Page 31 of Dark Princess: Shadows

After ending the call, Kian entered the office building and took the stairs up to the second floor while his mind worked on Aru's problem.

Young, healthy men who loved to travel. Former soldiers, perhaps? Those who had just been discharged from active duty and were looking for a little adventure before settling down.

Or maybe mercenaries.

They were used to high-risk situations, comfortable with travel, and often operated outside normal societal constraints. Betteryet, he knew just the person who could help him find the right people.

Walking over to his desk, he sat on his swivel chair, turned it toward the windows, and called Turner.

"Good morning, Kian," the guy answered. "Trouble in the village?"

He chuckled. "Always, but nothing that requires your particular talents. Are you at your city office or still here?"

"I'm on my way out."

"Can you stop by my office for a few minutes? We haven't talked in a while, and I have a bunch of updates."

Turner snorted. "Do you really think that there is anything going on in the village that I don't know about?"

"Bridget?" Kian asked.

"Naturally. She tells me everything. But I'll stop by anyway. You are right about the two of us not having a one-on-one in a while."

"Do you want me to get you coffee from the café?" Kian asked.

"Naturally. And a pastry to go with it."

21

BRANDON

Brandon's eyes drifted between Morelle's serene face and the open door that led to the waiting room. The sounds of hushed conversations filtered in, creating a backdrop of quiet activity. He'd left the door open deliberately, both to stay connected to the goings-on outside and to encourage others to check in on Morelle.

The more visitors she had, the better.

Earlier, Alena had arrived to keep Ell-rom company by Jasmine's bedside. She had listened to the prince express his worry for his mate and had said all the right things to encourage him, but there was a note of tension in her voice that only someone who knew her well would detect.

Was she worried about Jasmine? Had Bridget told her something that she had kept from Ell-rom?

Brandon hadn't heard anything that would indicate that Jasmine was experiencing difficulties, but he planned to ask Gertrude or Hildegard later. The nurses were much more likely to spill the beans than the physicians.

"Poor guy is losing his marbles," he told Morelle. "And no amount of talking and reassurances are helping him. I just hope that he's worrying for nothing. I wish you would wake up, not just because I want to see the color of your eyes and hear your voice. Your brother is falling apart."

Brandon kept his voice low as he narrated his observations, and the device he was using to translate his words into Kra-ell adjusted seamlessly.

At least to his ears.

"It's been days now, and Jasmine is showing no signs of waking. We were hoping she would be one of those who recuperated fast, but she's not. Still, this is considered normal for a transition. Some were out for weeks like you are. Only you are not transitioning. You are just healing. Although I have to tell you, you look as good as healed. Your color is good, and your face has filled out. The docs are taking good care of you."

Brandon's eyes traced the contours of Morelle's face, her hands that were resting by her sides, searching for any hint of response, but as usual, there was none.

He sighed and shifted his gaze to the lap desk balanced across his knees. He'd brought a laptop and a tablet to work on his ideas for the InstaTock project, but he hadn't made much progress. Every time he tried to focus on the screen, his attention was drawn back to Morelle.

What if he missed something?

A flicker of an eyelid, a twitch of a finger?

"I'm trying to work on this project," he told her, gesturing to his laptop even though she couldn't see it. "The idea is to createcontent that promotes critical thinking, something that will help young people distinguish fact from fiction. But I've got to admit, Princess, it's hard to concentrate with you lying there looking so..." He trailed off, searching for the right word. Beautiful? Vulnerable? Fascinating? All of the above, if he was being honest with himself.