Stunned (The Lucidites Book 2) (29 page)

The blinding lights of Aiden’s lab greet me. A dozen people stand in the space. James is already setting the dials on the GAD-C and within seconds my body is set for auto-generation. Glad not to have had to do the process myself, I close my eyes and wait for the now familiar reunion of body and spirit to happen. A jolt assaults my core, more painful than any time before when I’ve generated my body.

Anxious to rejoin my team I bolt into an upright position. Everything is wrong about the sensation, like my body isn’t meant for that.
Did something go wrong with the GAD-C? Is my body deformed?

Joseph’s and Trey’s faces are the first to swim into my line of vision, only a step away. Their eyes are wide. Horror written in them. Everything slows painfully down. Each movement takes an excruciatingly long time in my mind to process. Joseph’s hands rise to his face, covering his mouth which has dropped in sudden disbelief. But I can’t understand what he doesn’t believe or why Trey looks terribly shocked. And my ears have quit working. All I hear is ringing. Persistent, aching ringing. Attempting to sit up more I’m met with a violent stabbing in my core. It’s a blinding pain, so intense my head spins. Confused, my eyes travel down and everything becomes devastatingly clear. I’ve been shot.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

S
trong fingers grip my hand. I want to open my eyes, but each attempt is met with defeat. Still I hear his breathing, know his head is slumped next to me. Footsteps patter by. That person’s wearing soft-soled shoes. On my other side someone rustles, not as close though. Antiseptics lace the air. I can sense all this, but I can’t force my eyes open.
Why?

Another set of footsteps, these firm and approaching. They stop a few feet away.

“Has she awoken yet?” Trey’s voice sounds tired.

Joseph stirs at my side. “No, not yet.”

“She will, give her time,” Trey says, a strange consoling tone to his voice. “I spoke with Dr. Dunham and Mae. They’re both hopeful she’ll make a full recovery.”

Joseph doesn’t respond verbally, but I sense he nods. His grip tightens on my hand.

“Why don’t you go get some rest,” Trey says. “You haven’t left her.”

“I have been resting. Haven’t ya noticed I’m sittin’ next to a bed,” Joseph says, humor in his tone. “And they bring me meals when they feed these guys. So actually I’m stayin’ fairly comfortable. But I could use some entertainment. Staring at Stark is excruciatingly boring.”

“I’ll have someone round you up some books and magazines,” Trey says, his familiar unemotional tone returning. “And how are you feeling?” he says, his voice directed not at Joseph.

“You should have George answer that for me,” Aiden says with a shaky laugh. “I can barely tell you what my last name is, let alone describe how I feel.”

“The drugs they gave you will be out of your system soon enough according to Dr. Dunham. Once they are then your body can start repairing the damage. Try to let yourself rest for now.”

“Thanks, I will. I look forward to having a clear thought again,” Aiden says, his voice foggy.

“And George, how about you? Are you feeling better?”

Sheets rustle in the bed on the other side of me. “Yes, sir,” he says. “Thanks for asking.”

“Well, if any of you need anything please let me know,” Trey says, and then his footsteps retreat.

Joseph squeezes my hand and lays his head down again beside me. “Come on, Stark, wake up already,” he whispers. “There’s so much I haven’t told you. And I really need to. If you wake up I’ll tell you everything. I should have before anyway. Please open your eyes.”

I want to, Joseph. I want to.
Sleep crashes down on me, sucking my consciousness away.

♦

“You’re finally awake.” The voice is smooth, deliberate. Cold fingers grip my arm. I open my eyes to a mass of blurry shapes. Gradually lines begin to define the figure beside me. Chase’s stunning face stares back, a content coolness in his eyes. Dark cave walls lurk behind him.

I gasp, shooting into a painful sitting position. “What am I doing here?!”

“What do you mean? You’re finally home. Safe. With me. And I’m never going to let you go. Ever.” He traces his pointer finger down my cheek, neck, shoulder, and arm, his attention locked on the skin under his finger.

“No, I’m supposed to be at the Institute. That’s where I was. How did I get here? Where’s Joseph?”

“Shhhh.” A cold finger presses against my lips. I’m stone under his touch. A statue which can never move, only be molded into a different position. And Chase holds the chisel.

“Now it’s time we sealed our engagement.”

Engagement? What happened while I slept?

