Winter's Warrior: Mark of the Monarch (Winter's Saga #4)

by Karen Luellen

  Watching the exchange between brother and sister made Sloan’s chest hurt. Trying to distract herself, she gathered a few supplies and walked the few steps toward Creed.

  “We may as well clean you up, soldier.” She nodded to his bloodstained side.

  When Creed didn’t move, Sloan found herself searching his face for a hint at what he was thinking. He had to slouch over a lot to fit in any sort of standing position on the plane. She wondered what it would be like to have to duck to fit places. As a petite girl, she’d never had that problem.

  “Well? Please sit down and remove your shirt, Mr. Young.”

  Creed sighed deeply and pulled his massive hands out of his front pockets. He shrugged out of the stained shirt and sat, complying with the little doctor’s orders.

  Meg tried not to watch, but Creed’s chest was so chiseled, it was a thing of beauty. Even the gash where the bullet entered his skin just seemed to add to the sexiness Creed had no idea he wielded with mind numbing precision.

  Wow, Meg. Get a grip. Now is no time to be ogling the poor guy. We have enough going on without you getting all sappy and smitten, she scolded herself.

  Sloan was good. She had the bullet removed, checked for internal damage, the site cleaned, and sutured all inside ten minutes.

  While she worked, everyone talked in hushed tones.

  “I used the inflight emergency kit to supplement my medical bag.” Evan explained as he double checked the rate of flow in his mother’s IV. “Thank God I thought to throw in a couple bags of IV fluid and tubing. I have also given her a broad spectrum antibiotic that I’m hoping will help keep infection at bay.” Evan shook his head sadly. “If only I had an operating room at my disposal,” he said wistfully.

  “You’re doing everything you can, Ev. You didn’t do this to Mom,” Alik reassured his little brother.

  “Alik’s right, Evan. No matter what, we’re doing what Mom would have wanted us to do. We got everyone we could out of that horrible place. We helped Sloan exile and rescued the little boy—Danny Boy!” she blurted, snapping the fingers of her good hand. Her brothers looked up at her like she’d gone momentarily mad.

  “That was the tune you were humming earlier,” Meg’s face brightened at the memory of Creed’s handsome voice.

  Sloan was securing a bandage in place when Creed shrugged. “It’s one of the few songs I remember my brother whistling when we were kids.”

  “It’s perfect,” Meg smiled.

  “I’d like to call the little guy ‘Danny.’ No doubt he’s only ever been called by his meta number. He needs a name. Danny Winter.”

  Evan and Alik smiled at their sister’s exuberance. “We’re adopting him.” Alik said matter-of-factly—the smile widening across his handsome, exhausted face.

  “Of course, we are.”

  “Um, don’t you want to talk to your mom before you make such an important decision,” Farrow asked logically.

  “Are you kidding?” all three Winter kids said simultaneously.

  Creed couldn’t help but chuckle at them.

  “Mom will be upset that we only have one new addition to our family. She’s going to be very worried about the other eleven still out there.”

  Meg frowned as she thought back to the empath vision she received when racing out of the hospital. The children had been sequestered somewhere off site. They were taken by Williams himself to a new location. Meg knew she needed to concentrate and send her empath feelers out to try to locate them, but she was too exhausted after working with Danny over the past couple hours. She’d been feeding him not just the sports drink, but soothing waves of her gift and though it no longer made her pass out from the effort, thanks to her learning how to receive strength from her family (especially Creed), after the hours of concentration she was very tired. And though she would only admit it to herself, she was also somewhat weakened. It took some energy to open to Creed’s connection, and right in that moment, she was too exhausted to try.

  “Farrow and I are going to head up front for a little rest. Call if you need me to take a turn keeping watch over Mom, okay?” Alik was still looking pale and if Meg had enough strength, she would have been asking him all sorts of questions about how he was feeling. Evan had been too busy trying to stabilize their mom to look closely at his brother’s pained face.

  “Sure, brother,” Evan said without looking away from his work on Meg’s hand. “We probably could all use a good week of uninterrupted sleep after last night.”

