Chapter 38

Everything hurt. I wanted to cry, but that seemed like too much energy. I lifted my arm, and it trembled. Tubes ran from my arm to a machine next to the bed. What the hell was going on? I glanced around the darkened room, unable to discern much. Lucy was pressed against my hip, and a fluff of silvery-blue hair tickled my chin—Kal.

We were back on the ship. How?

My gut tightened. I had to pee. Now. I touched his hair, the blue strands gliding between my fingers. “Kal,” I said, my voice like sandpaper. I coughed. My throat was bone dry. I needed water, but my bladder squeezed uncomfortably. Water would have to wait.

“Babe.”

He grunted, nuzzling me.

A tidal wave of memories crashed over me. The tavern, flying, rain, mud, afterward. We’d started to… and I puked, right in front of him.

Stomach clenching, I had to get up or there would be a problem. “Babe.”

Kal rocked against me, arm tightening. His eyes met mine. “Seth!”

“Babe.”

His forehead creased as a strong emotion crossed his face. I opened my mouth to say something, but his lips smashed into mine, stopping me.

“Seth,” he whispered. His movements were desperate. Needy whimpers escaped him as he pressed into me, shoving me back on the bed.

I pulled my mouth away from his. His lips trailed over me, placing firm kisses along my jaw, brow, eyes, and nose, sending dull pulses down my spine. Kal kept kissing me, anywhere he could reach.

I was too tired. I wanted to piss, then sleep.

“My Seth,” he whispered.

I lifted my trembling arms to draw him close. “Kal, I need—”

“What?” Kal interrupted. “What do you need?”

Hand over his mouth so he couldn’t interrupt me again, I said, “I need to go to the bathroom.”

He stood before drawing the blanket back, and I blinked. I was naked. What the hell was going on?

“You’ve been sick. For days,” Kal said.

Studying him, I could see the exhaustion in the way his wings hung against his back as well as his lifeless tail. How sick had I been? And what exactly had Kal had to do to take care of me?

Kal caught my chin. “I love you.”

For some reason, those words made the backs of my eyes burn. “I’m sorry,” I said when the first tear escaped.

He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “Don’t apologize.”

“It’s all so…” I trailed off, waving my hand. Everything was too much.

Kal put his arms under mine and helped me stand. My knees knocked together and the world tilted.

“Hold onto me. I have you,” he said.

Kal placed my arms around his neck and grabbed the machine connected to me, pulling it along next to us. My steps were halted and small, and my breath turned jagged. It took forever to make it to the bathroom. After I peed, I didn’t bother to put on any clothes, and Kal helped me back to bed.

My eyes started to close. Lucy head-butted me, but I didn’t have the energy to pet her. Kal moved her away to drape the blanket over me.

“Please don’t go to sleep yet,” Kal said, his voice tight.

It was a struggle, but I opened my eyes. “I need to sleep.”

“Not yet.”

“I’m tired,” I said, my voice weak.

“I thought—” He broke off. “I thought you were going to die.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Can you try to eat or drink something?”

“Sure,” I said, but my stomach churned at the thought.

Kal returned with a glass of juice and a piece of bread. I took a sip, and it almost immediately came back up. I swallowed convulsively in an attempt to keep the liquid down. I didn’t drink much, and I ate even less.

Kal watched me, tail writhing.

I tugged him down next to me. “Hold me.”

Warmth enveloped me when he settled behind me. I fell asleep as I felt his tail wrap around my ankle and his wings drape over me.

He woke up.

I pressed my nose against his neck and breathed in his scent. My Seth was going to be alright.

I rubbed my forehead against the nape of his neck, holding him close. My tail was wrapped securely around his ankle and up his calf and my wings covered him. I threw a leg over his hip. I wanted to keep him as close as possible. I wanted to feel all of his bare skin pressed against my scales. I needed to feel his chest rise and fall with each breath, letting me know he was alive.

When we got to Tamkolvanloknol, I was going to have a bioshield placed around our house, and we were never going to leave. He was never going to be out of my sight ever again.

If he stays.

