsey’s and we stand together for a while longer until finally she releases me and drags one of the chairs closer to the med pod.
“I’ll bring you something to eat a little later and grab a few blankets in case you’re here overnight,” she tells me. “Tomorrow morning, one of us will drop off a change of clothes as well as a toiletry bag. Just down the hall is a hygiene room with a cleansing stall. If you need anything at all that we don’t think of, just comm one of us and we’ll make sure you get it, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Quinn and Olivia are going to come by shortly and check on you. They stayed back at the palace with the queen for a bit so she wasn’t alone. The poor female is understandably a mess. Queen Veroneek’s strong—I mean, she’s had to be given her role in life—but the past few months have really taken their toll on her.”
My heart aches for the queen, because Lindsey is right. When Alik and I last saw her a couple days ago, I noticed a difference from the first time we met at the welcome banquet. That night, her essence and power filled the room. She’d radiated joy and happiness. After Alik left the pit, I saw those emotions in her again, but she also looked tired. And really lonely.