Chase leans into me, tilting my chin with a firm grip. His lips an inch away. I shudder.

“Stop!” I scream. My eyes burst open. Breath trembles in my chest. Sweat drips down my brow. From across the infirmary Mae rushes, an urgent concern on her face.

“You’re awake,” she says, arriving at my bed, breathless.

Pain shoots through my abdomen. It throws me into an instant state of paralysis. My breath pants but the rest of me clenches, waiting for the searing agony to subside.

“Seriously, I go to take a leak and that’s when ya decide to wake up?” Joseph says, striding up beside Mae.

“She had a nightmare. That’s what awoke her,” Mae says, giving Joseph a strange look.

“What was it about?” Joseph asks.

The dream. Chase’s eyes swim into my head, so clear and real. Like a pond freezing over in winter, I harden suddenly—frozen.

“She can answer that in a minute. Right now I need to check her injury.”

Joseph stares at me, an odd sentiment in his eyes.

“I need to check Roya’s injury,” Mae repeats.

“Go ahead,” he says, not taking his eyes off me.

Mae pulls a curtain from beside the wall, pushing Joseph back out of its path. “Unless you want to see your sister topless then I’m going to ask you to leave.”

“It’s not like she has anything to see.”

My face flushes, knowing both Aiden and George are listening. “I’m sure the same is true of you down there,” I say, pointing at his pants.

He smirks. “Fine. I’ll go harass Livingston.”

Mae pulls the curtain on its track around my bed, creating a private space. She unfastens the hospital gown and begins unraveling my bandages.

“Mae,” I say in a hush.

“Yes, honey,” she says, preoccupied by my wound.

“I’m sorry.”

She pauses, bringing her eyes to meet mine. “About Pearl,” I say. Grief contorts her face, a dozen wrinkles materializing. I hadn’t noticed until now how red and puffy her usually creamy skin is.

“Thank you,” she says, busying herself tending to my wound. I have zero desire to see what lies beneath the white gauze so I keep my chin up, eyes on the ceiling.

“As I suspected when you jerked awake, you reopened the wound,” Mae says. Her hand presses against my skin and warmth exudes from her fingertips, soaking deep within me. A tingling sensation spreads along with the warmth. “You were lucky,” Mae says wrapping new bandages around me.

“When is getting shot considered lucky?”

“When the bullet goes through your side. More central and it could have been fatal.”

“I’ll remember that the next time I get shot.”

She gives me a tired look. “All right, I don’t want you out of this bed. You call me if you need anything,” she says, dragging the sheet back to reveal George lying in the bed on my right. Before I’d been too groggy to properly notice him sitting there. He’s tucked under his blankets, which are neatly folded over his lap. The expression on his face is poetic, like the look of a warrior after he’s returned home from a near defeat. It’s heartening. Encompassing.

“Roya,” he says, “how are—”

“I don’t think so, Anders,” Joseph says as soon as Mae clears the curtain on the other side. He springs off Aiden’s bed and takes a seat at the edge of mine. “I’m the first one to get an audience with Stark, so there.” He pokes his tongue out at George.

“Joseph, do you always have to be such a child?” I say squeezing the hand he’s placed in mine.

“Of course I do,” he says with a wink.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Thirty. Six. Hours.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t left my side.”

“How do you know that?”

I shrug. “I could hear things.”

A book slips from Aiden’s bed. It snaps my attention in his direction. Our eyes meet. Tears instantly constrict my throat, hot and tight. Aiden looks different somehow, although nothing obvious has changed about him. His eyes smile brightly when we connect, but the rest of him remains neutral. “Welcome back,” he says, pulling a knife out of my heart.

“You too,” I say, trying to disguise the gasping rawness with exhaustion.

Joseph claps in front of my face. “Back over here, Stark. I want your undivided attention.”

Rolling my eyes I say, “It’s all yours.”

“Good. So you got shot?” Joseph says, irritation flaring in his voice.

“It would appear so,” I say.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left you.” Regret streaks Joseph’s face, making him look older.

“There’s no changing what happened.”

“What did happen?” Aiden says, standing up, taking the seat next to my bed. He’s so much skinnier. I see it mostly in his face, but also his arms and shoulders.

On the other side of me George leans forward, curious. I flick my eyes to his. “I’d be over there too if I could get out of bed,” he says. “Mae won’t allow it though.” I gulp, nodding.