My arms compulsively tightened. I couldn’t think about that. Seth was in my arms, safe. He would survive, and everything else would resolve itself.

I took another deep inhale of his scent, and it drove the tension from my body.

Lucy curled against Seth, and I stroked her back. “It’ll be alright, Lucy.”

She’d been frantic when Seth was in the medbay, then had refused to leave his side since he’d come back.

After an hour or so, I called out in a low voice, “NAID.”

Her voice was hesitant as she asked, “Yes, Prince?”

“Seth woke up.”

She visibly relaxed. “I’m so relieved.”

“I am as well.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Let Doctor Qinlin know, please.”

“At once.”

The room went dark, and I listened to Seth breathe. I’d never heard a more wonderful sound in the universe.

“Seth,” Kal whispered.

I struggled against the darkness. I was more tired than I’d ever been in my entire life, and it felt like weights were tied to my limbs, dragging me down.

“Seth,” he said, sounding desperate. “Please, Husband.”

The neediness of his voice made me fight through the exhaustion. Kal hovered over me. “Babe,” I said as I blinked, trying to clear the blurriness from my vision.

“Dr. Qinlin is here to see you.”

Kal moved away and revealed Dr. Qinlin standing in the door frame. “Seth Harris.”

I wanted to sigh but didn’t. She was the one person who refused to call me by my first name alone.

She held up an instrument that beeped when she waved it slowly over my body. Then she began asking NAID to do scans before checking the machine with the tubes running to my arms. Lastly, she took a sample of blood and tucked the vial in her bag.

Dr. Qinlin asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” I replied.

“I assume that’s normal.”

“I guess. Whenever I’ve been sick in the past, I’m always tired afterward, though I’ve never been this sick.”

Kal’s tail tightened around my ankle and snaked up my calf. “How are his organ functions?”

“I will need to do more comprehensive scans in the medbay, but he seems on the road to recovery. I imagine you’ll be sore and tired. Until you’re eating and drinking normally, I want to leave you connected to the life support.” Dr. Qinlin placed the strange medical instruments in her bag.

My eyes started to close, and Kal brushed my cheek, which made me look at him.

“Stay with me, Husband.”

Qinlin headed toward the door. “I will come back later to check on you.”

When the door whooshed closed, Kal turned toward me. “Can you eat something?”

“I can try.”

He smiled, and that alone convinced me to eat to make his stress lessen. When Kal got up, Lucy crept out from under the bed, crying. I wiggled my fingers, and she jumped up, headbutting me. I petted her silky fur, and Lucy purred loudly.

“She’s been worried about you,” Kal said, setting a glass of juice and some bread on the nightstand. “Let me help you up.”

I panted, struggling to get upright, and Kal lifted me. I sagged back, exhausted. He handed me the glass and a piece of bread. My stomach churned. It didn’t want food. I glanced at Kal, who looked as tired as I felt. His eyes were half-closed, and his wings and tail drooped.

“You need sleep,” I told him.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“I’m alright, my Seth. Please eat.”

I nibbled on the piece of bread, and it hit my empty stomach, uncomfortably. The minuscule amount of food threatened to come up. I would not puke in front of Kal. Again.

Kal settled beside me, and I kept taking sips of juice and tiny bites of bread. Eventually, I couldn’t force any more down, so I gave them back to him. Kal returned them to the food dispenser for recycling.

“Do you need to go to the bathroom?” Kal asked when he came back.

That was not something I wanted help with, but I couldn’t make it by myself. I nodded, not looking at him.

Kal nudged my chin up. “Don’t be embarrassed. If the situation was reversed, you would help me, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then let me assist you.”

As I sat on the toilet, I stared at the shower. Fuck, getting clean would be amazing. I could smell myself—a mixture of sweat and sickness. But the machine wouldn’t survive the water, I assumed. Not to mention, I didn’t want Kal to have to hold me up.

When I finished, I returned to bed. “I should put on some clothes,” I muttered.

Kal kissed my neck. “You’re fine. Sleep.”

“Hmm,” I grunted. “Stay with me?”

“Until the sun implodes.”