Page 20 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Seventeen

Sabryn was there. Beside him. Kurt peeled his heavy eyes open and scanned around him to see her. A bellow rose in his chest when he saw only an empty room. He tried to rise but was immediately halted by stabbing pain.

“ Be at ease,” said a deep, Irish voice.

Balladyn appeared beside him, gently pushing him back onto the bed.

It was then Kurt heard the incessant beeping.

He looked over at the monitor and then took in the room as a whole.

Gingerly , he touched his left side and winced from the small movement.

He remembered the sidewalk, Edie , and the explosion.

And that Parker had attempted to end his life.

“ I can’t stay here.” Kurt winced at his dry mouth and the sound of his broken voice.

Balladyn quirked a brow, his red-ringed silver eyes gazing down at him peevishly. “ Do you not believe I can protect you?”

“ Need to find Parker .” Fuck , it hurt to talk. His throat was raw and scratchy, making the simple act of forming words laborious.

The Reaper’s brow rose even higher. “ In your condition? That would be folly.” He held a cup with a straw in it to Kurt’s mouth. “ Drink . You sound awful.”

Kurt gratefully sipped the cool water and let it soothe his parched throat. “ Was Sabryn here? I thought I heard her voice.”

“ She was.”

Two words, but the silence that came after was worse. It allowed him to imagine all kinds of ghastly things. He braced himself and asked, “ What happened?”

“ She got a call. I could tell by her tone that it wasn’t from someone in our group. I followed and heard her speaking to your brother.”

Kurt pushed himself up, regretting it immediately. Agony cut through him as sweat broke out on his forehead. Balladyn caught him when he began tipping sideways. The Reaper raised the top of the bed so Kurt had something to rest against. All of that sapped what little energy he had.

“ Where is she?” he asked.

“ Gone . I don’t know what Parker told her, but she was distressed. I got Carlyle , Song , and Finn , and they took her to the manor.”

“ Distressed ?” Kurt repeated softly, trepidation tightening his stomach. “ What did he say?”

Balladyn hesitated, his eyes troubled. “ He told her why you two went to DC .”

Kurt’s worst fears came crashing down around him.

He gripped the bed as the room spun wildly.

Dimly , he heard Balladyn talking, but none of the words registered.

He had to get to Sabryn . If he didn’t tell his side of the story, she would never speak to him again.

She still might not. But she needed to know.

He’d wasted too much time fearing what might happen and had given Parker the ammunition he needed to drive a permanent wedge between him and Sabryn .

Everything became crystal-clear then. Kurt knew exactly what he had to do.

He buried the pain and pulled off the oxygen tube before ripping the IV from his arm.

Nurses came running into the room almost immediately.

He tossed aside the covers and saw that Balladyn had veiled himself.

Or maybe he had left. At this point, Kurt didn’t care.

He had something to deal with and getting out of the hospital was the first step.

“ What are you doing?” a male asked.

Kurt put his bare feet on the cold floor and stood. To his surprise, his legs held him better than expected. “ Leaving .”

“ You can’t,” a middle-aged woman stated as she approached.

Kurt snorted as he tried to find the ties to his hospital gown to close it over his nudity. “ You can’t stop me.”

She took the edges of the gown from him and snapped it closed, her face tight. “ You’re right. We can’t stop you, but you need to sign a waiver before you leave.”

“ Then you’d better get it to me because I’m walking out now.”

“ Walking ?” the younger male nurse asked with a frown.

Kurt met his gaze. “ Walking .”

The woman turned on her heel and strode out, telling her male counterpart, “ Keep him here until I get back.”

“ There’s no’ much left of your clothing, mate,” the man said.

Kurt shrugged, instantly regretting it as a wave of nausea assaulted him. “ I don’t care.”

“ Let me get you some socks, at least.”

Kurt hugged his left arm to his injured side and looked longingly at the bed. His legs trembled like he had run miles. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and noticed his shallow breathing.

“ Why no’ let me put these on for you?”

Kurt blinked and found the man standing before him again. He nodded because that seemed the acceptable response.

“ Here ,” he said, taking Kurt by the arm and gently turning him toward a chair. “ Bend your knees while I help guide you into the seat.”

Sitting . Yes , that’s exactly what he needed. The moment Kurt gave his legs permission to bend, there was no controlling himself. If the nurse hadn’t been there, he would’ve fallen hard.

“ Leaving is a really bad idea,” the man said with a shake of his head as he kneeled before Kurt and put on the socks. “ You only recently got out of surgery. You need rest.”

“ I’ll get it.”

His body was a contrast. He was sweating, but his feet and hands were cold. The socks warmed his feet, but…

The nurse stood as the female rushed in with a stack of paper. Kurt somehow managed to sign them all, though the signature looked nothing like his.

The woman sighed in exasperation. “ This goes against the doctor and hospital. Why not wait for Dr . Dunn to come by?”

“ No , thank you,” Kurt replied, fighting another wave of nausea.

He tried to stand, only to have the male grab his arm and turn him toward the wheelchair.

Kurt was more than happy to let them wheel him out the front of the hospital.

The overhead lights blinded him the moment they pushed him out of the room.

He shut his eyes against the piercing light and kept them that way until they were inside the lift.

His thoughts centered on Sabryn and the anguish—and anger—she likely felt.

There were a million ways he could’ve told her the truth.

