Page 89 of Havik: Warlord Brides
Sanity returned, he removed his armor and joined her under the water.
“You’re always getting me in the shower,” she said.
“I do not hear a complaint.”
She laughed, dry and rasping, and leaned against him, pressing her face against his chest. “I didn’t leave the ship. I swear. They broke in and took my armor.”
The sound of falling water and the computer announcing the radiation level filled the silence. Gently, he applied a cleansing foam to her hair and skin, paying special attention to get between her fingers and toes.
“How bad am I fucked?” she finally asked.
“You will receive treatment. You will recover,” he said. There was no alternative. He lost a mate once and it simply hurt. He could not imagine how he would be destroyed if he lost the mate who had his heart.
When the shower ceased, he presented her with a large container of water. “Rinse your mouth,” he commanded.
Once she was clean to his satisfaction, he applied a topical gel to soothe her skin.
“I’m thirsty,” she said.
“You are dehydrated. Come.” With a hand on her shoulder, he steered her toward the stasis chamber. The chamber would provide her with fluids.
“What is that?” Thalia squirmed in his grip, twisting to break free.
“We need to reach theJudgment. The stasis chamber will keep you stable during the journey.”
“No! No, no, no. I’m not going back in one of those coffins.” She hit him with her ineffective fists. The feebleness of her blows alarmed him. Already she grew weak.
“There is no choice.”
“There’s always a choice.” The fight left her, and her body slumped, which alarmed him more than her burned skin and physical weakness.
With a hand on either shoulder, he crouched down to look her in the eyes. Red and swollen, he ignored the twinge he felt at seeing his favorite oasis blue discolored.
“Hear me, my mate,” he said. “My father may be dead, but the rot in the clan remains. We cannot trust the clan or any clan on the planet. We must seek aid from theJudgment. The journey is long. I cannot reverse radiation damage and every moment you are awake brings you closer to the point where the damage cannot be reversed.”
Her skin remained a distressing red, but she seemed to grow pale. “Fine. You’ll be there on the other side.”
Not a question but a certainty. That pleased him immensely.
“Nothing will keep me from you,” he said with a smile.
She laughed again, still distressingly dry and rasping. “You’re the scariest fucker I’ve ever seen, Danger B, and I love you so much.”
“I love you more than I can say. I’ll spend the rest of my days showing you.”
Her eyes, red and raw, gleamed. “You’ll find Mais? Help her? She wasn’t part of this. They ambushed her.”
“Yes. When your vitals have stabilized, I will assist Mais.” He also planned to give Stabs a belly scritch, if the kumakre was still around. “How did you find Stabs?”
“He found me. I was at the wrong damn entrance and there he was, like he’d been waiting ages for me.”
“I would have liked to see that.”
“Okay, let’s do this,” she said, climbing into the chamber.
Stasis chambers were designed for use by warriors, not medics. Once the automation process started, it could not be stopped. He followed the instructions as the machine prepared Thalia for stasis.
“I’ll see you on the other side,” she said as the chamber slid shut.
