I barely had my keycard on the door before Marley opened it herself, looking haggard.
“Thank you,” I breathed out to the woman who had been considered an enemy only a few weeks ago. “Valerie is home. And she’s not happy, and I feel sick about it, but the Minister didn’t give my brother a choice. He banished Valerie, under the guise of having one-on-one time with Blake. The plane was ready to go as soon as my brother figured out how to get Valerie to acquiesce. I’m not even certain what he promised. I do know that she is aware I’m going to work on her being able to go back and forth to Rubia as soon as Tulya is well.”
Marley nodded. “She’s not good. Her hand, it’s mostly a claw at this point.”
On the plane, Marley had texted to let me know about Tulya’s hand. I wanted to scream, but I was already dealing with a broken Valerie and the nicest pilot on all of Rubia, going out of his way to get us to the States as fast and safe as we could fly.
Now, all I could do was nod to Marley. I knew it had to be bad for Marley to text me. She was Team Valerie all the way, but she wasn’t going to watch Tulya suffer either. And I knew she didn’t want to bother me in the state I was in.
“I can’t get into many details now. You know they’re not giving up Blake, but there is no way I’m allowing them to sever her from her mother. And that goes for you too. I will make sure your visits are negotiated. You deserve to see Blake raised and grown—”
“I am putting a lot of trust in you and Tuvy to do right by us. Right now she needs you and Valerie needs me, so go.” Marley shooed me toward the bedroom.
I patted her shoulder and she was off. I was sure she was happy to go see Valerie for a much broader report on the current state of affairs. I hoped they were ready to fight; knowing them, they were.
Quietly opening the bedroom doors, I found Tulya sleeping, curled on her side. I forbade myself from telling her how long they’d known there was a serum or how I’d gone absolutely batshit when I found out. I knew the woman in front of me, and nothing warranted drama in her mind.
“Hey.” She stirred and looked at me standing over her.
“I’m here” was all I could say, sitting down next to her, making sure to be gentle.
“I see that. And so deep in thought… What were you thinking?”
“About the Tulya Conundrum.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Another reality when it came to the redheaded beauty. She wanted me to be a better man, and while I knew I never could be, in the moment I strove to be.
Her voice gruff, she asked, “The Tulya Conundrum?”
A quick nod from me and I took her arm and brought her mangled fingers into mine, rubbing them. “Does it hurt?”
“Not when you touch it, but in general it’s a dull ache I can survive.”
“See, that’s the conundrum. You don’t like to upset anyone around you. You’d rather survive a shitty hand that’s limp and crippled and can’t do a single goddamn thing than speak up and cause chaos. It’s both endearing and aggravating.”
She wrestled her bent fingers free and ran her knuckles over my forearm. “I can use my hand.”
“Stop. They’re coming. The medic is on his way. Of course, the Minister ruled he couldn’t leave until Valerie touched down in the States. I’m done with this shit.”
She nodded. “Marley said. I tried to call Caro, but she didn’t pick up.”
I swept my hand through her loose hair, pushing it behind her ear. “If I’d known…the messing with humans would do this…holding the pain inside you for mere minutes…I wouldn’t haveallowed for any of it… But if they had revealed there was a serum… Christ, they were withholding it! You know what that does to me, Tulya?”
“This is my mother. You have to know by now.This is her…”
“And mine. It was my own mother who kept your mom from sending the medic. That’s my burden to bear.”
We stared at one another for a beat. I imagined both of us silently wishing for a different time, under other circumstances, where we could explore us.
It didn’t exist. Not for us.
Tulya
Isat alone in my room, waiting for the medic, rubbing my itchy thighs together underneath the sheets. Between the hives and the gnarled hand, I didn’t blame Donovan for retreating from me, but it felt more about him. I’d wished for him to come back, maybe prayed a little, but he seemed distant. A small tremor traveled my hand as I thought about his concern and words, but he didn’t hold my sore body, lie down next to me, or make any sweeping promises. I had to consider if he saw his fiancée back home. Had they exchanged rings? Did he say anything about me? Would he fight to be with me?
My mind was a train barreling through the night, errant ideas and thoughts steamrolling the ones I should have been focusing on.
Of course, no, Donovan is not fighting for me…
Closing my eyes, I wondered if he was still going to Hawaii, or if he had told anyone. I didn’t want him to give up his dream,but sometime in the thirty-six hours he was gone, I’d become convinced he could be mine. It was now obvious that I was wrong.
