Huntress Read online

  “I assume to identify any gaps in the talent allowing them to pull this off?”

  “Exactly.”

  I gave my hair a final rub with the towel and tossed it in the direction of my father’s desk. “I’ve tracked enough mud in here to make people question if they come in here.”

  “I’ll take the blame for it, kiddo. Everyone saw me tracking mud in here with my new pet turkey.”

  “Ah, yes. About that. Sorry, Your Highness, but your secret is no longer secret. Gossip spreads even faster than bad news around here, and as your uncle got snarly with anyone who even thought about getting too close to you, there was no hope of hiding it.”

  I bowed my head and sighed. “It couldn’t be avoided.”

  “It really couldn’t.”

  “And my mother?”

  “There’s no evidence of her involvement. Your father will handle briefing her later tonight, but for the moment, it works to our advantage having her react naturally. Your father is having difficulty reining in his temper. He’s needed to be pulled aside several times and given a reminder his job it to help incriminate them.”

  “This is a disaster.”

  “Only for your pride, Your Highness.”

  Dr. Thorton cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to begin my examination. You can discuss this all you want after I’m convinced His Highness shouldn’t be on route to the nearest hospital.”

  Silence answered the doctor’s request, although Dr. Hampford directed a scathing look at the head of my father’s detail. Christian held his hands up in surrender.

  As I had no idea what to expect from Dr. Thorton, I tensed, watching him with wide eyes.

  “You have nothing to worry about, Your Highness. While I have no objections to the creative rearrangement of bones belonging to interfering RPS agents, I take my patient’s health seriously, and I’d rather not see Dr. Hampford’s hard work undermined.”

  That made two of us. “What do you need from me?”

  “How would you rate the severity of your headache?”

  I liked he jumped to the obvious conclusion I had a headache. “It’s manageable. I wouldn’t say no to a handful of those little white pills Dr. Hampford used on me, though.”

  “How does it compare to when you first regained consciousness?” The way Dr. Thorton watched me gave me the impression he was doing more than asking me questions, but I couldn’t tell what. “Use a number scale if you’d like, but your pain levels can help me determine how the injury has progressed.”

  “When I first woke up, it was like I’d split my skull open. I guess I’d describe it as pulsing waves of pain. The worst of it would knock me back out again, then the pain would lessen, but it’d wake me up again. I would’ve preferred another marrow transplant.”

  Dr. Hampford cringed. “He was off the scales on the pain chart for the transplant, Roger.”

  “How is your vision?”

  “Better than before, but it blurs some still. It’s okay right now. It was worse before I took a shower.”

  “Dizziness?”

  “Some.”

  “Pain anywhere else?”

  I shook my head.

  “All right. I’m going to have to touch where you were hit, and it’s probably going to hurt,” Dr. Thorton warned, sitting beside me. “Mr. Averett, should he fall unconscious, your job is to catch him.”

  My uncle nodded. “Understood, Dr. Thorton.”

  “I will be using my talent on you. This comes with a few inherent risks, including a temporary bonding should your injuries be severe enough. I’ve been informed you already have a life bond, so this risk is mitigated. However, I am a strong generalized leech, and in order to better evaluate your health, I will forge a temporary connection with you. While this connection is active, I will be able to get a look at your physical condition and judge the severity of your injuries. It also enables me to manipulate cells in your body. If there is excessive pressure in your brain, I can take steps to make sure you arrive at the hospital without your condition worsening. Depending on how your body has healed, I can also get a sense of the initial injury.”

  The disclosure startled me, and I glanced at Dr. Hampford, who smiled and shrugged. “There’s a reason he’s the trauma specialist. I’m more of a generalized physician, although I’ve found I’ve been doing some more specialized work than normal with you. You won’t notice anything from his connection with you, and it’ll fade on its own in a few days. He’s very experienced.”

  “All right, Dr. Thorton.”

  “Just be patient. This will take some time, as I intend on addressing any problems I can during the examination.”

  He touched the back of my head, and the constant throb I’d endured since waking up died away. I closed my eyes and breathed a relieved sigh, not caring how long it took him if it meant I could enjoy the respite for a while longer.

  I didn’t sleep, but my attention wavered, making it difficult at best to follow the conversation around me. The little I picked out boded well for me, although I believed everyone else in my father’s office drove Dr. Thorton to the limits of his patience.

  No matter how many times he repeated himself, no one believed my less than coherent state was due to the absence of severe pain. I rested, and my dazed state made his work easier.

  I found the whole thing amusing, which made it easier to ignore my uncle and Christian, the two worst offenders.

  “If this takes much longer, my brother’s going to come in here ready to rampage,” my uncle warned in a growl.

  I realized I had gone beyond a dazed stupor into sleeping territory.

  “Good job, Mr. Averett,” my newest doctor growled back. “You woke him.”

  “His eyes are still closed.”

  “He’s awake now. He just hasn’t gotten himself together enough to open his eyes and evaluate the situation. Give him a few minutes. He’s still dazed, which is to be expected.”

  “Does that mean you’ll tell us what’s wrong with him? You said you would after he woke up.”

