Page 39 of Einar

“Sheis going to fight me,Einar.”

Nodding,Iagree with him. “Iwould expect nothing less from any female mated to youSlavic.Shemust be tough for the gods to have given her to you.Thequicker we do this, the better.”

“Ido not see you running right over to yours with the intent to cause her more harm.”

Takinga deep breath to contain my vexation with my oldest sibling,Ihasten to explain. “Mineis still sedated and will not recall the procedure at all, but in her condition,Ibelieve she deserves some kindness.Tryto explain what we are doing and hopefully yours will not fight us too badly.”

Slavicstrides over to me and abruptly takes the delicate translators out of my hands.Thereare not enough deep breaths for his current idiocy.

“Donot touch that with your skinSlavic, or it won’t work.”

“IknowEinar.Imay not be a medic, butIam not stupid.”

No, he is not stupid, but he is not exactly being careful either.Iwatch as he moves over to his mate, making sure he stops out of her reach so she cannot accidentally contaminate the fragile tech while she looks up at him and then his hand.Thevisual he makes of pantomiming what we intend to do is more than a little amusing, andIhave to smother a snicker.Stoppingjust out of her reach, she looks up at him and then toward his hand.Slavicrepeats the same motions at least three times, but the little female still looks at him like he has lost what little bit of sanity he has.Afteranother failed attempt with hand gestures, the female finally speaks.

“IthinkI’vecovered the fact thatIsuck at guessing games.”

Suddenly,Bikar’svoice sounds over the speakers. “Slavic, we are in range,Murgulis waiting for you.”

Well,Ihave had enough of this nonsense.

Takingthe remaining translator,Iwalk pastSlavicto the bed where my mate lays.Ignoringthe other female when she stiffens at my approach,Imove around the bed whereIhave room to work. “Wedo not have all risingSlavic; hold on a tic.Shemight be more receptive if she watches me give this to her sister.”

Glancingup atSlavic’smate,Itry to gauge whether or not she is going to attack me again for touching her beloved sister.Whenshe does nothing but steadily look at me,Ireach out and brush my mate’s dark red hair away from her ear and out of the way.Carefully,Iuse my surgical tweezers and take the translator out of its protective packaging.Ican feel my mates’ sister staring at me, but she has made no move toward me, nor has she attempted to stop me.

Implantingthe translator into my female’s ear,Imake sure it is firmly inserted before leaning back to peer down at my mate.Thankfully, she shows no external sign of distress.Pausingfor a nano-tic,Icontemplate giving her another dose of sedative but decide against it.Sheneeds to wake up and face her new reality, and with the help of the translator, that transition will be vastly different than what she has endured thus far.

Slavichas silently moved in behind his mate whileIwas focused on mine.Straighteningup,Inote when his mate shoots a glance at me before looking back atSlavic.Gesturingto the translator inSlavic’shand,Iflick my fingers at his mate in return.Thankfully, she does not seem to be slow of wit.

“Letme get this straight.Youwant to put that in my ear?”

Thankthe gods.

SlavicandInod in unison.

“Ihad a feeling you were going to say that, and even though you are being patient, you’re really not going to let me say no, are you?”

Herwords are heavy with resignation, andSlavicshakes his head in response, but his words are full of sympathy.

“Iam sorry, little one.”

Thefemale sighs heavily before acquiescing. “Ok, let’s do this then.Rowanseems to be alright, so do it beforeIchange my mind.”

Beforeshe can rescind her permission,Slavicgrabs her and pulls her tight against him.Grabbingthe translator from the package,Ido not waste a nanotic.Mymassive hands move with a finesse they should not be capable of.Reachingout with my free hand,Igrab her head.Thewidth of my hand almost envelops her entire skull asIcarefully tilt her face where she leans againstSlavic’schest.Isee the instant her body tenses as the pain overwhelms her, andIam prepared for the scream when it comes.Unfortunately,Slavicis not, and the agonized look on his face tells me how deeply he feels his mate’s distress.Tomy surprise, it takes both of us holding her to keep her safely within the confines of his arms as she struggles and flails about.

Eventuallyshe settles some andIturn her head, so her eyes are locked with mine.Lookingdeep into her eyes,Iassess the dilation and reaction time of her pupils, ensuring the translator did not attack her optic nerves and render her blind.Nodding,Irelease her from my grasp and look over atSlavic.

“Shewill be fine.Thetranslator did not attack her optical nerves, which means it merged with theCochlearnerve successfully.Halfa rising or so, she will recover fully.Youcan leave her here with her sister, while you andMurgultake care of our fuel issue.Iwill suit up just in case you need me.”

Reachingover to the second bed,Iswitch on the warming cover beforeSlaviclays her down as he brushes her long hair out of her face.Hisnext words are haunted. “Didthe others react the same?”

“Theyall responded differently, but at least this unfavorable business is over.Youshould go beforeMurgulheads out without you.”

“Easyfor you to say, you can remain with your mate.”

Thisis not the first time he has made such a statement, but it will be the last.Furyfills my voice asIsnap back at his ill-advised, ignorant comment. “Ifyou only realized the trauma mine has dealt with, you would not speak with such flippancy and would look at the spunkiness of yours in a different light.Thebody always heals quicker than the mind, and unfortunately, mine is dealing with both.Iam hoping the translators help.Theyneed some peace in their lives after all that has been done to them.Iwill guard her with my lifeSlavic, you know this.Now, go get that fuel, so that we might find a safe haven in which we can become more than what we are.Someplacewe can reach our true potential.”

“Dreamslike that brother, are dangerous.”

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