Page 16 of Faerie Hunted

“What happened, exactly?” Queen Laina strode ahead of our group once we rounded the stairs into the throne room. The guards at the door turned at her arrival and one of them stepped ahead, clicking his heels together in acknowledgement of her presence.

“The woman was captured and subdued in the royal bedrooms, Your Majesty. We’re unaware of the rest,” he answered simply. “A witch, Your Majesty.”

Laina’s expression remained unchanged. “Michael? We need to check on your father.”

He agreed without hesitation. “Yes, absolutely. Baldric, would you mind taking Tavi upstairs to her room? She’ll be more comfortable there.”

“Actually, Sir, a better idea would be to transport your friend back to the hospital where we will be able to continue her transfusions. She’s looking a bit…wan.”

Mike waved him away. “Fine, fine. Tavi? Please excuse me. I’ll be there to check on you as soon as I’m able.”

The conversation swirled around me faster than I was able to understand, and Mike’s abrupt departure left me staring after him with my jaw working.

“Tavi? If you don’t mind…”

Baldric took my arm to help me out toward the door, muttering the entire way about what we’d expect once we returned to the hospital. There was no question about Noren coming with us.

The surreal and foggy edges of the situation struck me.

The emergency alarm, the attack on the king, Barbara being here…it was straight out of a damn nightmare. Worse than anything my own fucked-up mind might have conjured.

What else was new?

Trouble followed me no matter where I went. If I’d thought the latest drama with Claribel defecting from the Bureau to target me meant the end of my issues, once again life proved me wrong.

I stumbled too many times to count on the way back. Baldric ended up having to lift me into his arms, making sure not to jostle my IV too much, and with Noren protesting with low whining the entire trip.

Baldric used magic to speed our progress but Noren’s whines became full-fledged growls the moment we crossed the threshold. If anyone tried to approach besides Baldric, he showed his teeth, his hackles rising to scare them away.

He was my perfect protector.

Nurse Baldric got me settled into the same private room where I’d woken, and Noren clambered onto the edge of the bed. He kept his eyes open and unblinking, and the moment a female fae attempted to enter the room to speak to Baldric, Noren began to growl again.

“Guess he’s staying,” Baldric said offhandedly.

“You couldn’t get him out of here if you tried. Hopefully the hospital doesn’t have a policy against companions.” I hesitated to call Noren a pet because the direwolf was so much more than that, and having him around soothed my inner wolf too.

I settled back against the pillows as exhaustion swamped me.

“I guess we’re going to have to work around any policies, aren’t we?” Baldric winked at me. “Make yourself comfortable, Tavi. The transfusion shouldn't take too long but I want to make sure you’re lying down before we begin.”

He adjusted the IV line attached to the crook of my arm.

“What exactly are you doing?” I asked, a chill settling into my skin.

I’d barely felt the needle through our trip to the safe room but now, with Baldric fiddling, it became an overly large splinter lodged somewhere it didn’t belong, prodding me uncomfortably.

“The bite you received triggered an immune reaction in your blood,” he explained. “The only way to temper the effects, which don’t appear to be going away on their own, is to do a minor transfusion every few hours.”

Baldric held up a finger, striding out of the room on those long legs and returning a moment later wearing a glowing pair of green gloves. He pushed a cart ahead of him and gestured toward the assortment of liquids in clear vials in front of him.

“This combination is the best we’ve found to combat the immune reaction and get your system to relax its defenses, in so many words.”

“It sounds confusing and complicated. What kind of transfusion is it?”

“A blood transfusion with the addition of minerals to help replenish your damaged cells.”

I started, my jaw dropping. “I can’t have blood transfusions every day, multiple times a day. That’s ridiculous and insane!”

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