Page 92 of Heart of the High King
With a loud screech, Dr. Park shoved his chair back and stood. “I hope you have good malpractice insurance, Dr. Suricata, for when this man dies. He has maybe a few weeks with the way his cancer is raging through him and is in no state to be put under anesthesia for surgeries. This is ridiculous.”
After he stomped out, Dr. Suricata let out a sigh. “I’ve been acquainted with Dr. Park for a long time and while I respect his opinions as a human, he doesn’t know the vast ways in which we differ from them, even those of us that have lost our beast. You’re still stronger than any of his patients, and given what you’ve already endured, I just can’t believe that you wouldn’t find a way to pull through anything. I don’t want you to be discouraged, Rafe. I think we can save your life.”
“Only if you use Aleksander’s blood, and being alive isn’t the only thing at stake here. Show them the recent photos. I want everyone to see what I look like now.”
Dr. Suricata did as he asked, and Rafe was forced to stare at the skeletal man lying on his bed in his baggy underwear, littered with wrinkled, scarred, and still-wounded flesh.
“Considering where you started Rafe, that picture is nothing short of miraculous,” Killian said.
“Agreed, dear. I can hardly believe it’s the same man,” Saura added.
“Given Rafe’s objection to sealing his matebond, I believe we should start with the open wounds that have refused to heal in nearly a year. It will require anesthesia as there are skin grafts that will have to be removed as your magic pushes them outward. I do believe we should have blood available in case it is necessary. I want you to be prepared, Rafe, that if it becomes medically needed, I am going to have you transfused,” Dr. Suricata said.
“How dangerous is the anesthesia for him?” Dra’Kaedan asked.
“The moment we see any drops in blood pressure or anything else, we can stop the procedure. They aren’t healed, so we won’t be making anything worse.”
“Our simulations have given us some information, but I would like to know what kind of swelling we might be able to expect. Since we’re here in a hospital, might I suggest I be allowed to heal something? Perhaps one of the scars on your hand, Rafe? We can record it to add to our data, and you can give us some idea of your side effects so they can be treated. Obviously, the more magic we use, the more the effect will be multiplied,” Saura remarked.
“That’s a great idea. Is there a room at home with the copper lining, so we can see how things go with the Cwylld stones?” Dr. Suricata asked.
Dre’Kariston got to his feet. “I’ll go home and take care of that right now, so he can go straight into it once my mom is done.”
“Rafe hasn’t agreed to having anything healed yet,” Aleksander said softly, his voice rough with emotion.
Gathering his courage, Rafe glanced at Aleksander and had the urge to run on his damaged legs at the fury in his dark eyes. “Uh…I guess losing one scar can’t hurt,” he heard himself say.
“Wonderful, let’s get to work,” Dr. Suricata remarked. She raced over with her phone out. Dre’Kariston and Somerly left while Rafe was surrounded by sorcerers with their devices at the ready. Saura held out a hand, and Rafe lifted his free one to put in hers.
With a wink, Saura shot a dark streak across one of his knuckles. His mouth grew a little dry, but he couldn’t say if it was fear of the situation or the magic entering him. There was no ache in his belly but a strange, nearly itching feeling as if he wanted to crawl out of his skin. “How do you feel?” she asked when she stopped.
“I’m okay,” Rafe remarked. Carefully, he explained the noteworthy things that had happened during the tiny healing. “I could use a glass of water, but that could be my drugs too.”
“There’s a tiny bit of swelling,” Dr. Suricata noted, peering closely at Saura’s handiwork. “But nothing major. We need to get you home to those Cwylld stones since you still have to be teleported home, and we don’t know if it will continue to expand. Take a day or two to think about this, Rafe. I do believe Sorcery D’Vaire may have an avenue to help you tremendously.”
Rafe said nothing and dared not look again at Aleksander as he hobbled out of the room with the sorcerers chatting amicably around him of their ideas of how to broach the wounds on his hips. What the hell had just happened? How was he supposed to feel about Sorcery D’Vaire now? And more importantly, what was Aleksander thinking?