  “Amen, that,” Alik muttered. He walked away, holding his sides. Evan and Sloan agreed he had several cracked ribs from the beating the soldiers gave him. Since the ribs seemed to be in alignment, there was nothing more to be done. Alik was going to have to heal on his own.

  Even metahumans take a little time to heal.

  Chapter 16 No Pain, No Pain

  Meg sighed and leaned heavily against Creed, watching Alik walk hunched over just as much from the low aircraft ceiling as his pain-filled chest. Feeling her soldier’s arms wrap around her waist, Meg didn’t bother to resist when Creed pulled her gently into his lap.

  He leaned his head down and whispered so only she could hear. “It’s your turn to be held.”

  How he knew she was struggling to stay on her feet, Meg didn’t know, but she was thankful for his strong arms around her while she allowed herself to drift in thought, only half listening to the others talk.

  “I should really clean your hand, Meg. You may need stitches,” Sloan offered, hesitantly.

  Meg had washed her hand and rewrapped it with a fresh towel after her visit to the restroom. “Okay,” she sighed, unconcerned with her hand as her mind raced to think of something she was sure they forgot.

  Sloan unwrapped her hand and studied the torn flesh with the calculating eyes of a doctor before announcing, “Yes, you definitely need stitches. Do you want Evan to do it or are you okay with me?”

  Meg frowned at Sloan, unintentionally receiving an empath reading from her as she held Meg’s oozing hand in her gloved one.

  Sloan was worried. She was sure she’d be judged for knowing about the test children at the Facility, and doing nothing to help them before now. Meg could also read how exhausted she was.

  Before Meg could answer, Evan stepped up. “Thanks Sloan, I’ll take care of Meg. You go ahead and rest for a while. We may as well take turns at Mom’s side. I’ll take first watch.”

  “Are you sure?” the young doctor asked, though relief was clear in her tired voice.

  “Absolutely. Go find a quiet seat and rest. I’ll come get you in two hours, and we’ll trade places.” Evan offered the girl a tired smile, encouraging her to do as he suggested.

  Sloan nodded once, pursing her lips together in a tight smile before making her way back toward the front of the plane.

  Evan turned to gather some materials before moving back to his sister and started cleaning the cut in her hand with an antiseptic that stained her skin orange.

  “What’s on your mind?” he asked his sister in a soft voice.

  “Was it that obvious?” she sighed. “Sorry, a thought just occurred to me.”

  However tired Evan was, his doctor’s hands moved with skill and precision, always gentle, always efficient, as though they had their own energy reserve from the boy to which they belonged.

  “What thought?” Creed asked.

  “Well, what did Sloan think was going on at the hospital? She’s a smart girl. She must have known more than she acted on.” Meg watched the orange antiseptic seep into the deep cut still oozing blood with every movement of her hand. “And just now, when she touched my hand, I got the very distinct reading that she’s terrified of something.”

  “Of what?”

  “I didn’t have the stren…I mean I didn’t have enough time to delve deeper than the most obvious emotion she was feeling.”

  “You think Sloan was part of the machine that performed tests on the children there?” Creed was frowning, a worry line presse
d across his wide forehead.

  “I don’t know, but it would make sense that she would have at least knew of the testing. Don’t you think?”

  Creed was chewing the inside of his cheek, deep in thought.

  “Hey Meggie, I don’t have a local pain killer. Are you going to handle the stitches without it?” Evan was trying to focus on his task at hand, though his sister’s words worried him more than he would have thought they would.

  She swallowed hard. “How many stitches do you think I’ll need?”

  “You need at least six, maybe seven. I would offer you butterfly bandages if the gash were at a less movable location, but on the palm, yeah, you definitely need stitches here. I think I’ll opt for the simple interrupted suture technique.” Evan seemed to say the last part to himself as he turned to gather his curved needle holder and thumb forceps, surgical thread.

  Meg sighed deeply too tired to think. “Okay little brother. But if you’re upset at me about anything, you’d better not take it out on my raw hand, or I’ll just have to kick your butt.”

