“Good. I need someone to reload.” Felicia stifled a yawn. It would be daybreak soon. They’d already changed out surgeons, which was a good and bad thing. Good that Talyn was doing well enough in surgery that they were willing to keep going. Bad that it was taking so long.
Erix had fallen asleep about an hour ago and was curled up in a chair, snoring.
“I’ll get us more coffee.” Felicia had just stood up and stretched when the surgeon came through the doors.
He approached them with practiced stoicism. “Is one of you Felicia?”
“I am.”
With a grim nod, he acknowledged her. “Major Batur was calling for you when they brought him in. The first surgeon wanted me to tell you that and to make sure you were on hand whenever he wakes.”
“How is he?” his mother asked.
“We won’t know for at least twenty-four hours. If he makes it through, it’s a good sign. But there was a lot of swelling in his brain and he had a number of broken bones that we fused back together. He’ll probably have a permanent limp from the surgery on his left leg. Several internal organs were damaged when the dampners gave out, and it’s probably what injured his head.”
Felicia took Galene’s hand into hers as she listened intently.
“Can we see him?” Galene asked.
“He’s in recovery right now. But as soon as we move him to a room, I’ll have a nurse come get you.”
“Thank you.”
He inclined his head to them before he vanished through the OR doors again.
Yawning, Erix joined them. “Is he all right?”
“He’s out of surgery and in recovery.” Galene patted his arm. “Why don’t you go on home?”
He nodded. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.” She turned to Felicia. “You should probably go on, too.”
“I’m not leaving,” she said adamantly. “Not as long as he’s here.”
Galene pulled her against her and held her close. She placed a kiss to Felicia’s head. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Not where Talyn’s concerned. It’s my highest honor to care for him.” Felicia smiled at her. “I’ll go get our coffee. You want it plain again?”
She nodded.
“I’ll be right back.”
As Felicia entered the break room, she heard two of the nurses talking.
“I’m telling you, it’s the Talyn Batur. The Iron Hammer himself. If we call the media, we can make a fortune on this.”
Felicia saw red over another group of Vested Andarions scheming to make money from Talyn’s pain. Before she could think twice, she beelined to their table. “If you call the media —” She glanced at the female’s name tag. “— Dorea, or if anyone else in this hospital, for that matter, calls them, I’ll personally drag you down the hallway by your cheap hair extensions, and beat you every step of the way.”
She sneered at Felicia. “Who are you?”
Normally, Felicia would have backed down from that scathing glare and condescension.
But not this time. She was tired of the way everyone treated Talyn when he didn’t deserve it. Tired of the way their culture worked. Were he Vested, they wouldn’t have dared breathe a word of his name out loud.
“Talyn’s bloodthirsty female who holds his privacy sacred… your life? Not so much.”
Her face went pale.
“Yeah, remember that. He is here to be treated and to heal, and not be disturbed by money-grubbing animals out to profit from the injuries he sustained while protecting his race from off-world pirates. He’s a hero, not bonus pay for the likes of you.”
Felicia returned to the pot to grab the commander’s coffee. She cast one last threatening look at the females. “You better make sure no media shows, or I’ll report you both. And before you ask, my father happens to be Satrapehs Saren ezul Terronova. I will have both your jobs and your putrid lives the minute you walk out the door.” With that, she took the coffee back to the waiting room and handed a cup to Galene.
Her hands were shaking so badly from her anger that she was amazed she hadn’t scalded herself. She’d never before made such a stand on anyone’s behalf. And now she knew why. It was scary. They were a lot larger than her. But be damned if anyone was going to make a single credit off Talyn. The last thing he needed was a flock of vultures trying to interview him while he was fighting for his life.
While she didn’t relish the thought of speaking to her father, she would