Page 20 of Slavic

Movingcloser to the tableIgather her long tresses in my hands and do asEinarsaid.Nothaving any hair myself, this process is odd at first.Butwith each stroke, the colors become clearer and soonIfind myself entranced in the process of gently working out each knot.

Outof the corner of my eye,IobserveEinaras he goes back and forth between the two females.Bothof our comm units go off several times, butItrust my brothers to handle whatever issue they are trying to alert us of.

“Slavic,Iam going to give her a sedative.Shecannot awaken in the middle of the surgeryIneed to perform to save her leg.”

“Einar,Ithought you said you were not sure on how to treat them?”

“Wedo not have a choice, butIunderstand your concern.Iused it on my own mate and she had no reactions, so it should be safe enough to use on yours.”

Mymind drifts off, thinkingIhave called her everything in my mind.Ijust could not fathom that whatIwas feeling is what is truly happening, but whenEinarstates it as something so obvious,Iknow it must be true.‘Shereally is my mate.’

“Doyou want me to proceed?”

Thisbreaks me out of my own thoughts. “Brother,Itrust you with not only mine, but all of our lives.Ifyou believe it is safe, then do whatever it takes to heal her.”

Heturns from me, gathering a set of tubes and instruments from a hover table nearby.Movementfrom the bed has me glancingdown and instantly drawn to the dark eyes staring up at me.Herbody tenses whenEinarmoves closer andIreach down, touching her arm softly.

“Youare safe little one, and we are going to get you better.”

“Ihope those growls are not telling me how you’re preparing me as a delicacy for your next alien social.Ican see the menu now, ‘specialty this evening, a redheaded human being served as the main course’.”

Glancingup atEinar, he actually shakes his head, a smirk on his face before turning her slightly.Hereyes move to watch him as he injects her with a numbing agent.Sheblinks slowly, fighting against the drug’s effect.Einarwaits until her eyes close, then proceeds to insert the hydration fluids and other meds before working his way down her frail form.

QuickerthanIwould have imagined possible, he straightens up and that is whenInotice she is covered in multiple bandages now. “IbelieveIgot all the spurs out of her leg, but we will have to watch it closely for the next few risings just in case.Hershoulder,Ihate to say, will probably always bother her some, butIwas able to fully reset her wrist.Iput a holding cast on it temporarily until the bones set.Ifeel like a back-woods medic here,Slavic.Someof these wounds could have been healed instantly, butIam too scared of the side effects that could occur simply becauseIdo not have the data to treat them accurately.”

“Butshe will survive?”

“Yes,Ibelieve they will both pull out of this, just not quickly.Minehas some internal injuries that have me worried.Thescans say thatIhave reversed her lung issues, and it keeps confirming that she is stable.Butwhereas your mate’s wounds are new,mine were old.Fromwhat the scans are telling me, she’s been abused…for a very long time.”Einargrowls that last part out.

Ading sounds, andEinarpulls a screen down, scrolling through the data. “Well, at least one question isanswered.Theyare blood sisters.”

Apounding on the wall has me snarling out and bending over my little mate. “HereSlavic, put this on her and once she is covered,Iwill see what the frack they are blowing our comm units up about.”

ThemomentIhave her concealed,Einaropens the door, only to findRuarcandFalonstanding in the hall.Ruarcgets right up inEinar’sface. “Whatthe frack is going on in here that is so important that neither one of you can take a moment to answer your comms?Youare needed out here.”

“Wehad pressing issues to deal with,Ruarc.Whatdo you need?”

“Idon’t know, maybe the fact thatIhave a sickPrincessin my quarters and could use some help?Notto mention thatFalonandBikarhave both given up their beds for the other three.”

“Otherthree what?”Isnarl out.

“Well, if you would grace us with your charming presence big brother, you could see for yourself.”

Glancingdown at my mate,Ilook back up atEinaras he says, “Theywill be out for at least half a rotation.Ihave the monitors set to alert me if they so much as twitch.”

Neverin all my rotations has anything been as difficult as leaving her side.Nonetheless,Ibite the inside of my lip and make myself follow the others toward the back of the ship.Falonhesitates when we get to his quarters.

“Well?”

Hehits the entry panel, andIrub a weary hand over my face as three terrified human females stare back at us.Everyword out of my mouth is basically making it worse because they cannot understand we are the good guys.Well, not normally, but in this case we are.

“Getthem cleaned up, clothed and provide something to eat,Falon.”

“Ialready suggested that, but they cannot understand a word we say.”

“Gods, they are nothing but skin and bones.Einarsee toKallen, because in the midst of all this confusion,Icompletely forgot about her, and she was in very rough shape.Tothe point where she had given up and she thoughtIwas a ghost sent by the gods to take her into the afterlife. …Bikar?”

“Iam listening.”

---