Chapter 50

Stefan entered the room first, but Nicki was right behind him, and he had the sense of the two of them presenting a united front. It was an odd but welcome feeling—and it vanished the minute they cleared the door.

"Your updated report, Stefan," Cyril began, but before he could fully get the words out, Queen Catherine strode forward.

"He's so thin!" she exclaimed. "You didn't tell us that he'd suffered—what happened to him? Where was he, and who was holding him?"

"Catherine—" the king's voice cut across his wife's but he stepped forward as well as she turned on him.

"Did you know? Am I the only one in this family who isn't being kept in the loop?—"

The two other men in the room remained silent, but it was clear they were bursting with questions as well. Kristos about his brother, Dimitri about his best friend. But they were too well trained to interrupt when Cyril had given him a direct command, and too polite to shush the queen.

"Your Highnesses, sir," Stefan said, nodding to the royal parents and then Cyril. "As you no doubt saw, Ari is physically healthy—and yes, thin." He lifted a hand again as the queen fought to maintain silence. "He survived the aircraft crash and came ashore at a small barrier island off the coast of Turkey in a confused and disoriented state. He was apparently uninjured other than having no recollection of anything beyond his name—he did not know his nationality, his purpose for being in the plane other than for, as he termed it, a ‘reconnaissance mission,' and he had no memory of his family, friends or associates. He approached a scavenger and traded debris he had recovered from the plane for a boat and supplies to get him to mainland Turkey. He landed in a nature preserve and made some contact with the squatters there, again making trades for supplies. The city of Ala?ati was, at the time, conscripting vagrants and drunks for work crews. They picked up Ari as part of this effort."

The queen hissed, but said nothing as Stefan continued. "For the next eleven months, Ari worked on a construction detail for the city of Ala?ati, and was kept in a holding pen with other men at night. He endured the trial remarkably well, it appears." Stefan made a dismissive gesture with his hand. He and Cyril had agreed on this part. Until they knew more about the creatures that had been kept in the warehouse, there would be no mention of them to the queen. She'd demand details, and they needed to be able to provide them. "A medical analysis will provide better information on how well."

The queen stood rigid in Jasen's grasp, but it was Cyril who spoke next, his words crisp and controlled. "The last of the medical team will be in place tomorrow morning. Depending on what they find, we'll transport Ari to a clinic in Zurich for further evaluation. We appear to have slipped the bonds of media notice for the moment, so moving him quickly will be of paramount importance, if that is judged to be the safest course for him."

The queen nodded. "When can we see him, then?" she demanded. "It will obviously take time for him to recover, but perhaps if he saw one of us…" she shook her head, discarding the idea as quickly as she had it. "I guess that's something we simply won't know until he gets evaluated. Who do you have coming in?"

Cyril gave her the names of the specialists, then detailed the equipment being transported as well.

She frowned. "What about Francesca Simmons? I thought we'd agreed she would be part of the evaluation team."

Stefan's brows shot up and Cyril grimaced. "Your Highness, we discussed this."

"Don't you ‘Your Highness' me. Yes, we discussed this, and you agreed to think about it. We've not shared another word, and I continue to think it's a good idea." She swiveled to Stefan as both Kristos and Dimitri exchanged a glance. Apparently, the queen had been quite vocal about the idea, and not only to Cyril.

"Francesca has had multiple interactions with US servicemen recovering from PTSD endured after military-related traumas. She's written her thesis on it. I've read it. It's quite good. She should be part of the evaluation team."

King Jasen sighed. "We have some of the best neurosurgeons in the world on that team, Catherine. They are more than equipped to do their job."

"But they haven't been working with soldiers."

"And Ari is not a soldier, not anymore." Jasen's voice was terse, but stopped shy of a snap. "He's a pilot, at most, locked in his current delusion."

"A pilot whose plane crashed, and who then was imprisoned without recourse and made to work in a camp for nearly a year, Jasen. All of which sounds fairly warlike to me, regardless of whether or not everyone lined up in uniforms against each other." She shifted her glare again to Cyril. "Tell me, are any of the neurosurgeons you've called in under the age of fifty?"

The advisor frowned. "I fail to see what their age has to do with anything."

"Ari is a twenty-eight-year-old male, Cyril. Stop being so dense! A woman closer to his own age with actual skilled training in working with traumatized soldiers might be someone he's willing to endure far more easily than a fifty-year-old pinhead in a white coat."

Jasen winced. "I'm sure no one would describe these doctors as pinheads."

"I suspect I would. Ari certainly would." She turned her glare on Kristos and Dimitri. "Wouldn't he?"

