“I understand,” Marco began, his voice was firm and controlled, “but I want to know about her health before any of that. It’s the reason we came back here. The only reason.”
“Her health—” the doctor began.
“Is the only thing that matters right now.” Henry’s voice was a firm command. “We get some answers and then we go to the queen.”
Doctor Bates inhaled sharply before she sat down, running a hand through her dark hair as she seemed to gather herself. She motioned for the couch, and Atlas kept me tucked against him as we moved to sit.
I was glad the guys were taking charge, because my voice probably wouldn’t work currently. There were too many emotions running through me, the main one confusion.
“What questions?” she asked, that level of professionalism from before seeping out. Honestly, with the amount of tension running through her, it was rather impressive she was able to manage it.
“She’s been getting sick, high fevers and not waking up for periods of time,” Henry managed, his voice making me frown because there was pain there. I knew, of course, that it worried him, but I guess I hadn’t realized to what extent.
The doctor seemed to consider this and then looked at me. “Has she gone through her mating heat yet? I noticed a few marks on her but I can’t tell how bonded all of you are.”
“About half,” Marco confirmed. “At least by marking. No mating heat yet.”
Doctor Bates mulled this over and took a breath, seeming to relax into the couch with a thoughtful expression. “Well, that would hold true for a phoenix… especially a Blue Phoenix. For a normal phoenix, you won’t go into a mating heat until you start marking your mates, and high emotions can trigger it. For a Blue Phoenix, she has to mark all of her mates for the mating heat to hit… but her magic is going to attempt to rush that as soon as possible. I’m not sure how long you were locked up, Maya, but at eighteen, you should have gone through the process of marking all of your mates, and the mating heat would have followed very shortly after. Every bit of time that passed is going to cause your magic to react negatively and with frustration at the bonds not being made. Once they are completed, you will without a doubt go into mating heat. Until then, you are going to probably have a few system overloads, I suppose you could call it. It could get bad enough that it would severely impact your health, but it shouldn’t as long as you complete the bonds.”
“And what does that mean, exactly? The mating heat?” I asked for clarification, my voice rougher than I realized. I could hear Ledger let out a sound from the back of his throat that made my skin break out into shivers, but I was luckily able to ignore it enough to focus on her important words.
“Besides the obvious?” She laughed slightly and then sighed. “It means that your phoenix is going to try to mate with them. You are going to be viable to produce children. The first time may or may not result in that, but the following times each year after are almost always successful, until your phoenix and you have decided that you have produced enough children. Considering your extended life span—”
“Extended life span?” I questioned, feeling suddenly anxious.
“Yes. You already have a regenerative quality that can’t be taken away, but it is given to your mates as well, making you essentially immortal,” she explained softly.
My lips popped open at that piece of information, finding myself secretly thrilled at the notion that nothing bad could happen to my mates or me. Well, it wasn’t that nothing bad could happen, but they would be okay on the long-term spectrum. Letting out a shaky breath, I looked towards Marco but couldn’t find anything to say.
If I was truly a Blue Phoenix, it didn’t seem like it was the worst thing in the world considering the queen of the realm was one as well. A small amount of pride at the concept of being special like that surged through me, making me feel worthy of my mates for the first time ever.
But then why was the doctor so worked up? Why did my boys seem so tense?
“Do you have extra clothes?” I asked softly, and Doctor Bates seemed to jolt from some internal thoughts. She easily made her way across the room and opened a closet, pulling out a plain black dress that matched the one that she was wearing herself. I took it and held it against my chest, the large blanket that I’d been wrapped in serving as a small block from my nudity. She pointed towards a door as the others talked, Marco seemingly insistent on something. I slipped into the bathroom, finding my skin slightly ashy and hair messy, but my face looked flushed and my chest felt relaxed and at peace.
It was moments like this that I wished I was stronger. Like Jordan.
Instead, I found myself wondering if there was a way to avoid going to meet the queen. It wasn’t that I wanted to, but the concept of being something different and that being highlighted always made me nervous. Plus, hadn’t Croy said it was only possible to be a Blue Phoenix if the individual was from the royal line of the Dreki realm? Well, that didn’t make any sense at all.
Brushing my hair back, I walked towards the door, hearing an upkick of voices and feeling nervous at some voices I didn’t recognize.
“We already have it planned for tonight,” Marco said smoothly.
Doctor Bates shook her head. “I’m sorry Commander Moretti, but this is far too important.”
My eyes flashed towards the soldiers that were standing near the door, making me feel very flighty and uncomfortable.
“We should just go and get it over with,” I pointed out, everyone’s head snapping towards me. Surprise seemed to cross some of the faces of the guards as the one near Doctor Bates made a noise of interest.
“Well, the resemblance is uncanny,” he said easily. Doctor Bates shot him a scowl, an action that had him smiling down at her. I wasn’t fantastic at reading people, but I could feel the underlying tension between the two of them easily.
“I don’t like this,” Henry muttered.
Seeing their indecision, I realized this was a moment I needed to say something, because for the first time ever my mates needed a level of direction. I knew they didn’t want me to be uncomfortable, but at the same time it didn’t seem like this was much of a choice.
“I want to meet her. Let’s do this,” I confirmed, even though I was still terrified.
Doctor Bates motioned for me as I found the shoes I’d been wearing before, glad suddenly that I’d slipped them off. My hands twisted in front of me as I followed her towards the door, my mates following behind me, Marco running his fingers along my lower back in a soothing motion.
“We don’t have to do this.” Marco sounded almost anxious and it made me worry, something I tried to not show. I felt far more shaken up than I would like to admit, and Doctor Bates’s insistence and eagerness to get to the queen only enhanced it. A slight tremble worked through me and my skin heated, my throat feeling thick as my fingers fidgeted. What was so important that we had to meet the queen now? Why did it make it far too real to do that?
I hadn’t realized I’d never responded to Marco until his hand intertwined with mine, pulling my attention. Speaking softly, I kept my eyes on Doctor Bates and the way she walked with the one guard up ahead, the two of them talking in whispered tones that I couldn’t hear.