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He motioned us to follow him out into the corridor. We were taken up the elevator to the next floor and the long, pale hallway lined with doors.
The doctor continued to go over rules and visitation hours. It was all I could do to keep from sprinting past him and just finding Darius myself; the man was taking his sweet time getting us there.
Something broke in me seeing Darius unconscious and hooked up to a million machines. His usually warm tone glowed with a sick tinge of clammy white that made me think of dough. His dark hair hung lank and damp against his brow. But he was alive. The beeping of his heart machine assured me of it. It played the sweetest song I could ever ask for.
“My sweet baby,” Marcella whispered, voice as thick as my throat felt.
She rushed to his side and immediately touched the side of his face where the oxygen tank didn’t cover. She smoothed back his hair and touched his forehead as if checking for a fever.
Eyes damp, she glanced at the doctor. “He’s okay?”
The doctor nodded, kind enough not to point out he’d said as much earlier. “If all goes well, he should make a full recovery.”
Marcella nodded, turning back to her eldest. Her hands fluttered down to his chest, just a brush before she pulled back and straightened. “He looks good,” she observed. “You can see his color coming back.”
Alexander, who hadn’t said much since their arrival, touched his wife’s back. His blue eyes stayed trained on his son, but there was nothing to indicate his thoughts.
The doctor made a few more comments no one listened to before excusing himself and leaving us to gather closer around the bed.
I took his hand.
I don’t know why I thought it would be as cold as it had been in the ambulance, but feeling the warmth in his skin unlocked the air that had been trapped in my chest. It calmed the storm in my gut, and I sank into the nearest chair, never once releasing him.
“Word of this will get out,” Alexander said quietly. “The people responsible will know they failed and will try again.”
My fingers tightened around Darius’s. “Should we move him? I don’t think—”
Alexander shook his head. “No, he needs to be here if he’s going to make a full recovery. I will have Morpheus send a few of his best men to stand watch. No one will be allowed in here without my authorization.”
“We can each take shifts staying with him, too,” Lavena suggested. “That way one of us will be here when he wakes up.”
I didn’t tell them that I had no intention of leaving. They could stay and have as many guards as they wanted, but I was going to stay in that seat until Darius opened his eyes.
CHAPTER 17
Kamari
He didn’t wake up that first night.
The machines continued to comfort me through the shrinking dusk. Their every little spike assured me Darius was still there, still fighting to stay alive. I never realized how much I would love the relentless beeping until I was watching every jump with anticipation.
On the opposite side of the bed, Marcella tapped away at her phone. I knew she was keeping the family updated just from the occasional,oh, how sweet of cousin Mauve,she’d murmur under her breath.
I texted my dad to let him know what had happened just so he wouldn’t find out about it from the news.
“I’m on my way,”he’d written back almost immediately.
“No, don’t do that. They won’t let anyone not family into the room. I’ll keep you posted once there’s any change,”I promised.
“Does Marcella and Alex need anything? Do you?”
I felt myself smile at his kindness.“I’m okay, Dad. Thank you.”
He insisted I let him know if he was needed. He would keep his phone on until Darius woke up, even if Mom didn’t like the idea.
“Dad says to let him know if you need anything,” I told Marcella.
The other woman glanced up from her phone and smiled softly. “That’s so kind. Please tell him thank you.” She set her phone down in her lap. “How’s your mom?”