  “Mr. Averett, if you’d let me work without interrupting, I’d be finished faster. If you can’t do your job without complaining about it, I’ll replace you.”

  I decided I liked Dr. Thorton. Any man with the courage to face down a grouchy wolf deserved respect. “Why are you whining, Uncle?” At first, my tongue fought me, and I gave it even odds anyone understood me.

  “You’ve been down and out for two hours. That’s why I’m whining. I was supposed to keep you awake.”

  “Until the doctor arrived,” I corrected, cracking open an eye to discover I’d been moved so I stretched out on the couch, and my uncle held an ice pack against my forehead. “Your job is to hold ice?”

  “He claims his talent can raise your internal body temperature, and his solution is to keep the front of your head cold. I gave up trying to understand what he’s doing. How’s your head doing?”

  I thought about it. “It doesn’t hurt.”

  “And it won’t until I stop working, and when I’m done working, you should be left with a mild headache, which I’ll have Dr. Hampford drug into submission while you rest.” Dr. Thorton rubbed the back of my skull with a finger. “Feel where I’m touching?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “That’s the impact point. I’ve been rebuilding your skull here. Your uncle’s speculations of the severity are correct. Your skull was shattered here. Frankly, I’m astonished you weren’t killed instantly. Something protected your brain. I’ve sufficient evidence from my talent to confirm the lethality of the blow. It could be from the work Dr. Hampford had done; if I recall correctly, she had some fairly advanced protective talents being used to get you through the marrow transfusion.”

  Dr. Hampford sighed. “That’s correct. The skull itself lacks bone marrow, but because of the talents we were using to eliminate and replace all types of your bone marrow, we needed to do some extensive work with your skull to protect it from being targ
eted. We also put in some protections around the brain to protect unaffected cells. I opted to have those protections to wear off naturally. The estimate was three to six months.”

  “Well, your decision likely saved his life. Something buffered his brain from the blunt-force trauma. It didn’t protect him completely, but enough to buy him time. His familial talent did the rest of the work. I can see where the transformations helped fuse the skull. He’s exceptionally fortunate. The fusing allowed room for the swelling, which prevented additional damage. That’s part of why this is taking so long. I have to relieve the pressure and bruising so I can rebuild his skull to its appropriate shape. The bone was thinned and expanded to give extra room for the swelling. Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it, but it’s why you’re still alive, Your Highness.”

  “I’ll view this as compensation for needing a bone marrow transfusion.”

  My uncle laughed and flicked my hair out of my face. “Well, your sense of humor is still intact. I’ll take it. Dr. Thorton, how much more work do you have to do before he’s out of danger?”

  “He’s out of danger now, but it’s best to finish this work now while his skull is still soft. It’ll be a lot harder to fix it later. Be patient. Doing everything at once also will help with the trial. Dr. Hampford will need to get a comprehensive file on the protections used during the bone marrow transplant to assist.”

  “Easily done,” she replied.

  A knock at the door ended the conversation, and Christian held up his hand, cracked open the door, and peeked out. A moment later, he let my father and Eva in. “Your Majesty. Agent Evangeline.”

  “How is he?” my father demanded, closing the door after Eva.

  I lifted my hand and waved. “I’m feeling great. Dr. Thorton probably won’t be feeling so great by the time he’s done.”

  “Perceptive,” the trauma specialist muttered. “Your Majesty. I expect another hour of work before I’m finished. I’m almost done reshaping his skull, then I’ll be fusing and strengthening the bone.”

  My father’s expression turned carefully neutral. “How bad was it?”

  “Your heir is exceptionally lucky to be alive right now. Ah. This is his bond?”

  Eva straightened, and red flushed her cheeks.

  “She is,” my father confirmed before she had a chance to speak. “I borrowed her, claiming I needed her reinstated temporarily as an agent as my ‘son’ needed a few of mine.”

  “All right, lady. You take Mr. Averett’s place. Your job is simple. Apply ice packs to his forehead and face to keep his temperature down. Increased body temperature isn’t uncommon during a procedure like this. How much feedback did you get when he was hit?”

  Eva glanced at Christian, who nodded. “Enough.”

  Dr. Thorton sighed. “Well, he’ll be fine. Come reassure yourself; if you’re worried, it might feed back to him. If your brand was interfered with, now’s the time for you to reestablish it.”

  Eva’s eyes widened. “You found my brand?”

  “Don’t be alarmed. I found it because I’ve been evaluating him from head to toe. I noticed it had been disrupted, but I didn’t want to remove the remnants, uncertain what would happen.”

  “They had a suppressor meant to block it. A specialized one.”

  “That would do it. I’m impressed any of it survived. Just don’t forget to keep his head cool while you work your talent, ma’am.”

  “Eva,” she corrected, and she used her foot to shove my uncle out of the way and take his place. “It’s all right to restore my brand?”

  “As long as you can do so without inflicting any actual injuries on my patient, do so.”

  Eva twisted around and shot a glare at Christian. “Told you.”

