"Good morning, my love." She kissed his forehead as she did each morning, and then sat on the edge of the mattress, positioning herself so her face was in his line of sight.
"Is it?" He attempted a smile, though he suspected it came out more like a grimace. "I wouldn't know. There are no windows in here, and they don't bother with creating a simulation."
"It's a medical facility. They probably don't see the need. How are you feeling?"
"The same as yesterday. And the day before. Trapped in a body that refuses to obey me." He tried to move his fingers, and for a moment, he thought that he'd actually succeeded, but it was probably just a phantom sensation. A memory. The nurse had checked this morning, prodding him with a long needle and asking him if he felt anything.
He hadn't.
"You need to be patient." She took his hand, and once again, he imagined feeling her skin against his, but it was just a tactile memory. It wasn't real.
He studied her face, reading the tension in the set of her jaw, the nervous flutter of her pulse at her throat.
"Are you still worried about me being angry at you?"
"I know you are," she said matter-of-factly with no accusation in her voice. "I know it will take time for you to come to terms with what I have done."
"I have. I understand why you did it and why you kept all these secrets from me. I'm not angry about that. I'm just angry at the end result."
She nodded. "It's my fault that you are paralyzed, and it's my fault that you are here. I just couldn't leave you there, even if there was a small chance that you could heal from your injuries on your own. I couldn't take the chance that you would die."
"I know," he said as gently as he could. "I would have done the same."
She smiled. "I'm glad that you are not berating me for saving you."
"As long as you live, I want to be alive with you. I don't want to die and wait for you beyond the veil. You know how impatient I am."
His attempt at humor worked, and the tension in her shoulders loosened. "I had coffee with Lokan and Carol this morning," she said.
The names sent a spike of anger through him. He clamped down on it ruthlessly, keeping his expression neutral. "Did they come to visit you?"
"No." She hesitated. "They're temporarily staying in the penthouse across from the one I'm staying in."
He didn't want to hear about his traitorous son and his mate. If he wanted to heal, it was best if he didn't think of Lokan and Kalugal and their betrayal.
"How convenient for them," he said flatly.
"Navuh—"
"Is living in a stylish penthouse Lokan's reward for betraying his father and the Brotherhood?"
"No." Areana's expression tightened. "Lokan and Kalugal are being treated as family because that's what they are."
"They are traitors."
"Carol is Lokan's truelove mate. He didn't choose to fall in love with her any more than you chose to fall in love with me."
"I chose you." The words came out fierce. "Every day for five thousand years, I chose you. That is what love means. Loyalty. Devotion. Sacrifice."
"And Lokan sacrificed his relationship with you for Carol. That's loyalty too, just not to you."
Navuh wanted to argue, but the truth of her words lodged in his chest like a splinter. He had demanded absolute loyalty from his sons, those by blood and those he had adopted, but he had done nothing to earn their loyalty. He'd ruled by fear and intimidation, and if his sons by blood were anything like him,it was no wonder that they had taken the first opportunity to betray him or just escape his rule.
He pushed the thought away. He wasn't ready to examine it too closely.
"You said that the penthouse you are staying in is beautiful. Is the one they are staying in also as lavishly appointed?"
"The penthouses are a mirror image of one another, but the interiors are a little different. One used to belong to Kian, and the other to Amanda, but now they are used for other purposes. I wish you could see the view of the city from there. The sunrises are spectacular."
