A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that she had saved his life and he owed her for that. He wanted to silence that voice, but it was insistent, and eventually he decided that it wasn't worth the effort. Seeking revenge against the physician taking care of him and helping him walk again would be low even for him.
Let her vent her anger at him. He had heard worse.
"You will probably be able to walk with assistance in four to six weeks if your healing continues at this rate. Full recovery will probably take twice as long."
Weeks. Months. It was an eternity for a male trapped in a broken body, held captive by enemies who had every reason to hate him and want him dead.
They had probably saved him just so they could interrogate him. That was what he would have done if he caught one of their higher-ups.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"A secure facility."
"The clan's?"
"Good guess. Yes." Bridget's tone was neutral, giving nothing away.
"Does Annani know I'm here?"
"Of course."
Navuh felt his pulse quicken or thought he did. Everything was so disconnected that he couldn't be sure which sensations were real and which were phantom memories of what a body should feel.
"When will she come to see me?"
The physician chuckled. "Who says she's coming to see you? You're not worthy of her time, Navuh."
That was insulting, both the direct address without his proper title and the assertion that he wasn't worth Annani's time. The doctor had done it on purpose to make him feel small, insignificant. She would regret it.
He wouldn't kill her, because she'd saved his life, but he would find a way to make her pay.
"I will make it worth Annani's time," he said.
Her eyebrow arched. "I doubt that."
"Tell her I want to see her." Navuh pushed compulsion into the words.
The physician actually laughed this time. "Nice try, Navuh. Your compulsion is useless here."
Impossible, unless the doctor was immune.
"But you can ask nicely instead." She leaned over him, placing something cold on his lips. "Open up. It's crushed ice. It will make you feel better."
It did. It was cold and blessed, and he felt the relief of it sliding down his parched throat.
The kindness surprised him. She'd just established that his power meant nothing here, and that he was completely at their mercy. She had no reason to offer comfort. The IV line in his arm provided all the hydration his body needed. The ice was purely for his comfort.
Why would she do that?
"Are you immune to compulsion?" he asked.
Bridget smiled and pushed her hair back, revealing a small device tucked into her ear. "Technology, Navuh. It was always going to be technology that brought your downfall. Compulsion-filtering earpieces. Every member of the clan has them."
Navuh felt his spirits sink to a new low.
He should have anticipated that one day the clan would develop something like that and render him powerless.
"I need to speak to Annani," he said, and then added the word that tasted like defeat in his mouth. "Please. It's important. She will thank you for it."
