Page 37 of Dark Princess: Shadows
Jade nodded. "Ell-rom called me and asked that I come to the clinic so he can ask me questions about his past on Anumati. I thought it would be a great opportunity for Drova to learn about her origins without it seeming as if I'm shoving it down her throat."
"I see." Kian agreed that her plan had merit. "I hope William can accommodate your request."
"I hope so, too." She rose to her feet. "I'll let you know when I'm taking her out of the house. I assume that you will want to inform Onegus so he can notify the Guardians."
The truth was that it hadn't occurred to him to put the Guardians on alert because Drova was let out of the house, but perhaps he should. As he liked to remind everyone, it was better to be safe than sorry, right?
"Please do."
As Jade left the office, Kian found himself hoping he hadn't just made a big mistake. If Drova did something stupid, they would have no choice but to put her in the dungeon, and he really did not want to do that.
It would devastate Jade and cause unrest in the Kra-ell community.
He also didn't want to collect scumbags for Ell-rom to test his talent on, but he was going to do that anyway.
25
GERTRUDE
"Excuse me, Brandon." Gertrude cast him an apologetic glance. "I need a few moments alone with the princess."
"Of course." He set his lap desk on the floor and rose to his feet. "I'll be in the waiting room." The councilman had been through this routine often enough to not ask why she needed him to leave.
Once the door closed behind him, the only sound was the steady beeping of Morelle's heart monitor. The princess lay still under the blanket, her face pale and serene but no longer as gaunt as it had been in the beginning. Gertrude had been there for the transformation, and it was truly miraculous.
It would have taken a mere immortal weeks longer to rebuild such shriveled organs and muscles. The princess was part goddess, but instead of the other half being human, it was Kra-ell, and it had given her an advantage.
Gertrude approached the IV stand and eyed the nearly empty fluid bag. It was time to replace it. She reached into the cabinetand retrieved a fresh bag of saline, feeling the weight in her hands. After clamping the line, she disconnected the old bag, hung up the new one, and watched as the new fluid began to drip into Morelle's veins.
After that she scanned the vitals on the screen—heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure. All were stable.
Gertrude let out a slow breath and turned her attention to the catheter bag at the foot of the bed. It had almost filled since she had last checked it, so she clamped the rubber drainage tube from the Foley catheter and unhooked the filled bag to empty it. That done, she reconnected the collection bag and then unclamped the rubber drainage tube.
It was a repeat of what she had done in Jasmine's room only moments ago, a routine task she had performed many times and hoped to continue doing for many other transitioning Dormants or long-lost relatives recovering from comas. Not that it was common to find people who had been in stasis for thousands of years, but every life recovered was a miracle.
The work was a far cry from her earlier days when she'd mainly treated injured Guardians, patching them up while their accelerated healing did most of the work. Occasionally, she'd assisted with birthing an immortal's child, but those joyous occasions were regrettably rare, even rarer than transitions.
Gertrude knew that firsthand.
She had been taking Merlin's potions for months and hooking up with human males whenever her schedule had allowed it, but nothing had happened yet. Still, she wasn't giving up. She just had to persist and keep on going, and one day, the Fates would answer her prayers and give her a child.
When everything was in place, Gertrude glanced at Morelle's face, watching for some flicker of movement, some sign of awareness. But there was nothing. Just the steady hum of the machines.
"Until next time, Princess," she murmured as she opened the door.
Someone was in the waiting room, talking with Brandon while holding a cardboard tray with two coffees. He was standing with his back to her, so she couldn't see who he was, but she assumed he was another visitor for Ell-rom. The prince had had many well-wishers come since Jasmine arrived at the clinic unconscious. On a second listen, though, the voice sounded familiar, and she realized it was Rob.
A flutter went through her stomach, which she firmly quashed. She shouldn't read too much into their recent interactions. He wasn't there for her but for Ell-rom. Margo had probably asked her brother to check on the prince.
After all, they'd all shared the penthouse, and bonds formed quickly in close quarters.
The dinner Gertrude had had to endure with Negal and Margo still made her cringe. She liked Margo, and she was over her infatuation with Negal, but it was still an uncomfortable situation. The god had dropped her like a stone into deep water, swiftly and without hesitation, leaving no trace of the warmth he had shown her before.
It was never a good feeling to be passed over for someone else.
It was also a lesson to be learned.
She shouldn't get involved with anyone who lived in the village because it was awkward as hell to deal with a former lover in such a small place. Some of the clan ladies hooked up with the former Doomers, but they were smart enough to keep it casual and switch partners often so it wouldn't become an issue.