  Evan smiled at the touch of that feistiness usually such a big part of his sister’s personality.

  Having prepared completely, needle poised and ready, he glanced at Creed for moral support when he said, “Okay, you’ll feel a little pinch, Meg. Sorry. I’ll be as gentle and quick as I can be.”

  Meg curled up against Creed’s wide chest, still sitting in his lap. Her hand was resting on the tray table Evan had set up as a makeshift surgical table.

  His fingers worked carefully, but the pain of the needle piercing her already angry flesh was enough for her to see stars. Creed leaned over her, pressing his forehead to Meg’s wishing he could give her the strength for pain tolerance that seemed to come so naturally for him.

  “Almost done,” Evan breathed. Meg’s left hand was clenched into a white-knuckled grip, her jaw locked and eyes squeezed shut. Just as Evan was positioning the last stitch, the plane pitched violently.

  “Ahh!” Meg screamed as Evan’s fingers jabbed the curved needle in her deeply.

  The vibrations in the cabin persisted, worsening. Evan turned to check his mother, making sure nothing was going to fall on her or cause her to move.

  “Sorry, Meg,” Evan quickly yanked the needle from her hand and waited for a lull in the vibrations before he moved to make his one last stitch and closed with a knot so fast you’d think he was in a hog-tying competition that ended with the pig squealing on its back and both his hands up in the air showing the judges he was done!

  The vibrations started back up. Creed lifted Meg off his lap and set her in the seat beside him, reaching around her to grab the seat belt and fasten it. She was still holding her hurt hand to her chest, tears trickling from the corners of her eyes from the jabbing pain…literally.

  “Creed! What about Danny?” Meg’s dark eyes were wide with worry.

  He leaned to look down the aisle and saw Alik hurrying back and stopping in the row where the little boy was sleeping. The boys caught each other’s eyes and a guy-nod was exchanged.

  “Alik is with him. I’m staying with you.”

  Chapter 17 The Magic Penny

  Alik had just gotten settled into his seat when he felt the whole plane pitch and vibrate violently. The pudgy flight attendant went stumbling into a corner of the wall, whacking her head hard. Farrow was out of her seat in a flash, not concerned at all for personal safety, and grabbed the woman, shoving her into a passenger seat. Yanking the buckles together around the woman’s substantial middle, Farrow had her secured in place and pressing a cloth napkin on the gash in her forehead. Alik was impressed.

  Alik had moved to help, but Farrow had the stewardess completely under control, so he made his way back toward his family using the seat backs to steady himself as he walked up the aisle fighting the pitching and vibrations compliments of the turbulence they’d stumbled into. Knowing he was approaching the row in which the little boy was sleeping he scanned the seats with searching eyes.

  All he saw initially was the rough blanket hanging half off the seat and draped over a little lump. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Alik ducked to peek under the blanket. Sure enough, there was the little boy, his knees drawn up tightly to his quivering chin. His large blue eyes reflected sheer terror as he peeked up from the Sleeper Sleeve he hugged.

  Alik glanced to the back of the plane and caught Creed’s worried eyes. With a simple nod, they had silently agreed to take care of those they were with. Alik had no doubt Creed would take care of his family while he stopped to help the littlest member feel safe.

  Alik offered a soft smile just before another round of turbulence hit the plane. “This is a great idea, big man. Mind if I join you down here? It’s probably safer here than strapped into one of those chairs,” Alik nodded encouragingly. Without waiting for an answer, he squeezed himself onto the floor in the aisle just far enough away from the child so as not to make him feel trapped, but close enough for him to see Alik wasn’t going to leave him alone during the scary moments.

  Evan came running past Alik. “I’m going to see if I can help the pilots,” he called over his shoulder.

  Alik nodded at his little brother then looked back at Danny. “Don’t worry, kid. Evan is the problem solver in the family. He’ll get this plane to behave.” The little boy watched Alik carefully, but didn’t respond at all. It occurred to Alik that maybe he didn’t speak English. Glad he’d taken the time to learn German, he switched languages.

  “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” Alik asked if he spoke German.

