Chapter Nineteen

Orion woke with a groan, the ache in his head feeling as though he'd been hit by a hammer. Still half asleep, Orion reached for his head, only to find his arm wouldn't move. His eyes flying open, they landed on a man he didn't know and his heart began to pound.

"Do I know you?" Now his eyes were open Orion could see he was lying in a bed, in a room he wasn't familiar with, completely restrained.

"I'm Mortrin, the head royal healer from the Monce Court, your highness," the man said gently. "I'll remove these restraints now you're finally awake. You'll have to forgive their use. Your body was subject to numerous injuries when Crown Prince Vincent called us in, and we couldn't risk you moving involuntarily while you were unconscious and interrupting the healing process."

"I must've misheard. Did you say Crown Prince Vincent?" Orion rubbed the faint marks around his wrist as soon as they were free. Mortrin clearly knew his way around restraints as he was free of them in less than a minute. "Are you sure I'm not still asleep, or unconscious, or whatever that was?"

"I'll call in your valet, John. He can explain things to you better than me. I insisted that he rest these past few hours. He's been through a great deal of stress, so that rest was necessary. But he can explain how you came to be in our care. Please try not to get too agitated, your healing has still got a long way to go." Bowing deeply, Mortrin appeared to glide as he left the room and seconds later, John came rushing in, brushing down his unruly hair with his hand.

"Oh, your highness, thank goodness you're awake." John collapsed to his knees by the bed, taking his hand, his face streaked with tears. "We've all been so worried."

"John, please." Orion had never seen his staunch aide ever be that upset. "Get up and take a proper seat. You'll have me thinking I'm dying or something equally as dire. What happened? Where are we and how did we get here?" Orion was still struggling to remember, but his brain felt foggy from the pain he was in.

"There was an earth tremor at the mine. Do you remember that?" John at least did get up and perched on the edge of the chair that was situated next to the bed.

"Vaguely. Ryan had gone to get some ramps so we could check out a possible seam, I think." Orion had a horrible thought. "Is Ryan all right? The other workers at the mine? Were they caught in the rockfall?"

"No, your highness. You were the only one trapped. The men were digging you out. The entranceway to the cave you were in was completely filled with debris and as you can imagine they were frantic, not knowing if you were alive or dead."

"Knocked out, I think." Orion rubbed his head again. "I got hit by a rock, on my head…and fell…and then…I think I rolled under the seat I was on, and that broke away from the rock wall, too? At least I think it did."

"Your husband found you under that rock slab. It was him that got you out. Ryan found another way into the cave from the topside of the mountain, but it was Crown Prince Vincent who insisted on being lowered down to pull you out."

"Vincent?" Orion said faintly. "John, what was he even doing at the mine? Did someone call him? Was he handy at the time, or…" There was no reality Orion could see where his husband would be the one to come and save him.

"I've got to admit, I'm not strictly sure." John was rubbing his head. "I got word to Crown Prince Onyx after you were rescued, and he said your husband had contacted him a few days before, determined to make amends for his atrocious behavior in Carntan. He'd come to the mine to assist you in any way possible as a means of apologizing. In fairness, he arrived at the perfect time. It would've taken a lot longer to get you out without the help of him and his men."

Orion let out a long breath. "Remind me to send him a heartfelt note of thanks as soon as I'm free from this bed. So where are we again?"

"The inn that sits on the border of Monce and Tyrion, and sir, you should prepare yourself to deliver the thanks in person." John looked down at his hands, and then met Orion's eyes. "Crown Prince Vincent transported you here personally, he contacted the Monce Court because they were closer than the Tyrion castle to gain access to a royal healer. He's been staying here, the five days you've been unconscious, riding out to the mine the past three days to work with Ryan. Sir, he's brought in safety equipment, given Ryan a budget to hire more miners, and has even upgraded the cabins where they have all been staying. He's…"

"Why?" The word flew from Orion's mouth unbidden, but that was all he could think as he listened to his personal aide list all that Vincent had done. "Is he taking over the mine on behalf of the Faast royal family? Is he going to take away the work Onyx and I, Ryan and all the others have done since this project started?"