Both men spread their hands, but it was Dimitri who spoke. "There's no way to tell how he will react, Your Highness. The man who walked away from that plane is not the same man who went up in it." He hesitated. "But Ari certainly had a healthy appreciation for beautiful women."

Kristos snorted, and Stefan tightened his jaw as Cyril's irritation broke. "We are not setting these people up on a date," the advisor protested. "Ari is potentially in a very fragile and suggestible state. We must proceed with caution, following the guidance set forth by the medical professionals we are sparing no expense to bring to Asteri."

"Exactly!" The queen's response was almost defiant, and Stefan suspected he wasn't alone in feeling like they'd lost some ground, somehow. "If the medical professionals agree that having Francesca here—a trained counselor who will serve in a non-official role as simply another connection point for Ari—if they agree that she is a better solution to help Ari find his way back to himself, then we'll go that route. I could not agree more, Cyril. Thank you."

Cyril blinked, and Stefan fought a smile as Jasen sighed and shook his head. "Agreed, then," the king said. "Stefan, tell us about the conditions of this work camp. Is it something we need to respond to officially, in some way?"

"No, Your Highness," Stefan said crisply. "The work detail to which the camp was assigned was very specific. The building where the holding cells were located is slated for demolition within the next several weeks. The night that Ari was recovered, the remaining detainees were also released."

Jasen's brows went up, and his expression lightened. Cyril would fill him in later, Stefan knew. At some point when the queen wasn't around. If possible, she was even more fierce in her veneration of the gods than King Jasen was. She wouldn't look kindly on anyone attempting to enslave and profit off the creatures of Olympus—so, again, Stefan knew they had to tread lightly here. There was still more to learn.

King Jasen's gaze shifted to Nicki.

"Another item I would like to clarify. You helped Stefan on this mission?"

Nicki was clearly startled by the sudden change in his focus. "I—well, yes, I did. Of course," she said, but Stefan could hear the note of caution in her voice. So could the rest of them, and their attention on her only intensified. "I uploaded videos of a diving experience off the coast of Turkey, and more videos of the expo. I participated in a windsurfing demonstration to solidify my cover while I was there. That's pretty much it."

Jasen must have sensed her prevarication because he clasped his hands at his waist almost casually, rocking up on his toes.

Kristos and Dimitri went still, and even the queen blinked, staring more curiously at Nicki. "I believe you did a bit more as well," the king said. "The queen hasn't been fully informed, and I think she would be grateful for the update."

"Oh, I—" Nicki paused as Stefan turned toward her, a blush steadily climbing her cheeks. For all that she was used to being in the spotlight, she didn't know how to trumpet her own horn, he realized yet again. She always let her actions do the talking. She gave and gave and gave until her body—literally—gave out. "I didn't really do anything else special. Truly. I simply helped where I could." The glance she threw Stefan was panicked. "Wouldn't you agree?"

He nodded, grateful that she'd given him the opportunity to share what she wouldn't. Then he turned back to the royal family.

"I've given you a partial accounting of Nicki's actions to help free Ari, but I wanted to be fully clear. Her life was endangered on the barrier island when a miscommunication threatened the negotiations with the scavenger dealer. Still, she reacted with commendable calm, placing her trust in the team and following their lead. With her resourcefulness and past connections, she helped facilitate our conversation with the Turkish official and convinced him to give us a guided tour solely in the hopes that it would gain us visual access to the site where we suspected Ari was being held. When that suspicion was confirmed, she helped identify likely methods of access to the building, which involved using free climbing abilities."

The queen gasped, and Nicki audibly groaned. "Stefan…" she said.

"That's not all," he continued, inexorably. "Once we achieved access to the building, she willingly put herself in harm's way by distracting the guard at a crucial moment. Then, when I mistakenly released all the locks in the main holding cell area, she found herself in a footrace, being chased by several detainees."

"They weren't chasing me." Nicki protested. "They were trying to escape, that's all."

"Most were," he said. "Ari wasn't. He reached Nicki first and turned to protect her." He paused as the queen clasped her hands to her mouth. "He succeeded in doing so until I could reach her. By then, Nicki had overtaxed herself and had collapsed."

"Stefan!" Nicki's voice was like a whip crack, overrode only by the queen's cry of Nicki's name. "You don't?—"

"She recovered quickly enough, but there's no denying that the state of O?ros—and I personally—put Nicki at mortal risk. It was a risk she willingly took on to rescue Ari. Even after it was clear that her body had failed her, she wouldn't give up until we were able to get her to safety."

"That's more than enough—" Nicki started.

Stefan turned to her. "I don't think it's anywhere close to enough."