“She refused,” Jon pointed out.
“Not specifically,” Tristan argued. “She didn’t say
no
.”
“She didn’t say
yes
, either.”
“You told me once that you would never give up on her,” Tristan said. “Did you mean it?”
“Of course I meant it,” Jon replied, his eyes never leaving Faith’s face.
“I don’t plan to give up either,” Tristan said.
“You would do this against her will?” Gray asked in surprise.
“It’s not against her will,” Tristan argued. “She just doesn’t understand. She hasn’t read enough of that damned book yet, and thinks it will be too big of a risk for us if it doesn’t work. We have one chance at happiness, all four of us. I’m taking it. If she refuses to forgive us, fine. Better a world in which she hates us than a world in which she doesn’t exist at all.”
Gray and Jon looked up and met his gaze. He felt the exact moment each of them decided to go along with him, but set his relief aside. They had no time. Faith had no time.
“Get over here,” he said to Jon as he shifted closer to the head of the bed. He slid his hand beneath Faith’s neck and raised it up, causing her head to tilt back, baring her throat. He looked to see that both Gray and Jon held one of her wrists to their mouths. He nodded, then bent down and slid his mating fangs into the thin, pale skin of her throat and released the serum that he hoped would save her life. At the exact same moment his brothers slid their fangs into her wrists, and suddenly Tristan sensed them in a way he never had before. He felt the serum leave their fangs as clearly as he felt his own, and knew exactly when they’d injected enough. He felt his brothers sense his decision and withdraw when he did. They flicked their tongues gently over the tiny pin pricks in her skin to close them, then stood up and looked at each other in surprise.
“Is that what it’s like to be soul-linked?” Gray asked.
“I think that was a small taste of what it’s like,” Tristan said. “Only through this woman will we ever experience it fully.”
“Do you think she will forgive us for doing this?” Jon asked.
“Yes, I do,” Tristan said. It might take a while, but eventually she would forgive them. She was too soft hearted to hold a grudge for long. “Jon, why don’t you go call Doc back in. Let’s see what we can expect from here on.”
Jon left, returning a moment later with Doc, Darlene, Loni and Ran Katre. “They know more about the transformation process than I do,” Doc said, explaining the Katres’ presence.
“We’ve read all the reports,” Tristan said. “I’m uncertain if the amount of damage her body has sustained will effect the length of time it will take for her body to regenerate.”
“Maybe,” Doc said. “Lariah Dracon and Saige Lobo were both injured before their transformation. Berta Falcoran was poisoned. None of them were in as bad a shape as this young woman, though. It may take longer for the first stage to complete. It may not. Or, it is possible that regeneration will not be enough to stop the poison. You gotta remember that each clan has different DNA, so each Arima will have a slightly different experience.”
Tristan nodded, accepting that, for the most part, they were dealing with the unknown. “We have enough Water magic to put her into a deep sleep for the second stage, the way the Dracons did for Lariah. My question is, should we maintain that sleep while we perform the final stage?”
Loni, Doc, Ran, and even Darlene stared at him in shocked disapproval. “Why would you consider doing that?” Loni asked, frowning.
“Because she was raped,” Darlene said, her voice calm though she suddenly tightened her hand on Doc’s to the point of pain.
“You fear she will refuse you?” Ran said.
“No,” Tristan said. “I fear she will be further traumatized. Darlene, we must know what you think on this. Please.”
“I’m going to ask you a very personal question,” Darlene said.
Tristan nodded. “I will do my best to answer you.”
“Have you had sex with Faith?”
“Yes, but not in the way that the soul-link triad requires,” Tristan replied.
“I don’t think you should do this without at least discussing it with her first,” Darlene said. “It’s not just the sex, either. Linking her permanently to the three of you
must
be her choice.”
“Then we will give her that choice,” Tristan said.
“Once the mating fever hits, she will die if you do not complete the ritual,” Ran reminded him.
“We will not allow her to die,” he said. “The soul-link triad may not be the only means of getting her through the mating fever.”
Ran started to object, but a tiny shake of the head from Loni stilled his tongue. It was possible that the Falcorans knew something he did not. He supposed. Either way, it was their decision to make
“By the way, the man who attacked her is Eric Kick,” Tristan said. Gray and Jon were both shocked by that bit of information, but everyone else was only curious.
“It’s a long story,” Tristan said. “Essentially, the man’s sister has spent the last couple of years trying to kill Faith for catching them stealing from a museum. Eric killed a police officer and a civilian before being caught and arrested. He should be in prison. All of his accomplices, as well as his sister, are now dead. That makes the first question, how the hell did he get free?”
“The second question is, how the hell did he get on the
Eyrie
?” Gray added.
“The third question is, what the hell is the poison on that knife,
and
where did he get it?” Doc put in.
“I can’t help but wonder if the Xanti have a part in this,” Ran said. “That’s probably a stretch, though.”
“I’m not so sure,” Tristan said thoughtfully. “Though Eric was captured, the rest of them got away with a large number of valuable antiques worth millions. The Xanti have been known to involve themselves in such matters for the right price, and I believe this man had just exactly the right amount of cash.”
“We will take excellent care of him until you are ready to ask him your questions,” Loni said. “On that you need have no concern.”
“Thank you,” Tristan said. He turned his attention back to Faith, then glanced up at the diagnostic panel on the wall above her head. There were so many lights and diagrams he could make no sense of it. He turned to Doc.
“It looks like its working,” Doc said as he studied the panel. “There’s no further damage, and her heart is healing rapidly. We need to remove the bypass, but we’ll have to time it carefully.”
He moved up next to the bed, and Gray stepped back out of the way. Darlene took Tristan’s place and the two of them began working with the different tubes and machines connected to Faith, their eyes intent on the scanner screen. Everyone else stood quietly, waiting.