"Sir, please, you're not to get agitated." John's hands landed on his and Orion realized he was flailing them about. "I know it's difficult to believe, especially in light of what your husband had done in Carntan, but he's trying to help you . Your back was broken in three places. If Crown Prince Vincent hadn't saved you when he had and got the prompt medical attention you needed, you might have never walked again, and that's assuming you'd have lived. Sir, I promise you, I'm not saying this lightly. If I hadn't seen evidence of it myself, I would never have mentioned it, but your husband cares about you. He's fixing the mine because he hopes that by doing that, you'll consider speaking to him again."

"What evidence?" Orion wasn't sure he could believe what he was hearing. But he trusted John would never lie to him.

"You should've seen him when he got you out of the mine. Jacket off, mud on his shirt and face, his nails chipped and cracked because he was digging in the dirt with his bare hands…"

"My husband told you he did that?"

"I was there, sir. I saw it with my own eyes. He insisted, fought with Morgan about having to be the one to be lowered down the hole in the cave roof to get to you. Even when he barely fit in the hole that he helped dig."

"Did he get stuck?" That struck Orion as truly funny, a crown prince getting caught in a hole, but then the whole idea of Vincent being anywhere near the mine was weird enough.

John nodded. "He had to do a bit of wiggling to get in that hole. And there's more." John leaned closer. "Morgan told me, in the strictest confidence, that when Crown Prince Vincent was being lowered into the hole, being suspended by nothing but a rope, he found out he's scared of heights."

"Oh no." Orion quickly put his hand over his mouth and tried not to laugh. His head was still really painful, and he probably shouldn't be thinking any Vincent had done was funny.

"You can laugh, sir, but at the time it was no laughing matter. Crown Prince Vincent spent the first two days sitting where I am now, sleeping in the chair, refusing to eat unless someone bought something for him, determined not to leave your side. It was your brother Onyx that pointed out to him that he'd be more useful to you if he helped out at the mine instead of getting under the healer's feet all the time."

Orion suddenly remembered why they were in that cave in the first place. "The rockfall. Did it expose a crystal seam?"

"It did, your highness." John's eyes gleamed as he nodded. "It was there, just as Ryan thought it was, and it does meet up with the other seam, which you had suggested. Sir, Crown Prince Vincent has called in more geologists, all working on a strictly confidential basis, but their early reports suggest that whole mountain range, from one side of Tyrion to the other, could be full of crystal seams."

A dream come true . "I have to get to the mine. I have to see. Help me get out of this bed." Orion gripped John's hands, hoping to leverage himself upright. But John gently pushed him back.

"Sir, don't. Did you forget already? Your back was broken in three places. Three places! The healers have worked their magic, and I understand the breaks are healed. Now you're awake, they can conduct further tests to make sure there's no residual nerve damage or loss of use in any of your limbs. But it will be at least another week before they let you out of bed. The mine will still be there when you return, sir, but for now you have to heal. I must insist. Your brother gave me the authority to do so."

Orion knew when he was beaten. "Fine, but can Morgan give me a detailed report when he returns? I will rest a lot easier if I am kept updated on what is going on."

"Crown Prince Vincent would probably be thrilled to hear you're finally awake. Wouldn't it be a nice gesture to at least share a meal with him this evening?"

Eyeing his personal aide, Orion felt as if he was being gently manipulated. But John only had his best interests in mind. "If I can sit up," he said firmly. "I am not sharing a meal with Crown Prince Vincent if I have to lie flat on my back and have to be spoon fed something."

"I'll call in Mortrin and his team and let him know your request," John said with a smile as he stood up. "You gave us all quite a scare your highness. I'm truly thankful you're awake."

"Me too, John. Me too."