DARK GUARDIAN CRAVED (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 12)

by I. T. Lucas

  Her eyelids fluttered open. “Is Phoenix crying?”

  “No, Phoenix is fine. You’re burning hot. I’m worried.”

  “That’s nice.” She patted his arm and closed her eyes.

  He shook her again. “You need to stay awake.”

  “Why? If I’m sick, sleep will do me good. Go away.” She closed her eyes and pushed at his chest.

  He couldn’t let her sleep, what if she slipped into unconsciousness? He shook her again. “What if you’re transitioning?”

  Nathalie’s eyes popped open. “I am? Good, it’s about time. I can sleep longer.” She closed her eyes again.

  The fever was obviously messing with Nathalie’s mind. But it seemed that unless he dropped a bucket of ice on her, he wasn’t going to keep her awake.

  Should he do it?

  What if it made things worse for her?

  Why was he asking himself questions he should be asking a doctor?

  Andrew bolted out of bed and ran to the living room where he left his cell phone. “Bridget,” he said as soon as the doctor answered. “Nathalie has a fever, like in burning hot. What do I do? She wants to sleep, and I can’t keep her awake.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  “Thank you.”

  He went back to watch over Nathalie and called Syssi from the bedroom.

  “What’s up, Daddy?” She answered in a cheerful voice that meant she was holding Phoenix.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to babysit even longer. Nathalie came back with a fever. Bridget is on her way up.”

  There was a moment of silence. “Of course, no problem. Do you think it’s the transition? Mine started with a fever, also after a shopping trip.”

  “I think so. Nathalie doesn’t get sick often.” He frowned. “In fact, I don’t remember her ever being sick since I’ve met her.”

  “Oh my God, Andrew, it’s starting.”

  “Oh my God, is right.” Andrew raked his fingers through his short hair. “What do I do?”

  “Hang on. That’s the only thing you can do. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll stay home with Phoenix and send Okidu to buy more diapers and formula.”

  “Don’t be silly. We have enough to last a month. Send him over here. The door is never locked.” With all the security measures the keep employed there was no need to lock doors.

  “Fine.” There was another silent moment when neither of them knew what to say but was loath to hang up. Syssi spoke first. “I know it’s scary. After watching you unconscious for days I know exactly how it feels. But don’t worry. Nathalie is going to be fine. She is strong, inside and out, and she’ll fight for you and for Phoenix. She’s a survivor.”

  “Keep your fingers crossed, just not while holding my daughter.’

  She laughed. “You got it.”

  “I hear Bridget at the door. I have to go.” He strode out of the bedroom with the phone in hand.

  “Good luck, Andrew.”

  “Thanks.” He ended the call, shoved the phone in his back pocket, and opened the door for Bridget at the same time.

  “Lead the way, Andrew.” Bridget was all business.

  In the bedroom, she opened her doctor’s bag and started taking Nathalie’s vitals.

  “Hi, Bridget,” Nathalie mumbled. “Would you like some tea?”

  “No, thank you.” Bridget wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Nathalie’s arm.

  Nathalie kept mumbling nonsense throughout the exam. Had he done the same? Andrew couldn’t remember. His memories of the transition were foggy at best.

  Bridget finished and returned her tools to her bag. “Same symptoms as you and Syssi and Michael. Except the mumbling, that is. None of you did it.”

  Andrew smoothed a lock of hair away from Nathalie’s face. “Could it be the flu, or a cold?”

  Bridget shrugged. “Always possible. The first symptoms are the same. But I don’t think it is. Since I’ve known Nathalie, she hasn’t been sick even once. Pregnancy is not sickness.”

  “That’s what I thought. What do we do now?”

  “I’ll send Hildegard with the gurney. I trust you can handle the transfer. If she has a comfortable, light nightgown, help her put it on and bring another one in case she sweats through it. People feel better wearing their own clothes rather than a hospital Johnny.”

  To his shame and utter embarrassment, Andrew got hard imagining his Nathalie in a hospital Johnny, her beautiful ass peeking between the ties. Damn, he needed Bridget to leave. Quickly. “I’ll do it right away.”

