Accepting the tube, I figured it couldn’t be any worse than other things I’d eaten over the years. Besides, I had to gain weight. It was what it was. I took a sip, and thanked god Seth had tasted the other two first. This one was horrible, the texture slimy and chunky at the same time. I forced myself to drink it all, the mixture landing heavily in my stomach.
When it was empty, I swallowed convulsively.
“Excellent,” he said, putting the tube in a chute on the wall. “You will need to drink three of these a day in addition to your regular meals.”
“The tubes?” I asked, lifting my arm.
“Will remain.” He crossed his arms. “You need vitamins and you have to stay hydrated.”
“Fine.”
Klars gave me a smile before wandering to a monitor on the wall. An old woman—seemingly human—though blue in color, appeared on the screen. Her tower of curls bobbed and her multiple chins jiggled as they talked. The conversation was too low for me to hear all of it, but it sounded nutritional, probably devising more shakes for me.
“Are you alright?” Fyn asked.
“Yeah.”
Fyn looked at his brother who was curled against me. “It’s good Klars has a plan in place to help you before Serlotminden awakens. He’ll worry less.”
I chuckled, combing my fingers through his hair. “My Mindy does love to worry about me.”
“It is a Drakcon quality. We care for our mates.”
Mindy did indeed take care of me. His injuries were a testament to how much. He’d gotten hurt protecting me. “Now it’s my turn to take care of him.”
Chapter 38
Stay with me.
Mindy still hadn’t awoken, and it was starting to worry me as well as his brothers. It wasn’t just his unconscious state, though. The blood inducer was no longer working. Dr. Muznim had said she was doing everything possible, but I wanted to yell at her, though I refrained. It wasn’t her fault. It was mine. Mindy wouldn’t blame me if he was awake—I knew that. He’d laugh it off and say it was his responsibility to take care of me. However, the guilt remained.
His brothers had started donating, because apparently, real blood versus synthetic was better. Dontilvynsan and Zoltilvoxfyn were matches, though what those matches were I didn’t know or care. As long as it worked.
No matter what the doctors said, I’d refused to move from his side. I’d learned fairly quickly that the drakcol catered to us humans. Seth had merely to say something, and people literally jumped to follow, tripping over themselves to help him first. It was similar for me, though drakcol didn’t cater to me as they did Seth.
Caleb wasn’t treated the same, which made me feel bad for him. He was human and not.
But knowing how much the drakcol catered to us, I was positive they wouldn’t force me from Mindy’s side. Besides, Seth had ordered all the doctors to leave me be, and that was that apparently.
Caleb had been right about the drakcol loving Seth.
With Seth watching Pookie, I didn’t have to leave, though he didn’t like taking care of her. Yesterday, he’d almost been in tears when he came into the medbay. Pookie had ambushed him in Mindy’s room. She’d been playing, but it freaked him out.
Thankfully, Caleb had found it hilarious and agreed to feed her today.
We’d left Planet 62’s orbit and were traveling to Xome. The Cohort had agreed to pay for the humans’ return. Don was entering into negotiation for them before we even reached the planet. Soon Vince would be here, and I wanted him to meet Mindy. He’d tease me, incessantly, about how quickly I’d fallen for Serlotminden, and I was looking forward to them becoming friends.
If Mindy would wake up.
Kal, who was beside us, probably felt the same.
I smoothed a hand over Mindy’s cheek, relishing his warmth. “Time to wake up, Honey. You have to meet Vince soon, and I want to see your gorgeous eyes.”
He didn’t react.
I was unsurprised.
Muznim came toward Mindy with a needle, and I tensed, tugging him closer. “What is that?”