  I reached out and brushed Eva’s hair away from her face to draw her attention back to me. “I’m sorry I worried you.”

  “You’re sorry? What the hell do you have to be sorry about, you fucking nutter? You got jumped by a bunch of dumb fucks out to make a quick buck led by a goddamned traitor!”

  “Well,” my uncle said, making distance from my wife. “I can say I’ve had a taste of her temper and vocabulary now.”

  “You’re one of the fucking wolves.” Eva looked my uncle over, and I wondered if she was debating the best way to cook a wolf. “You haven’t seen even a hint of my temper yet, wolf.”

  The door cracked open and my great-grandpa leaned inside. “Indoor voice, Evangeline. I could hear you snarling from in the hall. There’s quite the party in here. Also, you need to get your office soundproofed. Everyone’s going to know the kiddo is in here if you don’t keep it down.”

  My father sighed. “Noted. Come in. Anything new?”

  “Are you sure I can’t shift and resolve this problem now? Your brothers are about ready to go hunting, and I already had to tell your father he needed to restrain himself. I believe your father intends on terrorizing the imposter as a lion.”

  “I’m sorry you’re being exposed to this idiocy, Eva,” I muttered.

  “I’m sure I’ll find an appropriate way to chastise you for this travesty later.”

  “If you could please wait an hour until you have your family chat, I’d be appreciative,” Dr. Thorton announced. “This is not nearly as easy as it looks.”

  For the first time in my life, my family shut up without argument.

  Even without interruption, Dr. Thorton wasn’t happy with my condition for another two hours. When he finally stepped away from the couch, wiping sweat from his brow, the promised headache didn’t come. “Dr. Hampford, try to keep him somewhere quiet for the next two to three days. The groundwork’s finished, I’ve eliminated the swelling, but that could change with too much stress. Keep his bond nearby, and make certain things remain relaxed for her as well. He should be fine, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

  Dr. Hampford sighed. “Still. It took you four hours.”

  “That’s what happens when I have to reassemble the fragmented ruins of someone’s skull.”

  I glanced at my father and prepared for the explosion.

  “Fragmented ruins?”

  Eva locked onto my father, got to her feet, and waved her ice pack at him. “I called dibs, feline. I get to deal with that pair.”

  “You get to stay with Kelvin and keep him happy, calm, and safe,” my father replied. “Non-negotiable. However, I’ll allow Meredith to deal with them on your behalf.”

  “I’m not convinced arrest is the right solution to this.”

  “Arrest is what you’re both going to have to accept unless there is any evidence of another attempt. Christian, as Meredith can’t leave her post to maintain the ruse, I’m leaving arrangements to you. Where should we take him until this is resolved?”

  Christian turned to Dr. Thorton. “Is he cleared for air travel?”

  “Yes, he can fly.”

  “We can smuggle him to the royal airstrip and take him to one of the residences until this settles down. That’ll make certain he’s inaccessible.”

  My great-grandpa shook his head. “I’ll fly the plane, but not my place. Gail knows how to get there, and I’d rather not take chances.”

  My father paced, clacking his teeth together. “That eliminates any of my properties.”

  “Why not just arrest the bastard? We have the evidence we need.” I rolled my shoulders, and my joints creaked. “While I’d enjoy showing up, I have no idea if he has offensive talents, and there was nothing in his file about abilities letting him take someone’s place.”

  “It’d be safer to eliminate the threat,” Christian agreed. “I’m concerned he has contingency plans in place. Or that Gail does.”

  I scowled. “Because Gail wants to get rid of Eva. To Gail, Eva’s a threat.”

  “And rightfully so.” My wife flicked my hair with a nail. “I’ll be on guard, don’t worry.”

  “I’m going to worry.”

  “Well, your rooms in this mausoleum will need to be decontaminated, s
o we should find some empty bedroom to claim as ours and let the on-duty RPS agents figure out the best way to deal with those two. And if anyone asks why I’m with you, I’m your detail until your detail is properly returned to you.”

  I could work with that.

  “How about the main guest suite, Christian?” my father asked.

  “I like it. It’s already wired to be easily defended, and we can run a ruse easily enough that we invited the Montana doctors to stay there to be close. We’ll open up one of the other suites for Dr. Hampford and Dr. Thorton. The palace staff will play along. The guest suite is far enough from the royal wing that things should be quiet for them, too.”

  “That works for me. Just take care of this. There’s no need to dance to their tune, not now.”

  “It’ll be dealt with by morning,” Christian promised.

  I could work with that. “All right. By morning, then.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  It took Christian one order and ten minutes to have the palace hallways cleared, implementing a temporary lock-down situation so I could walk to the guest suite without having to deal with anyone. At Christian’s direction, I engaged the deadbolt and used a door jam to keep everyone out.

  If the RPS wanted in, they had ways of getting in, but any unwanted parties would have to make a lot of noise to break through the door, which would buy Eva and I time to prepare or make a quick escape through one of the secret passages few in the castle knew about. It was a last resort for the royal family, added during the war in case the castle faced assault.

  Outside of training and maintenance, no one used the passages.