“Harpies are also associated with wind and storms,” Spencer added. “It is a curious mix, especially considering the nature of the Jerrick children.”
“How so?” Koios asked.
“Well, the Jerricks, Henry excluded, have parentage all connected to the human realm, specifically human mammals. Um, not to say that Henry isn’t—” Spencer stopped talking and shot a concerned frown toward Ben.
“I’m not insulted, Spencer,” Ben said. “My brother is a human mage, and not a shifter like the rest of us. Although we can’t be certain of any of our biological parents, Spencer is correct. My siblings are all human-realm based—wolf, bear, fox—and yours are all from the fae realm. Some of the younger children in Nick’s pack have more mixed genetics, but not our sibling group or yours.”
“Does that mean we were some of his earliest attempts at…what?” Nyx asked.
“Gaining power,” Ben said. “Our magic was taken as children.”
Ben grew several shades paler, and his eyes completely lost their warmth. Neither Nyx nor Spencer seemed to notice, as they both had their heads back in the book Nyx held.
“I’m getting tired,” Koios said softly. “Can we pick up this discussion later?”
“Oh my goddess,” Nyx said. “How crappy are we? You barely open your eyes and we bombard you with…anyway, yes, shutting up now. Notes are on the whiteboard. Books are here. And our shift is over, Spencer, so we’ll make like a hippie and peace out.”
Spencer frowned. “Excuse me?”
“You know,” Nyx said. “A hippie and peace signs. Counterculture movement of the sixties and seventies. Make love, not war.”
“But why must we act like a hippie?” Spencer asked.
“No, silly,” Nyx said with a bright grin. She put the book down on the foot of the bed and looped her arm through Spencer’s. “It means we’re gonna get out of here and let Koios get some rest. We’re peacing out of here, as in leaving. Get it?”
“This is a strange idiom,” Spencer said, “but one I believe several members of my pack will find amusing.”
“Oh there are a lot of good ones. You can make like a tree and….” Nyx paused and waited for Spencer to make the logical leap.
Spencer frowned for a moment. “Leave! Oh that’s amusing. I do enjoy a good idiom. Aleron finds them particularly funny for some reason. Also something called dad jokes, which seem to make Bailey laugh hysterically although I normally don’t understand the humor. Will asked Bailey why the whale blushed and then told him it was because he’d seen the ocean’s bottom. Bailey found the comment extremely amusing.”
Nyx’s laughter grew quieter as they made their way down the hall away from his room.
“I want to get up,” Koios said. “And I have to pee.”
Ben immediately resumed doctor-mode, just as Koios intended.
“It’s early for?—”
“Nope, getting up now, Gentle Ben. I need to move a little. My back is tightening up. Trust me, I’m going to take it easy. It’s almost like a giant bear pounded on my chest or something.”
Ben’s cheeks pinkened a little and Koios remembered another bit of the conversation before his heart decided to stop beating.
“Don’t try to think of some way to excuse it, Ben. You saved my life. We both know it. And now, you’re going to help me waddle to the toilet in a way that is not going to completely embarrass me, got it?”
Ben nodded and began adjusting the equipment attached to Koios. It meant those long, beautiful fingers brushing against Koios’s chest as they removed the wires monitoring his heart. Lucky for him, Ben had them off before his heart skipped a beat at the touch.
Koios couldn’t tear his gaze away from those damn hands, no matter how much he tried. Ben didn’t seem to notice, as dedicated as ever to his patient. It wasn’t until the final wire, the one hooked into a sticky pad on Koios’s ribs, that Koios lost control of himself. He made a sound that ended up a combination of a gasp and a groan which seemed entirely too loud in the quietness of the room.
Ben looked up and froze with the wire dangling from his fingers. Ben’s eyes began to glow, the warm brown becoming somethingmore. Time slowed and Koios swore neither of them took a breath. Ben leaned closer, his huge shoulders casting a shadow over Koios’s face.Good.Maybe it would hide some of the emotions that had to be as plain as day.
He wanted Ben to lean over to him, to keep touching him, even if he couldn’t offer Ben anything he deserved. In the moment, in the split second when Ben’s eyes changed from brown to gold to a brilliant blue, Koios didn’t care. He wanted Ben for himself, no matter how selfish it made him.
He reached up and touched Ben’s face, his scruffy cheek, and the puffiness under his eyes. Ben hadn’t slept much, probably not at all. How long had he been out? Koios didn’t care to ask. He didn’t want to break the spell they were under.
“Your eyes,” Ben said, his voice so low and husky Koios could barely understand the words.
It wasn’t his eyes that Koios cared about. They were such a dark brown they could be mistaken for black. Boring. Ordinary. Not like Ben’s with their golden rings and now the ocean blue Koios wanted to dive into and forget all the problems weighing him down.
