8. Aru

8

ARU

A ru approved of Kian's decision and Jasmine's gumption. She had more than earned the right to be there for her prince's revival.

Bridget grimaced. "There is very little room around the stasis chamber."

"I can stay outside," Aru said. "If you leave the door open, that is. I still want to witness this."

Behind him, Negal and Dagor also said they were happy to stay out of the room provided the door was open.

They and Jade's crew had finished transporting the stasis chambers carrying the dead Kra-ell to the catacombs, and even though they had wiped the chambers clean as much as possible before loading them onto the planes, some dust had remained and found its way onto the males' clothing.

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea for them to be so close to the corpse-like fragile prince while he was being revived. With almost no blood in his veins and organs that were a hair away from failing, he might not be able to fight off pathogens in the same way a healthy god or immortal could.

Curiously, Kalugal had opted out of witnessing the momentous event and had gone home, so there was one less person to crowd the packed waiting room.

"I can stay outside as well." Kian turned to Jasmine. "Just remember to keep your earpieces in."

She nodded, her fingers trembling slightly as she pulled the devices out of her jeans pocket and inserted them into her ears. Around her, the others did the same.

Just as she was done adjusting the earpieces, Merlin stepped out of the room and seemed startled at the crowd outside the door.

"If this device is as effective as William assures us it is, the prince had no trackers implanted in him."

Jade nodded. "That makes perfect sense to me. The twins were never supposed to be on the settlers' ship. They were snuck on board covertly minutes before the last pods were sealed. It is extremely unlikely that someone managed to put trackers in them during that time."

Looking at Merlin, Kian tilted his head toward the princess's room. "Just to make sure, please scan the princess as carefully as well."

"I need to be in the room when you revive the prince," Jade said. "He might recognize me from my time serving in the queen's guard." She turned to Aru. "You and the other gods should stay out of his line of sight."

Aru glanced at the petite redheaded doctor. She was almost beautiful enough to pass for a goddess, but not quite. Would the prince think that she was one?

The settlers knew about humans, so he might assume that, and the same was true for Jasmine.

Bridget pursed her lips. "I doubt he will be cognizant enough to evaluate what he's seeing, but I agree that Jade's face will be the least disturbing to him." She looked to her son, who was waiting with a bottle of mountain spring water in each hand. "Get in position, Julian."

Behind him were Jade's hybrids, each holding two bottles, ready to hand them to Julian when needed.

That was enough water to revive several people from stasis, but Aru said nothing. Perhaps the prince's fragile state necessitated more than usual.

As Julian stepped forward, Bridget motioned for Jasmine to get in and stand next to the wall.

Aru expected Julian to pour the first bottle over the prince, but after removing the cap, the young doctor handed it to his mother. "His bones are so brittle and fragile that I'm afraid a strong stream of water might crumble him."

Bridget nodded. "I'll start at his feet and go up. If they fall off, he can regrow them."

Jasmine swallowed hard, her heartbeat so loud that Aru heard it from his position by the door. She wasn't looking at the stasis chamber and the body inside. Instead, her eyes were fixed on Bridget's face.

He wondered if her courage had left her, and she was afraid to see what state the royal was in.

"Here goes," Kian murmured next to him, the low tone sounding even odder through the earpieces.

Aru fought the impulse to adjust the devices. It wouldn't help and would only reduce their effectiveness.

Taking a deep breath, Bridget lifted the bottle and drizzled a few drops over the prince's withered feet.

Aru had seen a baptism on television once, and what Bridget was doing reminded him of the ritual cleansing that was supposed to wash away the sins and sorrows of the past.

When the feet remained intact, Bridget got bolder and sprinkled more water over the parchment-like gray skin.

As the minutes ticked by, the silence was tense, and the only sounds were the steady drip of water, the rasp of everyone's breathing, and their various heartbeats.

Aru tried to ignore all that background noise and focus on the prince, but there was no sign of life in his body, not even a flicker.

He couldn't be dead.

Julian had been monitoring the infrequent heartbeats of the twins, and he would have known if time had run out for the royal.

Still, too much time seemed to have passed since the last heartbeat Aru had heard.

Had he missed one?

Yeah, that was more likely than the doctors not being aware of the prince's passing.

The twins' death would solve many problems, but Aru couldn't bring himself to wish for that. That being said, he wouldn't pray for their survival either.