  That had done the trick, and Bridget lifted her doctor’s bag. “See you both in the clinic.” She turned on her heel and left.

  Andrew went inside their spacious walk-in-closet and started collecting stuff. Nathalie didn’t own any nightgowns. If she slept in anything at all, it was a long T-shirt. He smiled at the designs as he packed them into one of the paper bags he’d emptied. He chose the least childish looking one to put on her. It was blue with white stars and crescent moons printed on it.

  For some reason, the design reminded him that he needed to call another babysitter for Fernando. It wasn’t night yet, and the guy would need someone to heat up dinner for him and make sure he didn’t set the kitchen on fire.

  William was the obvious choice since the guy spent so much time with Nathalie’s father, but Andrew didn’t want to impose. He called Anandur instead.

  “No problem. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  The news must’ve traveled ahead of them, courtesy of Anandur no doubt, because when Andrew wheeled the gurney out of the elevator, there was already a crowd waiting for him and Nathalie in the hallway.

  Murmurs of “Good luck” followed him until the door to Bridget’s clinic closed behind them.

  “Room number one, as always.” Bridget pointed to where his transition had happened, and Syssi’s before him. From what Andrew had heard, Michael had transitioned so easily, he hadn’t even been feverish.

  As he lifted Nathalie from the gurney, she opened her eyes again and glanced around. “Why are we in the clinic?”

  He laid her down on the hospital bed and covered her with a blanket. “Because you’re transitioning, baby. Bridget is going to keep an eye on you.”

  Nathalie smiled. “About time. Can you get me some water? I’m dying of thirst.”

  The word dying made him cringe. Not something he wanted to hear while his wife lay in a hospital bed. “Coming right up.”

  As a veteran of that same room, Andrew knew where everything was. He pulled out a cup and filled it up with water from the tap, which was fine because the keep had its own filtration system and the water coming out the faucet was top quality. The straw went in next.

  He put his foot on the pedal that lifted the bed’s back, bringing Nathalie to a semi-reclining position. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

  Bridget knocked on the open door and walked in. “How are you feeling, Nathalie?”

  “Tired, hot, sweaty.”

  Bridget seemed satisfied with the answer. “I’m glad you’re coherent. Let me check your fever again.”

  The result was the same. A hundred and two.

  After Bridget had hooked her up to the monitoring equipment, Nathalie fell asleep again. Bridget told him to nudge her every half an hour or so and see if she responded.

  After Nathalie had mumbled the last time Andrew had done it, telling him to go away and let her sleep, he felt it was safe to leave her by herself for a few minutes and provide an update to everyone in the corridor.

  The same routine he had done only seven weeks ago when Phoenix was born.

  Andrew was surprised to see Kian standing next to Onegus, waiting to hear the news like everyone else.

  “She is sleeping, but conscious.” That was all he had to tell them.

  Kian approached Andrew and in a rare expression of warmth wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Don’t worry about a thing. Everything is taken care of. I called Bhathian. He and Eva should arrive shortly. Phoenix
is doing great, happy as can be with Syssi and Kri making fools of themselves to amuse her. Anandur fed Fernando and is watching a movie with him. Anything else you need done?”

  That was Kian, a take-charge kind of guy, and the best brother-in-law a man could hope for. Andrew couldn’t have hoped for a better support system.

  “Just one thing but it’s a big one.”

  “Anything.”

  “Is there any chance Annani would come and bless Nathalie the same as she did for me?”

  “I’ll call and ask her. But you know it will take hours before she can get here.”

  “I know. But the transition takes time. Syssi was out for twenty-four hours and I was out for days.”

  Kian clapped him on the back. “Everyone is different. You never know, Nathalie could wake up tomorrow as an immortal.”

  “From your mouth to God’s ear.” Andrew shook his head. It wasn’t like him to say such things, but as the saying went, there are no atheists in a foxhole.

  Chapter 49: Nathalie

  Nathalie had the strangest dream. She was dancing in a lush meadow with Sage, a.k.a Mark. They were celebrating, but she didn’t know what. It didn’t matter, seeing Mark happy was good.

