Dark Princess: Shadows (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance #89)

31. Brandon

31

brANDON

" I need you to step out," Bridget told Brandon in her usual no-nonsense tone. "I have to perform a few cognitive tests on Morelle." She pulled out a teardrop just like his from her pocket and activated it.

Reluctantly, Brandon released Morelle's hand, his body and soul both protesting the necessity to step away from her. "I'll be right outside," he promised, trying to catch her eye one last time, but Bridget was already positioning herself between them.

"Go," the doctor commanded. "I'll call you back when I'm done."

Forcing himself to walk away from her, Brandon cast one last glance over his shoulder.

Morelle's eyes were still open, still as mesmerizing as the moment she'd first looked at him, and they were trained on him. Her gaze was so intense, so aware, that he had no doubt she'd heard him during all those long hours he had been talking to her and that she had understood everything.

As he opened the door, Gertrude was there, grinning happily. "This is a good day."

"It is." He let her slip by him. "Take good care of her."

"Of course." The nurse closed the door behind her.

Brandon sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room, but he was too restless to remain seated, so he got up and started pacing from one end of the room to the other. Excitement and worry were mixing together to create a volatile compound in his gut that could only be quieted when he returned to Morelle's side.

Those eyes. Dear Fates, he hadn't expected them to be quite so striking. The instant they'd met his, he'd felt like Morelle could see straight into his soul. There had been recognition there, understanding, and something else he couldn't quite define.

Curiosity? Determination? Courage?

Had she retained some of her memories from life on Anumati, or had she lost them all like her brother had?

Ell-rom.

No one had told him that Morelle was awake, or he would be out of Jasmine's room and demanding to see his sister.

Brandon knocked on the door, trying not to make it sound too urgent and scare the prince.

After a moment, the door opened. "What is it?" Ell-rom asked.

Brandon couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Morelle woke up, Ell-rom. She opened her eyes and looked right at me. Bridget and Gertrude are with her, conducting some tests or examinations, so they kicked me out, and it has just occurred to me that no one has told you…"

Before he could finish the sentence, Ell-rom stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him in a fierce embrace, a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob escaping the prince's throat.

"Thank the Mother of All Life, and thank you," he half sobbed, half whispered. "You brought her back to me."

Getting over the initial awkwardness, Brandon returned the hug just as tightly and clapped Ell-rom on his back. They were virtual strangers, but they were bound by their care for Morelle.

"I just talked," Brandon said, his voice thick with emotion. "Morelle is a fighter. She found her own way back."

Ell-rom pulled back just enough to look at him, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "She was revived from stasis weeks ago, and there was no change in her condition until you started your vigil and refused to leave her side." He chuckled. "I think that your instant infatuation with my sister is a little odd, but I welcome it. Perhaps the Mother of All Life used you as a tool to revive my sister."

Brandon nodded even though he did not believe in the Kra-ell's harsh deity, and he didn't like being called a tool, but he wasn't going to get upset about something an emotional alien prince had said. Perhaps his meaning had been lost in translation.

"Maybe it was the Fates," Ell-rom added. "They must have known that my sister needed a storyteller to help her find her way back to the world of the living."

As the door to Morelle's room opened and Gertrude stepped out, he and Ell-rom turned to her expectantly, still half-embracing.

"She's doing remarkably well," the nurse said, smiling at their emotional display. "The doctor says that you can come back in now." She glanced at Ell-rom. "I'll pretend that Bridget meant that both of you can come in. Just remember that Morelle is still very weak and confused. Don't overwhelm her."

Brandon and Ell-rom exchanged glances, sharing a moment before stepping apart. They were both aware of the shift between them. No longer just mere acquaintances, they had become entangled by their feelings for Morelle.