Page 51 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Mind

"We are not bonded. I'm a god, and Frankie is human, but I care deeply for her regardless."

Smiling, Hildegard gave him a knowing look. "Right." She opened the door.

Frankie looked so pale and so small as she lay on the hospital bed. The wires connected to her body served to monitor her vitals, and there were tubes delivering essential fluids that were keeping her alive.

Dagor was grateful to Hildegard for letting him come in, for volunteering to work while on vacation, and for caring for Frankie with the tenderness of a mother.

Did Hildegard have children?

Was that why she was so gentle?

He watched the nurse cut off the rest of Frankie's clothing, clean her up with wash cloths, and remove all the dirt and grime accumulated during the mad rush to get her to the ship.

Frankie didn't look good despite the doctor's reassurances, and he had second thoughts about not giving her some of his blood. Aru's instructions were to not do it unless Frankie's life was in danger, but Dagor contemplated disregarding his commander.

Right now, his blood was the only thing that could help her heal faster, and the need to keep it a secret from everyone was not a good enough reason to deny her. He was a god, and these immortals were as susceptible to his thrall as humans.

He could give her the transfusion and keep the secret from getting out.

Kian

Kian met Aru at the elevators. "Are you going to see Frankie?"

Aru nodded. "Are you?"

"Yes." Kian looked around to make sure that they were alone. "Do you know if Dagor did what you advised him to do?"

"He didn't. Negal said that the doctor stabilized the girl and assured them that she was going to make it." He looked over his shoulder at the group of immortals heading their way. "He also admitted that they were so busy watching the doctor and helping her that they forgot to take the thing that they needed for the mission."

Acknowledging that he understood with a slight nod, Kian turned to exchange a few pleasantries with his clan members.

With Syssi's coaching, he was getting better at that, but then, anything was an improvement over ignoring them or acknowledging them with a grunt. Thankfully, his people appreciated what he was doing for them and had been forgiving of his lack of social skills. But if he had been a human running for office, he would never have been elected.

"Does Frankie's friend know?" Aru asked.

"I asked Toven to hold off on her visiting Frankie until I spoke with Bridget and got an update about the girl's condition."

Aru arched a brow. "The doctor said that Frankie's condition was stable."

"That's doctor speak for she's not going to die right now."

"I see." The god pushed his hands into his pockets. "That's not very reassuring."

"No, it's not." Kian smiled as the last of their elevator companions departed on the main deck.

When the doors opened again on the clinic level, the two of them stepped out and strode side by side toward the clinic.

Bridget met them at the reception room, which was less than one-fourth of the waiting room in the village clinic, and that room wasn't big. Perhaps he should make some modifications and enlarge the size of it. After all, not everyone on board was immortal, and humans were prone to getting sick and injured.

Given that Bridget's hair was still wet, and she had no makeup on, the doctor had been in a rush to return to her patient, which again told him that Frankie wasn't in great condition.

"Hello, Bridget," Kian said. "How is the girl?"

She cast a quick look at Aru as if she wasn't sure he should be there, listening to her providing information that usually was reserved for the patient's family members, but she must have decided that he was okay.

"The bullet entered from the side, but since it was slowed down by going through Dagor first, it didn't do as much damage as it would have otherwise done. Still, Frankie's lost a lot of blood and experienced what we call hemorrhagic shock. I've given her IV fluids to help stabilize her blood pressure and replace the lost blood volume. The goal is to ensure adequate blood flow to her organs and prevent further complications. She's stable now, and we're monitoring her closely. The next twenty-four hours are critical, but I'm optimistic about her recovery."

Kian wondered whether the minuscule amount of godly blood that the bullet collected while passing through Dagor had any effect on Frankie's recovery. Perhaps that was why she had not been on death's doorstep when Bridget got to her. Her body might have already started fixing the damage.