  Then it dawned on her. She was actually seeing him, not only hearing his voice in her head. How was it possible? She’d never seen any of her ghosts before…

  Panic seized her by the throat and she pulled her hands out of his. “I’m dead, aren’t I? My daughter is an orphan and my husband is a widower because I died.”

  Mark’s expression turned into a mask of horror, confirming her suspicion.

  “No! No, no! You’re not dead, Nathalie. You’re still sleeping. I found a way to let you see me, that’s all. I’m so sorry that I scared you.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you lying to me? Because it’s very bad for a ghost to lie. You will not be allowed to enter heaven.”

  “Open your eyes, Nathalie. Wake up, girl!” He snapped his fingers in front of her nose. “Wake up! Right now!”

  Nathalie’s eyes popped open, and she bolted upright. Her heart was racing, and she was sweaty all over, her nightshirt clinging to her body. The room was dark other than the ghostly blue light cast by the monitoring equipment that reminded her where she was.

  Next to her, Andrew was sitting on a chair, his body slumped forward and his head resting on his folded arms on her hospital bed, snoring. Nathalie exhaled in relief and lay back down, letting the familiar humming and beeping of the machines soothe her rattled nerves.

  How come no one came to check up on her when her heart monitor went wild? Was no one out there? And Andrew, how come he hadn’t woken up from the noise?

  An absurd thought flitted through her head that she was like Sleeping Beauty but in reverse. Everyone was sleeping, and she was the only one awake. Or maybe this was a dream within a dream, and she just dreamt that she’d woken up and was still sleeping. Like the stupid bathroom dreams when she needed to pee and dreamt of going to the bathroom and then coming back to bed but still needing to pee.

  Was Andrew snoring like a broken blender part of the dream? It sounded too real.

  One way to find out. “Andrew, honey, wake up.” She nudged his arm.

  He lifted his head, looking confused. “Did I wake you up with my snoring again?”

  That must’ve been what had done it. “Maybe. Can you pinch me? I don’t know if this is real or if I’m dreaming.”

  “How about a kiss?”

  Nathalie smiled. Her Andrew had a one-track mind. “No. A kiss could be part of a dream too.”

  “As you wish.” He snaked a hand under the blanket and pinched her thigh.

  “Ouch! That’s enough. I’m convinced I’m not dreaming.”

  A knock sounded on the door, and a moment later Bridget walked in. “I heard you guys talking. Good morning. Can I turn up the lights a bit?”

  “Sure.” Reflexively, Nathalie tucked the blanket around her exposed thighs.

  Bridget turned on a soft light and walked over to her. “How are you feeling?”

  Nathalie took a second to assess her body. “Other than the fever, I feel fine. And I don’t think it’s as bad as it was yesterday.”

  Bridget whipped out her thermometer and pushed the tip inside Nathalie’s ear.

  “Ninety-nine point two. The fever went down.”

  She walked over to the monitors and looked at the history. “I see a spike in heart rate. What happened? A bad dream?”

  “You can say that. I thought I was dead.”

  Andrew gasped. “Don’t say things like that.”

  “I dreamt of Sage, a.k.a Mark. That’s why. But he told me to wake up and I did. But with a start.”

  Bridget looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when it happened. I sent Hildegard to get us breakfast, but I had to use the bathroom. It must’ve happened at that exact time.”

  “Everything is fine, so no harm done. Are you going to test and see if I transitioned?”

  Bridget smiled indulgently. “It’s too early. I admit that yours is progressing at a different pace, but if you’re still feverish, it means you’re not there yet.”

  “Are you sure? Because I feel different. I can read the letters on that pack of bandages over there.” She pointed. “I’m pretty sure I could not have done it before.”

  Bridget and Andrew both glanced at what she was pointing at, then at one another.

  “Those are very small letters,” Andrew said.

  Bridget nodded. “But if I make a cut and it doesn’t heal right away it’s going to hurt.”

  Nathalie lifted her arm. “Do it over here.” She pointed at the fleshy part of her upper arm. “This spot is less sensitive than my palm.”

