“You told me you didn’t need my help.”
“That's no excuse, Darma. You could have told me. Not telling me meant that she stayed out there longer and got sicker than she needed to. You colluded with the human. You aided her escape. Darma, you could have cost her everything. Are you truly so bitter?”
“I helped you. And her. I brought her back to you. I could have put her on a ship and sent her anywhere in the universe. I could have sold her to the scythkin. They worship humans. They construct entire gardens to keep their humans in.”
“You could have. You didn’t. But just because you didn’t do something worse, doesn’t mean that what you did wasn’t bad.”
“Just tell me what you’re going to do to me, Dominax. Are you going to exile me? Execute me?”
“You are my brother,” Dominax declared. It was a simple declaration of fact, but it carried a great weight of implication. Family could never be harmed. No matter what. There were great dungeons beneath the city, designed to hold royal traitors who could not be killed because of their blood connections.
“I’d rather you threw me in the lava than lock me up, Dominax.”
“I’m not going to do either. You’ve obviously formed a bond with Katie, which is a good thing. And I am down a guard, thanks to Alf’s betrayal. So you will be her guard. When I cannot be there, she will be in your care.”
“So I’m to be a glorified babysitter.”
“Yes.”
Darma sighed. “Fine. That’s fair. You’re going to need all the help you can get.”
“So glad you agree,” Dominax drawled.
Darma’s smile broadened as he turned away. He had to know he was fortunate. Dominax was not given to mercy. This was, on the surface, very merciful. But Dominax intended to hold Darma responsible for any infractions associated with Katie. She would not be out of his sight or Darma’s for a very long time. If Darma thought that he was going to get off lightly, he was wrong.
Before they could discuss that matter in greater detail, the physician returned. He looked concerned, which made Dominax concerned.
“Your royal highnesses, I have something like a diagnosis.”
“Let me guess. She’s pregnant,” Darma said. It was also what Dominax was thinking, though he had more patience.
“No,” the physician said. “She’s not pregnant. She’s growing wings.”
Dominax and Darma looked at one another, expressions of amazement and confusion appearing on both their faces in quick succession.
“No fucking way,” Darma exclaimed.
The physician brought up a panel with some images. One of them was on the back of her shoulders, where she did in fact have a slight bump.
“I was worried that these might be some kind of tumor or other malignant growth, perhaps caused by exposure to our atmosphere without any kind of shielding. I took some ultrasounds, and there is no doubting it. Those are wing buds emerging from her scapula. I imagine the transition is not pleasant for a human at this stage of growth. Has she complained about pain in her shoulders?”
“No,” Darma said. “She’s complained about absolutely everything besides that. Although she did mention being achy all over.”
Dominax had to hold himself back from expressing his irritation that Darma knew her better than he did.
“Maybe they’re not causing her physical pain, but they are almost certainly putting her body through serious stress. She is mostly past the natural growth phase — though her brain will continue to develop for several more years. The human frontal lobe is not fully developed until twenty-six years of age.”
“So she has some time to learn to make less reckless decisions. Good.”
“Fewer reckless decisions.”
“Less, and fewer,” Dominax snapped. He was not pleased at this piece of news. It was another complication he did not need — and the news that she was not pregnant was also disappointing. He had hoped that some element of their trysts had survived the distance and the time and the mystery.
“We should inform the patient. Understanding what is happening to her will help her, I believe. My tests reveal the obvious, that she has been under a very great deal of stress for a protracted period of time. She needs to be kept quiet and calm. I also have something to keep her nausea under control.”
Katie hadn’t slept this well, or this long, in a long time. It took her a moment or two when she woke up to remember where she was and how she had come to feel so relaxed.
“Motherfucker…” she pushed back the covers and discovered that she was naked. She had no idea what the doctor had done to her while she was out, but nothing hurt, so that was good.
“No need to be angry, you’re fine.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” She vented her ire at Darma, who was sitting in a nearby chair.