“Now,” Doc said, breaking the silence. Darlene hit a switch and Doc withdrew a pair of long lines from Faith’s chest. The Falcorans watched tensely, not breathing as they waited to see what would happen. It was a very long twenty seconds before Doc nodded his head and turned to them. “It’s working,” he said. “She’s off the bypass, and her heart is working fine. She’s got a ways to go, but she’s gotten through the worst of it already, and she’s neutralized the poison.”
The Falcorans’ relief was palpable, causing everyone in the room to smile, even the usually stoic Loni Katre.
“If you’d like to take her to a room that is more comfortable for you, that’s fine,” Doc said. “There isn’t anything further I can do for her, and she’s out of the woods.”
“You are returning to the
Vyand
?” Tristan asked.
“I’d prefer to stay here, just in case,” Doc said. “If you’ve got a room I can use, that is.”
“Of course,” Tristan said with obvious relief. “We’ll have a steward show you to a guest room at once. Anything at all that you need, just ask and it will be provided.”
“Thanks,” Doc said. “Vox me if you need me, or have any questions.”
Gray called for a steward to show Doc to a room, then watched as Tristan lifted Faith from the table after Darlene covered her with a light blanket. As soon as Faith was in Tristan’s arms, Bubbles leapt from Gray’s shoulder to his so she could be closer to Faith.
They left the infirmary, Gray walking in front of Tristan to block anyone’s view of Faith, Jon guarding their backs. Tristan chose not to move fast, determined to be particularly careful with her in his arms. He stopped at the elevators, glancing only once at the car they’d found Faith in. There was an Out of Order sign on it.
“Gray,” he said as they entered the elevator car next to it. “I don’t want that car running again.”
“I’ve already ordered that it be cleansed of her blood, then dismantled and sent through the airlock,” Gray said. “We don’t have a replacement in storage, so we’ll have to make do with three elevators for the duration of this voyage.”
Tristan had no objection to that. If anyone dared to complain, they’d be ordered to use the stairs. The doors opened and they exited, walking up the corridor quickly. They passed Faith’s door, then Tristan’s, stopping only when they reached the door at the far end of the corridor. Gray unlocked it and pushed it open, revealing a room much larger than any other sleeping compartment on the
Eyrie
. It was furnished with an enormous bed, a larger table and more dressers and closets. It also had a private bathroom with an extra large shower, a jetted tub the size of a small pool, and four sinks. This room was designed specifically for four people; a male-set and their mate, or Arima.
Gray turned on the lights as Jon went ahead to turn the covers back on the bed. Tristan laid Faith down, sliding his arms out from beneath her as gently as he could. They stood watching her for a long moment, then Tristan reached out to her with Water magic. Relieved to discover that she was still healing, he withdrew and tried to decide what to do next.
“I’d like to clean her up a little,” Jon said. “She’s still covered in her own blood.”
“Good idea,” Tristan said. “You get some warm washcloths, I’ll run down to her room and get some of her things. Gray, you stay here and don’t take your eyes off of her. I don’t want her left alone for any reason.”
Gray nodded, and Tristan turned and left the room at high speed. As soon as he entered Faith’s room, Bubbles leapt to the floor and walked over to her litter box. Tristan opened a few drawers until he found a nightgown, then went into the bathroom for her toiletries. He found her duffle in the closet and tossed everything into it, then went looking for Bubbles’ food. He gathered Bubbles’ bed and litter box together, picked up the duffle and called Bubbles to his shoulder.
“It’s going to be all right,” he said to the
raktsasa
who seemed sad and droopy. The connection to Faith while she’d endured such trauma was wearing on Bubbles’ strength. He’d promised to take care of her, and so far he hadn’t.
He left Faith’s room, locked it behind him, and hurried back. The moment he opened the door his eyes went to Faith. “Gray, call the kitchen, ask them to send up some food for Bubbles. She hasn’t eaten since lunch and that was hours ago.”
Gray tapped his vox and made the call, tense with the realization that they had not seen to the
raktsasa’s
care at all. Faith would be angry with them for that, and rightly so.
“It’s coming right up,” he said after disconnecting.
Tristan nodded, taking Faith’s things from the duffle and carrying them into the bathroom. Jon set out Bubbles’ box and put her bed on top of a dresser, then returned to Faith’s side. He picked up a warm wet cloth from the bedside table and began washing the dried blood from Faith’s hands. Gray picked up another cloth, got onto the bed on her other side, and did the same. It took a while since the blood had dried, but eventually they got her clean..
Jon went to answer the soft knock at the door announcing Bubbles’ food. She didn’t eat with her usual enthusiasm, but she ate. When she was finished, Tristan put her on the bed next to Faith. She crawled up to Faith’s shoulder and curled up in the crook of her neck.
Tristan stood at the side of the bed, trying to decide whether Faith would be more upset if they changed her clothes while she was out, or if it would be better to wait. Just as he made up his mind to at least remove her jeans, her eyes opened.
***
Faith was confused. She remembered the conversation she’d had with Tristan. She remembered the pain, though most of it was, thankfully, distant. She remembered the gentle, floating sensation she’d had before the world went dark.
Now, here she was, lying in another unfamiliar room, on a bed, with all three of the Falcorans looking down at her. There was no pain. None at all. That seemed strange. She felt something tickling the side of her face and she turned her head to see Bubbles staring at her, her eyes wide in surprise. Then she began popping and purring, her little feet tapping excitedly against her cheek. She reached up with one hand, moving slowly, experimentally, but still there was no pain. She petted Bubbles, smiling at her.
“What’s going on?” she asked while still watching Bubbles.
“We deliberately went against your wishes, Faith,” Tristan said. “We could not bear to watch you die. I cannot say that I’m sorry for it.”