“Are you fucking serious?”
The shout came from one of the rooms dedicated to the treatment of patients, the voice familiar and respectfully upset.
For fuck’s sake. “You haven’t told him yet?” Kaj shook his head. “I don’t see this going well.”
“You can’t sedate him!” Michael called out from behind them. “He has to be awake.”
Kaj briefly wondered if this would be painful for the human. He hoped not. Considering all the male would have to deal with going forward, he had enough on his plate. The least they could do was make sure he didn’t suffer.
The doors on the other side of the clinic opened, and three big males came through. Magnar, Valterri, and Reidar strolled forward, shoulders squared as though they were prepped for battle. Eclipse appeared behind them, his eyes wary as his ears perked to the shouting coming from the room.
“No one thought to tell him before now?” Eclipse asked. “Poor fucking human.”
Oh, they’d thought about it. They simply hadn’t done it.
It honestly was a shitty move, but Kaj wasn’t going to pretend to know how to deal with a situation such as this one. Had they told Oliver, there was the risk of the human bolting when no one was looking. Or doing something equally stupid. And on the flip side, it could’ve triggered Khari, causing the vampire to incinerate the vessel.
“So, what’s the plan?” Eclipse prompted, his attention on the archangel. “You chant or something to draw him out?”
Kaj glanced from Eclipse over to Michael. “Good question.”
The archangel smiled. “It’s pretty simple, really. Kaj will channel my energy along with his own to draw Khari out of the vessel and into his body.”
Ah, yeah. Simple. He remembered clearly what had happened when Obsidian had channeled the archangel.
Fucking hell.
The door to the room opened, and Apollo stepped out, Amethyst at his side. The healers walked over, nodded at the newcomers.
“He okay?” Eclipse asked.
Apollo shook his head. “Can’t blame him, though. He wants to talk to Penelope alone, but Obsidian won’t leave the room.”
Kaj didn’t blame the angel. A mated male did not put his female at risk if he could help it.
Apollo peered around Kaj. “Is that a coffin?”
“Little party joke,” Blaz answered. “You know Michael.”
Eclipse chuckled, clearly amused.
“We do need to prep the body,” Amethyst noted. “And I’m not comfortable keeping him … in there.”
Kaj had to assume she was referring to the coffin. He had to agree with her. No telling what Khari might do if he came awake in that damn thing. Kaj knew what he would do and it wasn’t pretty.
The doors at the end of the hall opened once more and Bijou appeared.
Son of a bitch.
“Get him ready,” Kaj instructed the others as he headed toward his daughter. “What are you doing down here?”
“I want to be here,” she said, her tone already insistent, as though she expected him to argue.
She knew him too well.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Well, I do,” she countered. “Oliver’s my friend.”
