“What is that?” Thalia squirmed in his grip, twisting to break free.
“We need to reach the Judgment. 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 the Judgment. 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.
Chapter 24
Thalia
For the second time, she woke with a gasp. Blurry purple faces stood over her.
“I better not have been in there for three years.” Her voice rasped, followed by a cough that felt like shards of glass. Someone pressed an ice chip to her lips. She opened eagerly.
“My mate requires her spectacles,” a familiar voice said. The room came into focus when her glasses slid into place. “Better?”
Thalia nodded. “How long?”
“Twenty-eight days,” Havik said. He held her hand, carefully turning it over as if to inspect her. He ran a thumb over the fleshy part of her palm.
“So long. You said a week.”
“There were…complications.”
“Fuck. I have cancer.” Her mind leaped to a terrible outcome.
“No. You were placed in a regeneration tank to repair the radiation damage.”
“Move aside,” the doctor snapped, elbowing Havik.
“You,” Thalia said, recognizing the rude man, Doctor Kalen. “I want the nurse.”
“A common complaint. Now, I have an examination to complete and the faster you comply, the faster you can go home with your mate. How many fingers?” He held up three fingers.
“Three.”
Kalen worked through a list of questions, ascertaining that she was alert and oriented to her surroundings. Her motor skills seemed normal.
“My mind’s not as fuzzy this time,” she said. The brain fog had taken ages to disperse and had been her biggest worry.
“Not to cast aspersions on the previous stasis chamber, but—no, I will cast aspersions. It was a hunk of junk and you’re lucky to have survived it at all. This one,” he pointed to Havik, “placed you in Mahdfel tech, used the correct chemicals, and did not exceed the time limit.”
Thalia suspected her clear head had more to do with the shorter timeframe than the quality of the tech, but she wasn’t going to argue. The faster she complied, the faster she got to go home.
Go home.
She really liked the sound of that.
“You will notice physical differences in your body,” Kalen said. Thalia immediately looked down, like she could see anything through the blanket and bedsheets. He continued, “That is to be expected with using a regeneration tank. Your hair fell out but has regrown. Old scarring is healed.”
She held up a hand, noticing the old burn mark on her wrist gone. She heard about the Mahdfel regen tanks but only in secondhand accounts from Doc. A patient was intubated and submerged in a vat of super goo—that was the highly technical term, super goo—until they could be safely removed.
A hand to her head confirmed that her hair was shorter, about shoulder length. She pulled the ends up for inspection, finding her original dirty blonde.
That was disappointing. Her mom told stories about when her grandmother had chemo, her hair regrew red instead of blonde.
“Wait, why do I still need my glasses? Shouldn’t the super goo fix my eyes?” she asked.
Kalen sighed, as if deeply aggravated to have his time wasted. “Regeneration tanks are not meant for Terrans. The super goo is formulated specifically for Mahdfel physiology. It enhanced your body’s ability to repair itself. Deficient eyesight is not an injury or a disease.”
“Not true,” she said, struggling to sit up straight. Her chest ached, and the muscles in her back felt stiff. “I happen to be nearsighted, which is not a disease, but some diseases do impair vision.”
“Clearly, if you are well enough to argue, you are well enough to get out of my medical bay. Rest. No strenuous activity.” Kalen leveled a look at Havik, who nodded. “Return tomorrow. I will monitor your recovery.”
“Tomorrow,” Havik said.
The doctor drew a curtain around the bed for privacy. Thalia climbed to the edge of the bed, and Havik helped her dress. She felt
