Page 62 of Keeping His Mate
Smacking my lips together, I attempt to summon some saliva to ease this discomfort. At least, temporarily.
When my eyes open, they land on Elle-noor, fast asleep in the bed next to me. No blankets cover her, and her clothes are rumpled and dirty. Her lips are slightly parted, and her hands are tucked beneath her chin. She is radiant.
It is when I see the fading bruises on her cheek and neck that everything comes rushing back to me.
Death.
Its grasp on me was tight.
Why am I not dead?
Or...perhaps this is the afterlife? Elle-noor is at my side, and is that not what I hoped the afterlife to be like?
Elle-noor’s eyes blink open slowly, and a sleepy smile stretches her lips as she rubs her eyes. Then she gasps, trying to stand and rise and reach for me all at once, causing her to fall out of bed. “Fucking fucker!” she grunts as she rubs her backside. Then she leaps to her feet, her eyes wide as she leans in close, the tips of our noses almost touching. “You’re awake?” she asks, and before I can respond, “You’re awake!”
“H-hello,” I croak out.
She turns away, bouncing on her feet. “Kaiva! He’s awake!”
I hear Kaiva race down the stairs, and within moments, she is at my side. “Bruvix, my boy!” she exclaims, holding my face in her hands. “We thought we had lost you.” Her eyes shine with unshed tears as she looks at the giant white bandage wrapped around my chest. “How do you feel?”
“As if I died.”
She chuckles, as does Elle-noor, then asks, “What’s the last thing you remember?”
The answer comes easily. “Dying.”
Elle-noor’s laughter fades, and a frown takes the place of her brilliant smile.
“Why am I not dead?” I finally ask because I am still quite confused.
Elle-noor takes my hand and presses my palm against her cheek. “You were. For about fifteen minutes.”
“Nineteen and a half Earth minutes, actually,” Kaiva adds.
Elle-noor clears her throat and continues. “The crew carried you back here, and Kaiva got you all set up in the med tube. Then you had surgery. The poison-coated bullet was removed, and your chest was stitched back up, and you’ve been unconscious for three days.”
A cough escapes me, and Elle-noor rushes away, returning immediately with a cup of water. I guzzle it down, and she hands me another. Once that cup is empty, I take a breath.
“And Bzzsil Chi?” I ask, bitterly, as he is responsible for me being dead for nineteen and a half Earth minutes.
“Oh,” Elle-noor says, giggling. “He’s very dead. Like, ‘not even enough parts left to cremate’ dead.”
“I see,” I reply, dipping my chin. Clearly, the crew had a lovely time torturing him and tearing him limb from limb without me, and that realization fills me with envy. Or perhaps they did it to avenge me, which is thoughtful of them, but still. “Who issued the final blow?”
“Final blow?” Elle-noor asks, her brow furrowing.
“Who killed him? Varrek? Ahlvo? Is Varrek well? Have his wounds healed?”
“It was not the crew that killed Bzzsil Chi, my son,” Kaiva says, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “And yes, Varrek is fine.”
I jerk my head back, surprised by her answer. “What does that mean? The crew did not kill him?”
Kaiva’s gaze drops to the screen pad in her hand. “All of your numbers are normal, which is very good. You must rest here for another day before returning home. I, uh, I shall leave you two now.” Then she gives Elle-noor a nod and hurries up the stairs.
Elle-noor returns my palm to her cheek, closing her eyes as she strokes the outside of my hand.
“Tell me, Elle-noor,” I say. It is not that I think she is intentionally stalling, but there is clearly something she is having trouble revealing to me.