world. Someone who really cared about her. And yet in the back of her mind was the reality that any time in her life things had gone well, they’d derailed. Horribly.
Please don’t die.
As she gazed at the monitors, she knew, in spite of what she’d told Galene, that the odds weren’t with the Hammer in this. His chances of survival were so small, she couldn’t bear to think about it or she’d scream.
Chapter 7
Talyn slowly blinked his eyes open and groaned as pain split his head in half. Gods, it hurt. His breathing harsh and labored, he felt pressure on both his hands. Scowling, he looked up into Felicia’s bright gaze.
Then his mother’s.
Confused, he started to speak, only to feel the tube in his throat that kept him from it.
His mother buzzed for the doctor while Felicia tightened her grip on his hand.
“Hey, baby.” She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it.
He tightened his grip on her fingers.
“You had us both terrified,” his mother lovingly chided. “Don’t you ever get hurt again. I mean it!”
He really hadn’t meant to get hurt this time. To be truthful, he couldn’t remember what had happened. One minute, he’d been dogfighting. The next…
Everything else was a blur in his memory. Even most of the day was missing. He really couldn’t recall anything.
His mother and Felicia stepped back as the doctor and nurse came in to evaluate him.
“It’s amazing,” the doctor said at last. “He’s still recovering, but his vitals are strong and he should be back to normal in a few weeks. He’s definitely healing better than we’d hoped.”
Gee, Doc, thanks for that happy prognosis. Nice to know he was still defying the odds that said he’d drop dead any second.
“If the two of you will give us the room, I’ll remove his tube.”
His mother left first. Felicia hesitated.
With a sweet little nose wrinkle, she smiled at him. “Don’t bite the doctor.”
He laughed, then choked.
The doctor, however, didn’t appreciate her humor.
At first Talyn did fine as the tube slid out. Until it caught. Then he started throwing up immediately.
The nurse scrambled and barely caught it.
Shaking all over, Talyn leaned back as his stomach slowly settled down again.
“Breathe easy.” The doctor retook his vitals. “You’re doing fine.”
Yeah, right. Talyn looked at the doctor as if the male was crazy. He didn’t feel fine. He felt like total shit.
After a few minutes, the doctor let them in again. “Feed him ice chips. He’s not ready to drink just yet, but he needs to stay hydrated.”
Felicia went to get a cup as his mother returned to stand by his bed.
“You should have told me about Felicia. She was quite a shock to my system.”
He swallowed hard before he tried to speak. “I haven’t known her that long. Just a few weeks.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “She’s a companion, isn’t she?”
He glanced away.
“You don’t have to answer. She has to be. But you should know that she hasn’t left here since you were brought in four days ago. She’s fetched for me and taken care of us like a daughter, and has been genuinely scared for you. I don’t know which of us prayed harder for your recovery.” She brushed her hand through his braids. “Paid or not, that girl adores you. No one could fake the heart I’ve seen in her, and definitely not for almost a week with no sleep.”
He swallowed hard as those words choked him with emotions he couldn’t even begin to fathom. But one, he could easily identify. “I love her, Matarra.”
His mother tensed. “Talyn… you’re too young to know what love is.”
He emphatically disagreed with that. While he might be young, he knew what he felt. And he was a lot older than his parents had been when his mother “fell in love” with his father.
If what his mother felt for the dickhead who fathered him wasn’t love, damned if he knew what that word meant.
“You’ve never had a female before, son. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your hormone levels can sustain a difficult relationship. You know why you can never have a female or family of your own. What would happen if she ever saw the real you. The risks… you can’t let anyone that close to you, and you know it.”
Talyn glanced away as he bit back a sneer at her dismissal of his feelings. Unfortunately, he knew exactly what she meant. Love was hard for two normal Vested Andarions.