Page 97 of The Fighter
Raven’s laughter as she ran to catch up with me made me grin out loud. “They should have given me one of these racers days ago. Maybe then I wouldn’t have been so bored.”
Down in the large foyer of the hospital, there were more people and I had to slow down, but the closer we got to the exit, the lighter I felt inside. “I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed.” I had only just said it when Mila came running in to the hospital and toward us.
“Mila, what’s wrong?” Raven called out to her.
Mila came to a halt and spoke with a sense of urgency. “It’s my dad. They’re going to try and wake him up. My mom called for me to come as fast as I could. She and Erika are already here and Khan is on his way.” Her eyes were full of tears and she grabbed for Raven’s hands. “I’m so scared. What if he can’t remember us or if he doesn’t wake up at all?”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“You can’t. They asked for immediate family only, but would you wait outside, please?”
“Yes, of course.” Raven’s face mirrored Mila’s sadness and they hugged.
“It’s going to be fine, Mila,” Raven’s words were meant to cheer Mila up, but it was a guarantee no one could offer at this point.
Mila dried away some of her tears and then she looked at me in the hover chair. “Oh, Leo, I’m sorry. Were you going outside for fresh air?”
“Something like that, but don’t worry about it.”
Mila began walking and we moved along with her. “You don’t mind then?” she asked me.
“Mila, no. I would be honored to wait with Raven. Your father is the bravest man I know. He saved my life.”
She gave me a sad smile and held Raven’s hand as we made our way up to the intensive care unit. Raven and I went with Mila all the way to the door of Magni’s room until we couldn’t go any further.
“It’s going to be all right,” Raven repeated with her eyes full of unshed tears. “We’ll be waiting right here for you.”
Swallowing a few times, Mila heaved in air before squaring her shoulders and placing a hand on the door. “I’ll let you know when he wakes up.”
CHAPTER 23
Unexpected
Raven
Leo and I waited in the hallway outside Magni’s room, where a few chairs were placed along the wall. After five minutes Khan rushed past us with a short hello. Two of his personal guards walked over to talk to their colleagues, who were here protecting Magni.
We watched two assistants come and go before a doctor entered the room. He didn’t close the door all the way and my eyes zoomed in through the narrow opening to see what was going on.
If only Khan weren’t blocking my view.
“Have you seen any signs of movement yet?” the doctor asked and I recognized Finn’s voice when he answered, “There was movement under his eyelids just a moment ago.” It made sense that Finn was with them because even though he wasn’t family, he and Magni were childhood friends, and Finn had been Khan’s and Magni’s personal doctor before he married Athena and moved to the Motherlands.
“Good. We’ll just give him a few moments to come around.”
“Dad, can you hear me? Dad, if you can hear me squeeze my hand or open your eyes.” Mila was the only one of Magni’s children in the room.
“I felt something.” Laura’s voice was brittle. “He squeezed my hand. I’m sure of it.”
“Do it again, Dad. Come on. You can do it.”
Small outbursts of excitement were followed by Laura, who was now crying with joy, saying, “That’s it! Yes, honey, open your eyes.”
I had a hand in front of my mouth and didn’t breathe. Magni was waking up but I couldn’t see anything what with Khan’s back in the way. And then by some small miracle, Khan moved out of my way giving me a narrow view of Finn standing at the head of Magni’s bed.
“Welcome back, brother. Quite a nap you took there, huh?” Khan’s shaky voice revealed how emotional he was.
The sound that came from Magni was hoarse and followed by a cough.
