Emerald (Jewels Cafe Book 9)

by Jade Waltz

  “How much further?” Chryso asked, keeping his focus on what barely resembled a road. The snow was so thick, it would have been hard to figure out the difference if he didn’t travel frequently on them.

  “Not much. It should be up ahead around the corner.”

  Chryso knew the corner very well. It had a significant drop-off, and if one wasn’t careful, it would be easy to go through the side railing and tumble into the forest below.

  As they rounded the corner, his blood did something he thought was impossible—froze at the scene. He parked the truck and jumped out without registering doing so.

  A large puddle of crimson red blood covered the center of the road as deep skid marks slid sideways over it. A trail of blood followed the dragging marks left from something dragging a body into the woods in the opposite direction of the tracks.

  “Fucking supes,” he muttered as he followed the tracks to where his brothers were standing near the plowed-down railing.

  As a unit, they swiftly climbed down, following the debris and flattened trees until they saw green.

  Chryso’s hearts stilled as he took in what was left of Maw’s Jeep Gladiator. It was wrapped around a tree, glass and fluids staining the snow. He dashed to what was left of the driver’s side to find any sign of Emerald.

  Her head was against the stirring wheel, and a tree limb was buried in her side. Her blood was everywhere as she bled out from multiple places. Her skin was too pale as she laid there, unresponsive.

  “VESUV!”

  His brother shoved him away and placed his fingers against her neck. “She has a pulse… but it’s very faint.” He glanced at Chryso. “If we don’t do something, and fast, we won’t have a chance to have a Sylex.”

  “Teleport her back home immediately,” Maw demanded.

  Chryso looked over at Maw, shocked to see worry flooding his face.

  Vesuv nodded. “On it.” He tapped his wristband and ejected a miniature teletrode from the side, placing it on Emerald’s forehead. Two taps later, they both disappeared.

  Chryso opened his wristband and was about to follow, but Maw’s hand gripped his wrist. He shot a glance at his brother, wondering why he was stopping him.

  “I am sorry.”

  Chryso narrowed his eyes. “I am not the one you have to say you are sorry to.”

  “I know,” he sighed, releasing him. “I will make sure the truck gets home.”

  “See you then.”

  The many years of studying human medicine as he impatiently watched their slow overall technology advances had frustrated him. There were many things Earthlings didn’t know about their own bodies, and their understanding of the other creatures they shared their planet with was severely lacking. Instead of uniting under the same government, sharing research, resources, and technology, they fought with each other, often to the death.

  It was laughable, they believed landing on their own moon was still an accomplishment after so many years. While Earthlings recently developed a dream to send a colony to Mars, a planet nearby in their own solar system, Vesuv believed it would take hundreds of years before that was accomplished. Their technology was too unfocused, spending more money on the next entertainment discovery instead of something useful. It was that failure that had prepared him for what he needed to do to save Emerald.

  Vesuv shimmered onto the pad as a substantial splash sounded from Emerald landing in the healing tank. He rushed over to the green fluid container and activated its emergency systems. The dinging sounds of another arriving on the pad told him one of his brothers just arrived. Secretly, he hoped it was Chryso because he didn’t know how he would be able to deal with Maw at the moment.

  “What can I do, brother?” Chryso begged, his voice strained.

  Vesuv studied her readings. They were still not stable, yet the pain in his chest hadn’t resided, which meant she was still alive. The healing solution wasn’t as productive as he hoped.

  He glanced at the tank, and the realization hit him.

  “I need you to jump into the healing tank and strip off her clothes. Her clothing is preventing the solution from working.”

  “But… she told me never to touch her again,” Chryso said, face scrunched in confusion.

  “I don’t believe she can have an opinion if she dead, Chryso,” Vesuv hissed. “I believe she would be grateful you saved her.”

  Chryso let out a frustrated sigh and dropped his disguise before jumping into the healing pool. Vesuv tapped the control panel and placed the display in 3D projection mode so he could watch her vitals as Chryso worked, making any adjustments needed.