  The little boy frowned slightly, but said nothing.

  Alik shrugged, showing it was fine if the little guy didn’t want to talk. He tried to think of something he could do to bring the little guy out of shell, when he noticed a penny lodged between the metal strip running the length of the aisle and the tacky paisley runner it held in place.

  With every ounce of showmanship he could muster, he made a big deal about looking surprised at the found coin and pulling it free. Without saying a word, he used his facial expressions to show off the coin to the little boy who watched him intently. He pretended to polish the coin and kept losing it in his hand only to find it in some unbelievable places like his pocket or under the seat and even behind the little boy’s ear.

  He continued to play games with the little fellow for the next ten minutes, long after the plane had stopped its scary pitching and jarring vibrations. With each trick, the little boy’s eyes widened in surprise. Alik was even graced with a few unguarded moments when Danny’s face lit up in a full-blown smile.

  Evan got to see this for himself as he moved to pass by with the injured flight attendant in tow. He shook his head, completely impressed with how naturally his brother took to children. “We should have smooth skies from here on out,” Evan said, watching his brother make the penny disappear. Reaching into his pocket, he snuck another penny out and pressed it into Alik’s hand in a practiced, lightning-fast exchange.

  “Great, Evan. Thanks for helping there,” Alik said winking up at his little brother’s offering of more entertainment ammunition.

  “No problem,” Evan nodded back. “I need to help the flight attendant with her injury and check on mom. You guys keep having fun,” he said even as he pushed the woman past Alik and back to the galley-way where Margo lay peacefully.

  Farrow had made her way over to watch from a distance. Her heart swelled in her chest watching Alik with the traumatized little boy. After a while, the toddler crawled closer, so he could search for the missing penny in Alik’s hands, his small, sticky fingers pulling Alik’s huge, thick ones open one at a time, concentration deep in his face as he really was trying to figure out where the missing penny went. Then Alik would reach around the little boy’s head and produce the coin from his neck or behind his knee or even from inside the Sleeper Sleeve.

  After one especially clever trick where Alik magically turned one penny into two, the little boy burst into the most beautifully
contagious laughter. Farrow and Alik couldn’t help but laugh, too.

  The two boys sitting on the floor of the airplane, and bonding over magic tricks, had drawn an audience and before the last trick was performed, Meg, Sloan, Farrow and Creed were watching in awe as the little guy had gone from terrified on the floor between the seats to curled up in Alik’s lap, relaxed and playing with a simple coin.

  “Alik, you’re really amazing with him,” Meg cooed softly at her brother, handing him the bottle of sports drink with a straw in place.

  “Nah,” Alik said smiling down at the small body squirming in his lap. “He’s the amazing one.”

  Without a word, Alik held the bottle up to the little boy. Danny cocked his head to the side before reaching out to take the straw between his lips and sipping once. He seemed to like the taste well enough, or recognized it to be what Meg had given him before, because after he swallowed the liquid, he ducked back down to take a few more deep draws on the straw.

  “That’s the way, big man. That will help you get your strength back.” Creed smiled over at the little boy who’d obviously won everyone’s heart.

  “Maybe you have an appetite now?” Meg asked, not expecting an answer.

  Danny looked up at Meg over the drink he was still sipping grasped in his hands. His eyes went wide and he nodded a few quick jerks of his head, blond curls fell into his big blue eyes adorably as he moved.

  Alik grinned widely, “Well, at least we know you understand English, kiddo.”

  “I’ll go fix something for you to eat, and be right back. Okay?” Meg smiled at the pink coming into the baby’s cheeks. He was already feeling better.

  After the gentle encouragement to respond, Danny seemed to blossom. He nodded again and offered a half smile.

  “Excellent,” Meg grinned back and stood from where she had been kneeling to head back to the galley, ready to move heaven and earth to find some food for the sweet little boy sitting in her brother’s lap.

  “Oh hey,” Meg stopped and turned back to the toddler curled in her brother’s wide lap. His large blue eyes looked up at Meg expectantly. Her first thought was an empath reading.