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“Oh well, that’s good to know,” Torin said. “But can you hurry?”
“On it right now.”
Torin watched anxiously as the girl bent over Sky’lar’s leg and began using the glue-wand. As she had promised, the long gash in Sky’lar’s upper thigh began to seal itself almost at once. Soon, there was nothing left but a thin, pinkish scar on her tan skin.
“There.” The girl sat back at last, giving Sky’lar’s leg a satisfied look. “The wound is healed and sealed—I’m just worried that she’s lost so much blood.”
“Is there anything else in the kit that might help her?” Torin asked.
“Well, I think I might have…ah-ha!” The girl pulled a small clear bottle filled with tiny blue pills out of her bag. “These are blood stimulants,” she explained to Torin, shaking two of them out into her palm and handing them to him. “Put them under her tongue and let them dissolve—they’ll stimulate her body to make new red blood cells four times as fast as she normally would.”
“Is that safe?” Torin asked, taking the tiny pills from her.
She shrugged.
“Safer than leaving her a standard metric liter short on blood.”
Leaning over Sky’lar, Torin pried open her mouth—being careful of her fangs—and deposited both of the tiny capsules under her tongue. Then he shut her mouth firmly, sat back and frowned. He was really fucking worried about her!
“I need to get her back to my ship so I can take her somewhere for a transfusion, but I won’t be able to do it until that mob clears,” he muttered.
“They’ll be out there a while,” the girl said grimly. “They like to come bang on the door sometimes because they know I’m in here—or they know someone is, anyway. They saw Beelie coming back from a food run and they’ve been bothering me ever since. But don’t worry—they can’t get in.”
“We can’t get out, either,” Torin pointed out. “We—”
Just then Sky’lar stirred and a soft moan escaped her lips.
“Sky’lar, Darlin…”
Concerned for her at once, Torin gathered her carefully into his arms and cradled her close to his chest.
“The stimulants will make her thirsty,” the girl said. “I’ll go get some water.”
She ran out of the room, leaving Torin to hold the female he was beginning to have serious feelings for, wondering what in the Seven Hells he would do if Sky’lar didn’t make it.
TWENTY-TWO
TORIN
Sky’lar stirred and moaned again, but she didn’t seem to want any more water. The girl, whose name Torin still didn’t know, had left him a bottle with a flexi-straw in it and instructions to call her if anything changed.
“There’s nothing we can do now but wait,” she’d told Torin.
“Wait for what?” he’d asked.
“Wait to see if her body can make blood fast enough to keep her alive.” She had given him an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry—I wish I could do more. But with these facilities—or rather, lack of facilities…” She spread her hands, indicating the luxurious but antiquated surroundings. “If I had her in my House of Healing back home, I could do so much more,” she added, a wistful look on her face.
“It’s all right,” Torin told her. “You’ve done everything you can and I appreciate it. Could you just go see if that mob of cast-offs is still out there?”
“They will be,” the girl said grimly. “They won’t give up until they start drinking and all pass out. But I’ll go check anyway and give you some time with her.” She hesitated. “Is she your wife? Your mate? Your Mistress?”
Torin shook his head.
“My partner. But she’s…very dear to me.”
“I can tell.” The girl gave him a sympathetic look. “Call me or Beelie if you need anything.”
Then she had left Torin and Sky’lar alone.
He had scooted up to the head of the massive bed and leaned back against the padded headboard, the better to cradle her in his arms. Then he had started trying to get her to drink water.
Sky’lar seemed to be half in-half out of consciousness. She drank about half the bottle but when he tried to give her more, she pushed it fitfully away.
After trying several times to maneuver the flexi-straw between her lips again, Torin gave up and sealed the bottle for later. Then he held her close to his chest and said a short prayer.
“Goddess, I don’t know why I care so much for this little female—I know I have no chance of Bonding her to me—but I do. I care so damn much. I don’t want her to die—this is my fault! I should never have let her go alone. Please—help me find a way to heal her. Please!”
He heard no answer to his prayer but he felt something—it was almost as though there as a warm, comforting presence around him, urging him to be at peace.
Sighing deeply, Torin did his best to relax into the presence. He shifted Sky’lar’s limp body closer to his own so that her head rested on his shoulder, close to his neck.