  Chryso dove below the surface and gripped her pajama bottoms, yanking them down with her underwear. He used his talons and sliced her shirt off, leaving her body completely bare. Surfacing, he threw the clothing out of the tank, where they landed haphazardly on the floor with a loud splash.

  Her vitals slowly stabilized as the solution began to work.

  “I don’t like her coloring, Vesuv,” Chryso said, staring at Emerald’s nude form. “Her lips shouldn’t be blue, almost purple, and her skin is far too pale.”

  Vesuv scanned the temperature of the tank. It was far lower than what humans believed was comfortable, but he couldn’t increase the temperature of the tank. The healing solution worked better at the colder levels.

  “Chryso, I need you to inject her with your paralyzing venom to slow down her heart and keep her unconscious while I drop the temperature of the pool. The healing solution will be able to repair her faster, but we will need to warm her up as soon as possible after.”

  “You want me to… to touch her skin?”

  “How else are you going to do it?” Vesuv barked. “Do I need to stop what I’m doing and do it myself? Or are you able to get over the fear of breaking her boundaries? Chryso, once again, you are assisting in healing her.”

  “Fine,” he huffed. “What do you want me to do after?” Chryso carefully grabbed her floating wrist, touching her bare skin with his finger pads.

  “That isn’t good enough. Her blood circulation is almost nonexistent. You need to inject her in her chest.”

  “Her chest?” he asked, baffled.

  “Correct. That location will have the best results. Her wrists or ankles are too far from her center for this procedure to work.”

  “Stars above…”

  Chryso released her wrists and hesitated for a few seconds before placing his hands over her collarbone. Vesuv watched Emerald’s readings. They were continuing to stabilize as the solution worked, healing the deep wound on her side. Slowly, her skin crawled over the wound, completely covering the bloody mess.

  Relief flooded him. Her death wouldn’t be on his hands. Vesuv had never had to deal with an injury on someone who wasn’t an Alzaqi. His studies hadn’t prepared him for today. The severity of the solution and how close to death Emerald was when they found her was something he never wanted to experience again. By default, he was the triad’s healer, and it was his job to oversee the health of their Sylex and his brothers, but he hadn’t thought they would have a human mate chosen for them by some spell—whether or not it was the Stars leading them to Fate’s will. If she survived this—he would do everything he could to make sure she did—they would need to explain everything to her.

  He needed to keep his head in the moment—she wasn’t out of the weeds yet. Something could still go wrong, especially since human bodies seemed to fail on a whim. It was his responsibility to heal her body and keep her alive. They would try to ease her mind once she woke.

  Her heart finally slowing to the pace he was looking for, Vesuv was prepared for the next part of his plan.

  “That’s enough,” he murmured, his eyes never leaving Emerald’s readings. “I need you to get out and prepare our relaxing tank.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Chryso jerked his hands away as if he’d been burned and jumped out.

  “I need you to increase its temperature and prepare a sling
for Emerald.”

  “A sling?”

  “Correct, unless you want to hold her in place while she is warming up in our relaxing pool.”

  “She doesn’t need a sling, I will hold her,” Maw barked as he entered the basement and leapt over the mess Emerald left on the floor.

  “You?” Chryso laughed. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with her?”

  “I never wanted any harm to come to her,” Maw growled, hands clenched in fists. “I was angry at the choice being made for us—for me. The Fates have a wicked sense of humor, having our home planet conquered and only allowing a fraction of the population to escape and find its way here. What of the mated breeders we do have? The Fates haven’t blessed them with the opportunity to reproduce. We have been here for hundreds of years and still don’t have a new generation.” He glanced in Emerald’s direction, his deep blue eyes softening when they landed on her. “I took my anger and frustration out on her, instead of accepting our gift sent by the Stars.”

  “What are you saying?” Vesuv asked, fishing for their leader to confess his feelings out loud.

