Ben nodded. “Maybe…would you mind giving a blood sample? We could compare yours with Koios’s.”
“Anything you need. Just burn it after. Koios is weird about hair and blood and stuff after what the manticore did to Taj.”
“Yes,” Spencer agreed. “Hair and blood can be used for powerful magic. It’s best to destroy the samples completely after you’ve inspected them.”
“We do,” Ben said. “Magical incinerator made by a powerful fire awen who is a friend of our pack. Nothing leaves here that could ever be used against our patients.”
Spencer smiled. “Excellent. I’m intrigued about the books you mentioned. I’d be happy to begin reading. I’m unfamiliar with fae dwarves. Human fairy tales are rarely accurate where fae creatures are concerned.”
Dakota opened the door down the hall. Nyx hurried around Ben and Spencer to get to her big brother. She hugged him for several long minutes until Dakota pulled away and held her shoulders. Ben and Spencer followed at a slower pace to give them a moment.
“We will get him through this,” Dakota said.
“I know,” Nyx whispered. “Ben is taking good care of him.”
“I have no doubt.”
“I told Logan to put you in the sibling rotation. Ben doesn’t want too many of us here at once, so we’re staying with him in one pack member/one sibling teams.”
“I’ll be here. Ben, keep me updated. If there’s anything else you need, let me know.”
Ben nodded and slipped back into Koios’s room to give the siblings a few more minutes of privacy. Spencer began sorting the stack of books as Ben checked on Koios.
His stats were stable. Ben took a minute to look down at him when he didn’t have to see that wicked, knowing gleam staring back at him.
“We’re going to figure this out,” Ben swore quietly. “I have a lot of favors to call in, and I’m willing to use them all.”
Koios’s wings moved and one brushed over Ben’s legs. He shivered and took Koios’s hand in his. The heart monitor’s pace changed for a brief moment, drawing Ben’s attention. It quickly settled again, but the distraction served as a stark reminder to Ben that he had a lot of information to gather before his patient woke up.
“Okay, okay,” Ben said. “I’ll take the hint and get to work. Even unconscious you’re giving me a hard time.”
Ben brushed his thumb over Koios’s knuckles one final time, then moved to the whiteboard. Step one was to learn more about Koios’s lineage. What did it mean to have a harpy mother and dwarve father?
He underlined the word harpy in stark black ink. Then he wrote fae realm in the column. Sadly, it was pretty much the extent of his knowledge about harpies. Half-bird and half-human, the lore around them had layers of complexity, but also a lot of vagueness he needed to address. What type of bird? And why would a creature primarily considered fae be half-human?
“Don’t start without me!” Nyx hopped into the room and bounced to Spencer’s side.
“Take the seat,” Ben said. “I thought we’d start with research on harpies, and then expand from there.”
Spencer nodded and moved a couple of the books aside. He chose the one he wanted and sank down in the chair. Nyx glanced at the board and frowned. “That’s all we’ve got?”
“That’s all I’m sure of,” Ben replied. “I’d rather work with certainties instead of educated guesses.”
“Makes sense.” Nyx grabbed a book and sank down on the floor with it in her lap. They worked for a few hours and had added a number of notes to the board before Ben noticed a slight change in the monitors.
He pushed to his feet and stretched out his sore muscles before moving to Koios’s side. Koios opened his eyes the moment Ben reached him.
“I don’t like the drugs,” Koios slurred.
Ben touched Koios’s hand before glancing at the monitors. “I know you don’t,” Ben said. “I’ll limit them as much as I can.”
“Who’s here?”
“Me,” Nyx answered, moving to the opposite side of Koios’s bed. “I’m glad you got some rest. We read a bunch of books. Well, Ben and Spencer did. I mostly decorated the whiteboard. You know I can’t sit still for hours.”
Koios smiled at his sister, and Ben couldn’t help but smile as well. He understood the special relationships between siblings, even those forged under less than normal circumstances.
“I know. You never could.” Koios turned his attention back to Ben. “Can I sit up a bit? My back is tight.”