  “You sure?” Bridget regarded her with a doubtful expression on her face.

  “Sure as can be. Cut away, doctor.” She held her arm out.

  Bridget shook her head. “Give me a moment to collect what I need.”

  Andrew clasped her hand. “I think it’s too early as well. And I don’t want you to be disappointed if I’m right.”

  Nathalie gave his hand a light squeeze. “I’m a big girl, Andrew, and I can handle a little disappointment. But I can’t handle not knowing. I’ll probably have many more cuts until they all start healing. I don’t care. I want to know as soon as possible.”

  Bridget returned with a small tray with all the things necessary for the test. “Ready?”

  Nathalie nodded and offered her arm. Blood and pain didn’t scare her, not after going through the difficult recovery from the cesarean.

  To Bridget’s credit, once the final okay was given, she didn’t hesitate, swiftly making the small cut and immediately covering it with a medical gauze pad.

  “Take it off,” Nathalie commanded. “I want to see.”

  With a grimace, Bridget dabbed at the wound a couple of times to absorb the blood, then dropped the pad on her tray.

  The three of them trained their eyes on the thin red line that was thickening by the second as the wound kept bleeding.

  Bridget sighed and tore up another packet of gauze, pulling out the pad and dabbing at the cut to absorb the new blood. “As I thought. You’re not done yet.”

  Nathalie wasn’t ready to give up. “Give it another moment.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Andrew whispered. “It’s closing. Look, Bridget, the skin is knitting itself up.”

  “I’ll be damned.” Bridget shook her head, then offered Nathalie her hand. “Welcome to immortality, Nathalie.”

  Smiling from ear to ear Nathalie shook the doctor’s hand with newfound vigor. “Thank you.”

  Andrew still looked dazed.

  “Come here and kiss me, Andrew. My first kiss as an immortal.”

  That seemed to shake him out of his stupor and a big grin split his face. “Why do I have a feeling that my bossy wife has gotten even bossier?” He climbed on the bed with her, and Bridget made a hasty retreat, closing the do
or behind her.

  Then her husband kissed her, just as she had demanded.

  Chapter 50: Bhathian

  Bhathian glanced at Eva who was sleeping propped on his shoulder. The waiting room was the same one they'd used while waiting for Phoenix’s arrival. The difference was that this time they were alone. Syssi was up in her penthouse looking after the baby, Amanda was at work, and the corridor outside was empty of people anxiously awaiting news of Nathalie’s progress.

  The reason being that thanks to the merciful Fates, Nathalie had already transitioned. Other than Michael’s, her transition had been the easiest. She’d gotten a fever, gone to sleep, and woken up an immortal the next morning.

  What a blessing. Last night, driving from Eva’s home to the keep, they were both going out of their minds with worry. Whereas delivering a baby was relatively safe, transitioning wasn’t; not at Nathalie’s age.

  The door opened and Andrew stepped out, just like last time but with no baby in his arms. “You guys should go home and get some sleep.”

  Eva lifted her head off Bhathian’s shoulder. “How is she doing, can I see her?”

  “If you wish. But she’s fallen asleep again. Bridget says it’s good for her to sleep as much as possible. The body regenerates best when at rest.”

  “Then I won’t disturb her. When will she be allowed to go home?”

  “When the fever is gone. Bridget wants to keep an eye on her until then. Syssi and I were unconscious throughout that stage, and once we woke up, the fever was gone. Nathalie is doing it while conscious.”

  The door opened again and Bridget stepped out. “Good morning, Mommy and Daddy. Your baby is doing fine. Extraordinarily so. I always knew Nathalie was made of strong stuff.”

  Andrew rubbed a hand over his stubble-covered jaw. “I feel a little emasculated here.”

  Bridget laughed and punched his shoulder. “Get over it. Women are tougher than men. That’s just a fact you need to learn to live with.”

  “You’ve got it, sister.” Eva offered her hand in a high five, and Bridget slapped it.

  Bhathian was smart enough not to comment. But it got him thinking. Syssi and Andrew had hovered between life and death while transitioning. The situation had been so dire that Annani had flown over to give them her blessing.