Now that they have their instructions, they light up and flood the doorway. Simone’s blankets are off in a flash, they’re scanning her body, giving hers shots, and readying her for the stretcher.
When they’re done, one of them turns to me and starts beeping.
Oh shit. “No. I’m fine.”
It beeps louder, creeping towards me.
I sidestepped out of its way. “I said I’m fine!”
The bot launches an arc of white burn cream at my body. I’m soaked and covered in foam. Just great.
“Well, it looks like you have everything under control,” Kozar says. I look up to see him with his heavy forearms crossed, leaning in the doorway, watching me as Simone is wheeled past. I have to follow. She needs me — or rather, I need her.
Kozar side steps, blocking my path.
I grit my jaw. “Out of my way.”
“What’s going on?” He frowns.
“Nothing.”
He raises his eyebrows. “I see you have everything under control.”
I ball my hands into fists. I have nothing under control. Ever since I laid eyes on Simone, my entire life has unraveled. I betrayed my family for her. My country. My king. And I will do it again without hesitation.
In fact, there is only one reason why I wouldn’t do it again. Even more than I want her for myself, I desire more to keep her safe.
I’d never forgive myself for today. I know I don’t deserve to be by her side, but it’s the only place I want to be — until she tells me to leave it.
I gulp. “I had some delays delivering Simone, but once she’s healed…” I frown, trailing off. What would I do when she’s healed?
Never let her go. Spend the rest of my life making sure I’m worthy of her trust.
“You’re going to return her to the palace?” Kozar finishes for me.
More like I’m gonna live on the run, sleeping in the caves — but don’t worry, I’ll be sure to steal a tank first. “I’ll take care of her.”
Kozar studies me. “That’s not what I asked.”
This isn’t going well. The last thing I’m going to do is discuss treason during a heart-to-heart with a subordinate, even if the subordinate in question is my brother. “I need to see Simone. I need to make sure she’s all right.”
“No, what you need to do is settle down. You look like you’ve been barbecued and slathered in mayonnaise.”
I turn my head, glaring at the medical bot that had sprayed me. It tactfully transforms back into a box.
“Besides,” Kozar continues, “the girl is fine.” He grabs a pad from his back pocket and hands it to me. “You can check the report.”
I growl, pushing him out of my way. I don’t care what the report says. I need to see her with my own eyes. And I need to ask her what she meant by saying this was all just a vacation, and that the only way to make it better would be to give her fruit. Did she think what we had was just a fling? In a few days, will she accept her position by my kin’s side as Queen?
My body tenses. No, she is mine. And mine only.
The crumbling corridor gives way to starrain steel as I enter the medical facility in the base’s northern wing. My boots clack on the floor and my shadow scatters over the walls, flickering under the fluorescent lights. I scan my thumbprint. The sliding door opens with a whoosh and I enter the room.
Simone is inside a glowing white pod with the glass front, suspended in the air. My stomach twists. It reminds me too much of a burial vessel. Tubes carrying life-saving fluids encase the pod like vines.
I walk over to her, placing my palm upon the glass. The thin sheen of sweat is gone now. Her breathing is no longer labored. She’s safe. Recovering. Peaceful.
I know that she will recover faster in the pod, but the only thing I want to do is break it open and take her into my arms. When the monster took her, I felt like I was dying, because I knew that if it took her, my life would be empty. It was terrifying to care for someone this much… and to fail so catastrophically.
I vowed to protect her. Now, she's like this!
"We need to talk," Kozar says over my shoulder.
I glare at him. Why is he still here? "About what?"
He nods towards the pod. "About your relationship with our king’s wife."
A dark, instinctive growl rumbles out of me before I even know what I'm doing. The medical bots nearby are whizzing around, they light up and scurry to the corners — a protective measure for when there’s earthquakes or we’re under attack.
This isn’t good.
"Are you done?" Kozar asks.
I'm done when I say I'm done, I want to respond. But to do so would betray my feelings, so I decide to ignore him and turn back to Simone.
"I think we need to talk." I feel the weight of Kozar’s strong hand on my shoulder, gripping me tightly.
"We can talk later. It will take a few days for her to recover."
"That might be so, but our king is going to arrive tonight."
I whip around. "What?" I bellow. The medical bots, already in block form, throw up their protective shields.
"I'm not trying to destroy you," I growl at the line of boxes.
"Well, you have them fooled," Kozar says. "And you have me fooled, too. It looks like you want to tear this whole place down."
I looked down at sleeping Simone. "I'm not going to tear anything down.” Not while she’s here. “And why did you call the King? There’s no reason for him to come. I’m protecting her!”
“Oh, I think he deserved to know that his future Queen arrived in critical condition.”
“I had everything under control.”
Kozar’s face softens. “I’m sorry. If I’d understood the situation beforehand, I wouldn’t have called him. But he’s very upset and eager to make sure that his future Queen is safe.”
That’s my job. “What situation?”
“I didn’t realize that the two of you…”
I growl a warning.
“...Were so attached,” he finishes.
I turn, muscles tightening, ready for a fight. “Choose your next words wisely.”
"You slept with her, didn't you?"
Holy hell! I asked him to choose his next words wisely, and that’s what he says to me? "That's none of your business."
He shrugs. “Look, she’s an attractive woman.”
The walls rumble with my growl. If he makes a move on my female, I swear to god…
“No!” Kozar backtracks. “Sure, she’s beautiful, but I don’t mean it like that. It’s just that you and the king share a lot of DNA. She’s compatible with him, but I think she actually might be made for you.”
I don’t like this DNA business. I choose Simone. DNA does not choose for me. This was about who Simone truly was inside. Her strength. Her beauty. What she does to my dick. It's never glowed like that for anyone before. It was like another sun rising in the depths of that cave when we made love. Its light forced me to face my feelings.
Kozar sighs. “You’re gonna have to tell him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” My king isn’t exactly known for his…empathy. Pretty sure he still holds that grudge from when he was five and I had the audacity of being two inches taller than him even though I was a year younger.