  Maw slowly walked over to their healing pool and stared down at her floating pale body. The room fell silent as Vesuv waited with Chryso for Maw’s reply.

  “I want to try,” Maw sighed, his shoulders dropping as his fists relaxed. “I want to explain everything to her once she wakes and give her the choice to see our bubble dance. If she rejects us, I will let her know what you told us… and allow her to sever the spelled mate bond.”

  The dire situation hindered the sense of joy at his declaration. If only someone had stayed behind, none of this would have happened. Vesuv shook his head, clearing the useless what-if thoughts and past regrets—they weren’t going to help Emerald’s current status.

  “Should we take her to a hospital?” Chryso asked. “They would be better equipped for emergencies like this.”

  “You question Vesuv’s knowledge and his ability to give her what she needs?”

  “No,” Chryso growled. “I just hate being useless and feeling like I can’t do anything to help.”

  “I told you what you needed to do,” Vesuv remarked. “If that isn’t good enough, then go clean up the floor and make some tea. I have a feeling this is going to be a long day, and we spent all night treasure hunting.”

  “And me?” Maw looked over his shoulder.

  “Raise the relaxing pool’s temperature to room temperature. Once she is fully healed, we will transfer her over and slowly raise her body’s temperature over time. You need to keep your body’s core a few degrees warmer as you hold her at all times.”

  “I can do that.”

  Chryso felt useless as he paced, Emerald’s scent swirling around him.

  Vesuv was fulfilling his job as the triad’s healer. Maw was trying to do his job of defending—and leading—the triad. His natural instincts had made him doubt Emerald due to the nature of the spell Julian had cast on her. It wasn’t Maw’s fault for wanting to make sure she didn’t harm the triad—even unintentionally. His resistance to her was his way to protect both himself and the rest of the triad.

  And now, he wanted to accept her?

  “How is she?” Chryso paused before the relaxing pool and surveyed Emerald’s body, cradled in Maw’s arms as he sat on the bench along the wall. All of her wounds were finally sealed, the tinted marks on her skin the only evidence of her injuries.

  It had been a week since she fled their house while they were doing their last treasure hunt of the year. After the first day, her skin had sealed itself. It took a few more days before her insides were completely healed. Vesuv wanted to her stay in the healing pool one more night to make sure its solution did everything it could. The next morning her scars had remained.

  While they all were glad she was finally whole, Vesuv felt he had failed her by not being able to get rid of the marks. They all knew how Earthlings didn’t like scars on their bodies, especially females.

  How would she react to the changes to her body? To them? Not to mention any mental injuries. Thoughts of their future clouded their moods as each one of them sat in silence and went through their day by day motions.

  Maw remained vigilant, keeping her in one place. It was important for her whole body to be fully submerged from her neck down, and none of them wanted to weigh her down in fear of how she would react when she woke up. The only time Maw left the relaxing pool was when he needed to take care of his basic needs. Chryso volunteered to keep watch while he was gone, knowing Vesuv needed to track Emerald’s readings from his display table.

  “Her body is starting to warm.”

  Chryso let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. Things were looking up.

  “Her vitals are strengthening. You may need to keep feeding her your venom to keep her sedated until her temperature reaches what is normal for humans,” Vesuv said as he scanned the 3D projection from the display table. “We don’t want to rush raising her temperature. It may damage her nerves and major organs.”

  Suddenly, the sounds of Baby Shark filled the room. Chryso and Vesuv looked at each other in confusion, before searching for its source.

  Maw growled. “Who would be calling me at this time of night?”

  “That’s your cellphone?” Chryso asked, dumbfounded.

  “Sadly,” he hissed. “Can you hand it over to me? It’s on its charging station over there.” He pointed to the table near the warming alcove.

  Chryso rushed over and found the cellphone buried under a collection of papers filled with Maw’s jewelry sketches. Looking down at the screen, he saw Jewels Cafe was calling and handed it over to Maw.

  He grabbed the device angrily and answered. “Hello?”