Returning my attention to Joseph I say, “It must have been Amber who shot me. I thought she was dead, but I guess not.”

“Did you kill her?” Joseph asks.

“Yes, but not directly. Right after you left Amber showed up and pointed a gun at me. I thought I was going to die, but then I had a vision of the future. It was of Allouette sending a knife through the Grotte and into the room where they held Aiden. I guess she knew I was still in there. Or maybe the knife was meant for Aiden. Anyway, I ducked at precisely the right moment and Amber took the knife in the chest.”

“Trey probably wants to hear this,” Joseph says, starting to stand.

I throw my hand over his. “No, don’t go. I’ll recount it to him later.”

“What happened next?” Aiden asks.

“Well, I closed the door and dream traveled back here. Apparently Amber wasn’t dead. Hopefully the bitch is dead now. I actually hope her chest wound wasn’t fatal. I hope she could have been saved, but the energy she used to retrieve the gun and shoot me killed her.”

Joseph snorts with laughter. “Damn, Stark, you’re dark.”

“Well, would you send well wishes to someone who shot you?”

He pretends to think about it, scratching his stubbled chin. “Yeah, probably, but I’m a better person than you.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” I say, gripping my side.

“Could it have been Allouette who shot you?” George asks.

“No,” Aiden says abruptly, leaning more on my bed. “Voyageurs—real ones, not wannabes like Amber—wouldn’t use an automatic weapon.”

“Doesn’t really matter who shot me. It’s already been done,” I say.

“I thought I was gonna have a heart attack when you arrived profusely bleeding,” Joseph says. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry this has been so traumatic on you. I didn’t even know I was shot until after I arrived and saw your face. That’s a hell of a way to find out such a thing, don’t you think?”

“She’s been awake for all of ten minutes and you boys are already pestering her?” Mae says, bustling into the room. “Joseph, now that Roya has awoken you don’t need to keep watch. I order you to go take a shower and get some proper rest. And as for you two”—she motions to Aiden and George—“let Roya have a chance to relax before you begin with too many questions. And Dr. Livingston, if you don’t get back in your bed then I’ll move you six beds down. Is that clear?”

Aiden cracks a smile at me before retreating back to his bed, which is crumpled with blankets.

“All right, I’ll do as I’m told,” Joseph says. “But I’ll be back after a bit.” He kisses my forehead and gives me a sweet smile. “See you later.”

“Later,” I say, sinking down in my bed, feeling a wave of exhaustion.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

A
lthough I’d been expecting them, I’m still startled when the Head Officials and my team walk into the infirmary. A mind-numbing stab rips through my side when I try to sit up.

“Dude, Stark, you’re really milking that scratch for everything it’s worth.” Joseph laughs, taking the seat next to my bed.

“Well, without it, I’m just not sure how to get attention,” I say.

Trey rolls his eyes at me, a grin on his face. It’s almost a playful gesture, which throws me off. When has Trey ever been playful? He clears his throat. “I think what Joseph means to say is that we’re all glad to see you’re feeling better. We were shocked when you returned shot.”

“I prefer to always enter the Institute half dead and in need of saving,” I say. From my peripheral I spy Aiden flash a smile.

Trent pulls up a seat between George and me. Ren leans against the opposite wall. And Shuman is stationed beside a timid Samara. Stringy hair lies around her pale face. Her clothes hang loosely off her frame. To my relief it looks like Mae isn’t around.

“Now that Roya is strong enough,” Trey begins, “I want to be debriefed on what happened in the Grotte. However, Dr. Dunham has urged us to keep this meeting short since all three of you”—he inclines his head at Aiden, George, and me—“need as much rest as possible.”

“They’re already lying in bed,” Joseph complains. “Wish I could attend a meeting in my pj’s.”

“Get shot,” I say.

“Ah, the bullet barely nicked you,” Joseph says.

“I’ll nick you,” I say, holding up a fist.

“If you two are quite done, I’d like to resume this meeting,” Trey says.

Joseph dramatically waves his arm, gesturing he’s turned the stage over to Trey.

A few quiet seconds pass and Trey’s appearance shifts. He’s suddenly uncomfortable. “This mission was a success. For that I’m grateful. However, it’s never easy to celebrate a victory when a life has been lost. Let’s all take this time to honor Pearl.”