He could’ve written a letter, phoned, or texted.

But he had wanted to say it to her. Only now, he could admit that he’d made that plan because his subconscious knew he’d never go through with it.

The lift doors opened, and they wheeled him out of the hospital’s sliding doors. The midday sun was hidden behind clouds as birds sang loudly. Expression grim, the female halted, locked the brakes on the chair, and then folded up the footrests.

She looked at him and then handed Kurt a small see-through plastic bag. “ Your wallet, mobile, and keys. And might I just say you don’t look well enough to stand?”

“ Thank you,” Kurt said, taking the bag.

“ I can wait until your ride gets here.”

Kurt put his hands on the arms of the chair and scooted to the edge of the seat before pushing himself into a standing position. He couldn’t straighten, but he was on his feet. “ No need.”

The nurse turned at the sound of someone behind him. A hand gripped Kurt’s shoulder, and the hospital vanished, replaced by Rhona and Balladyn’s cottage. He turned his head to see Balladyn .

“ Couch or bed?” the Reaper asked.

Kurt didn’t relish attempting to get up and down in either. “ Chair .”

Balladyn nodded and helped him over to Rhona’s favorite chair. “ I’ll return shortly with a Healer .”

“ There isn’t time. I need to find Sabryn .”

Balladyn’s staid expression didn’t change. “ You didn’t kill Sabryn’s father.”

“ I didn’t stop it either.”

“ That’s not what you told us.”

Kurt shifted to try to take some pressure off his left side. “ I wasn’t successful. That’s not stopping it.”

“ But you tried . You’ll have a chance to tell Sabryn your side of the story. After you’re healed.”

Kurt wiped more sweat from his forehead. “ Take me to the manor. I’ve waited long enough . She’s waited long enough.”

“ I can’t bring you looking like this,” he stated, moving his hand up and down to indicate Kurt . “ You’re getting paler by the moment.”

“ I’m surprised you didn’t side with the nurses and make me stay.”

Balladyn walked into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. “ Why would I do that? You gave me the perfect excuse to leave. Now , the Healers can do their jobs.”

Kurt wrapped his fingers around the glass, but he needed both hands to steady it and bring it to his lips. All the while, Balladyn watched him.

“ You always seemed like an intelligent man,” Balladyn said.

Kurt snorted a laugh and lowered the glass, not even bothering to try to set it on the table for fear of dropping it. Bloody hell, he was weak. “ A backhanded compliment?”

“ A smart man would get healed to face his enemies.”

“ I’ll face them.”

Balladyn’s expression said what he thought of that. “ Take the healing now. If you don’t, Sabryn will get to Parker while you’re…recuperating,” he said distastefully.

Kurt leaned his head back against the cushion. “ My brother isn’t who I’m concerned about. Sabryn will likely get to him first no matter what, and if that happens, Diana will send everything she has after Sabryn .”

“ You’re going after your mother?”

“ It’s the only way to stop this.”

Doubt filled the Reaper’s face. “ You really don’t believe your brother came after you on his own?”

“ Parker doesn’t go to the bathroom unless Diana tells him to.”

“ All the more reason for you to get healed. You’ll need to be strong to face whichever of your enemies you confront.”

Kurt gave him a sad smile. “ Once everyone learns the truth, no one will want to heal me.”

Balladyn crossed his arms over his chest. “ The truth, Druid , is that Rhona is in charge.”

“ She can’t force a Healer to use their magic.”

“ We’ll see about that. Sit tight. I’ll be back.”

The Reaper vanished in the next heartbeat.

Kurt closed his eyes, no longer trying to hide his pain.

Sitting was excruciating, but the mere thought of trying to move made his stomach turn.

If he’d just had surgery, then there were still painkillers in his bloodstream.

If it was this bad now, how much worse would it be when they wore off?

He knew Balladyn hadn’t brought him to the manor because of Sabryn , and Kurt wasn’t angry about it.

The Reaper was protecting his friends. It proved again that Kurt was never meant to do more than peer into this world from the sidelines.

He hadn’t fought with the Knights , eaten with them, bonded with them.

He’d kept himself separate, a wall between him and everyone else.

After so many years of hiding in a room of monitors, he didn’t know how to be a part of something.

Maybe he was never supposed to. He had been at his best masquerading as Saber , aiding the Knights to keep them safe while giving them whatever advantage he could.

He might have been raised to mingle with the nobility, but he had found solace in cutting himself off from the world.

Not everyone should be out among the masses, and he was proof of that.

Diana had gone too far this time. She always went too far, but Kurt had made excuses for her in the past. No more.

He hadn’t targeted their family in any way.

Why would she come after him now? There had to be some kind of connection between Carlyle and Song’s recent trip to London and Diana sending Parker after him.

Kurt groaned when he realized he needed to empty his bladder. He began the slow and painful process of getting to his feet. Once he stood, he used anything he could touch to help him stay upright. Step by measured step, he made it to the bathroom. Then , he began the arduous trip back.

He paused in the kitchen with his hands on the back of the chair to rest. Sweat dripped down his face, and he regretted not staying in the bathroom. He thought about pulling out the chair when his legs started trembling again, but he needed to lie down.

Something wet rolled down his side and onto his leg. He looked down at his wound and saw that blood had soaked through the gauze and into the gown. He attempted to pull out the chair when his legs went out from under him.