  Vesuv raised an eyebrow, and Chryso shrugged in response.

  “Do I know what day it is?” Maw scuffed. “Who do you think I am?… No, we aren’t celebrating Winter Solstices… No, you can’t talk to Emerald. She is still recovering… You know who she hit?… You tell that filthy panther shifter, Jackson, to stay away from our property. He is lucky his mate is a vet and was able to heal him. Maybe I should stop by her clinic and tell her to neuter him… Oh, Wim was with him? He’s lucky Emerald didn’t hit him and mess up his Instagram career… No, we are fine and don’t need anything from your cafe. Thank you for checking up on us… Yes… Happy Holidays to you too.”

  Maw hung up and let out a loud growl as he threw his cell phone across the floor.

  “What was that about?” Vesuv asked.

  "Julian decided to check on Emerald and give us the news about what he discovered about that night."

  "And you rejected his offer?"

  Maw's gaze bore into Chryso. "Who knows what else that witch has cast a spell on. We already have enough to deal with from his meddling."

  "What are you saying?"

  "I am saying, Julian should be punished for his actions," Maw growled. "There is a difference between someone asking for a mating spell or a love potion and slipping it in their drink without their consent. He took away Emerald's choice, and who knows how many other people's, because he thought he was doing them a good deed."

  "Are you saying you’re taking back what you said about explaining everything to Emerald and trying to win her over?"

  "No, I am not."

  "He’s saying, Julian needs to be investigated by the witch council or perhaps get his cafe taken away."

  "Maw," Vesuv hissed. "He's already been investigated, and the coven can't find anything wrong. They also couldn't solve who cursed their cafe."

  "That just proves how useless the supe authorities are," Maw scoffed.

  "I’ve been telling you, I believe the supes are slowly becoming weaker and unstable." Vesuv pushed Emerald's records away and opened a chart. "In Silver Springs alone, there are many residents who are disabled. The Jewels Cafe has Julian, the weak amateur witch, and Amber, the chameleon shifter, who can't control her powers. Then there is that Pegasus shifter who owns the ice cream
factory, who transforms every time he sneezes."

  "Didn't they have a crazed employee murder vampires to use the victim’s blood in the recipe to turn all their human customers?"

  "Maybe we should relocate from this crazy town." Maw glanced down at Emerald in his arms. "Not only would be safer for us, but for her too if she wants us."

  "What are we going to do about Christmas and the Celestial Void?" Chryso crossed his arms. "Christmas is the biggest holiday for Earthlings, and we have nothing to give her."

  "What do you mean, we have nothing to give her?" Maw demanded. "We live in a house beyond most Earthlings dreams! Our basement alone is full of jewelry and other unique treasures."

  "What are you planning to do?" Vesuv asked. "Shower her in gems? Sounds like you’re trying to buy her."

  "Got any better ideas?"

  Vesuv pulled his blanket tighter in his favorite spot, surrounded by his makeshift office. ”No, but let’s be cautious how we treat her when she awakens."

  "I am going to design something for her," Maw said. "If either of you comes up with a better idea, let me know."

  "Is that why you kept all the emeralds from the last haul?" Chryso asked. "Saire commented there were none in the shipment, and he had Christmas designs that needed them."

  "He can have them any other time of the year," Maw murmured, brushing Emerald's hair away from her face. "But my need for them is more important than him trying to make more profit when he has the rest of the haul to do whatever he pleases with."

  “What about enticing her with a job offer?” Vesuv suggested. “You both saw how she reacted to our home. If she decides to stay, she can manage our bed-and-breakfast while we focus on treasure hunting.”

  “You think she would do that?”

  “Definitely.”

  Warmth replaced the coldness within me. My body was numb as its heaviness kept it in place. I existed. My body was floating, surrounded by an enclosure.

  Was I dying? Is this what death felt like?

  I opened my mouth and sucked in, expecting tightness in my chest, but instead a rush coursed through me. A hard cough escaped me, sending shudders down my body. Was this… air?