Ben nodded, glancing once more at the monitors. He made a few quick adjustments to the bolsters supporting Koios’s wings, then raised the hospital bed.
Nyx held the wing on her side of the bed until Ben was able to get the supports repositioned. She seemed to instinctively understand Ben’s intention to keep as much stress as possible away from Koios’s chest and upper body. He’d been through enough trauma between the cardiac arrest, the shocks to his heart, and the accompanying CPR.
Koios didn’t notice their efforts, however. He’d turned his attention to the whiteboard and its colorful list of notes. Nyx had decided early on to color code everything and had even drawn a key to one side of the giant whiteboard.
Ben stepped out of the way to give Koios a clear view of their research so far. It was enough to draw those gorgeous eyes back to him, along with a small smile.
“Thank you,” Koios said.
His gaze held a warmth Ben had never seen before, especially not directed at him. Ben nodded instead of trying to speak. He couldn’t be sure what would come out of his mouth if he tried.
11
KOIOS
Even through the haze of pain and the drugs pumping through his veins, Koios processed the information on the whiteboard quickly. He could even see Ben’s influence in the work. Of course, the doctor would be more interested in his genetics than the creature who’d cursed him.
Koios, on the other hand, wanted to know more about the mysterious valravyn. Having seen Ozias in action several times, Koios found his reaction to the creature and its curse curious. It hadn’t been fear in the hell prince’s gaze. No, fear would have caused a completely different reaction in Koios at the news. Anything that scared Ozias would terrify Koios. Ozias had seemed…respectful…of the valravyn and its curse. Curious, but respectful.
And yet, Ozias had refused to help, which added another layer to the mystery. Until Koios understood more, he couldn’t process what the response meant and how to proceed.
“Metal,” Koios said after a few more minutes of staring at the board. “And air.”
“My thoughts as well,” Ben said.
“What thoughts?” Nyx said. “You didn’t say you were having thinky thoughts. Why didn’t you tell us?”
Koios glanced at Ben who had looked down. His eyes lost some of their warmth. Koios didn’t like the way his gut twisted at the sight.
“Because Ben didn’t want to take you back to the early days,” Koios replied turning to his sister.
“Early days? You mean before Dakota rescued us? You lost me.”
Koios looked at Ben again. His face had changed to the frustratingly neutral doctor one that drove Koios crazy. He hated that look.
But it was Ben who answered Nyx’s questions. “Remember that mages—air elementals—were hunted by the person who had us created.”
Interesting choice of words. They’d all been created in what Koios forced himself to think of as a lab. To let himself really consider what had happened to their mothers was too much for him. The horrors of what happened to the children—to Koios and his siblings and to the Jerrick kids—created by the mad god’s science experiments was difficult enough to process.
“And he hunted his brother, an unknown metal elemental,” Koios added. “To my knowledge, there haven’t been any metal elementals in this realm since the original war between the brothers that destroyed magic as it once was.”
“There haven’t been,” Ben explained. “However, there are creatures associated with metal in both our realm and others. The fae dwarves are one of those, and one of the more powerful if my research is correct.”
Spencer stood and carried one of the old leather books to the bed. He didn’t seem to know what to do with the book once he got it there, and after an awkward shuffle, Nyx held the book while Spencer pointed to a few passages regarding dwarves in the book.
“Whoa,” Koios said. “They certainly aren’t theSnow Whiteversion.”
Nyx poked him in the arm. “You know those fairy tales are totally off-base. They’re racist, sexist, misogynistic, ableist, all the damn ists! They don’t even serve as the warning messages they were intended to be. Ugh. As if the Grimm brothers didn’t do enough damage to the old tales, someone decided to make them all happily ever after. And do not get me started about how all the princesses are perfect examples of mental illness. Belle and Stockholm Syndrome, anyone?”
Ben smirked and turned to Koios. A little light had come back to Ben’s eyes after Nyx’s rant. Koios tucked that little tidbit away for future reference.
“No,” Ben explained, wisely choosing not to engage Nyx after her tirade. “It’s not the same as dwarfism, which is a human medical condition. Well, not only human, but my point stands. Fae dwarves are a very specific type of creature, known for their ability to both mine and work metal. I need to confirm a few things, but my understanding is that the dwarves in the fae realm make the majority of fae weaponry.”
Koios wanted to ask Ben what conclusions he’d drawn, but a quick look let him know Ben didn’t want him to ask any more questions. Maybe he didn’t want Nyx to know something? They apparently shared biological parents, which would entitle her to as much information as Koios had.
Then again, that blank face could mean any number of things. For once, Koios decided to be patient.
“So, air and metal,” Nyx said. “But with a special curse thrown in for funsies?”
