Page 4 of Incurably Cupid (Moonhaven Cove #5)

Chapter 4

Mesmer

“Love makes sacrifices.”

Cupid Inc. New Recruit Training Manual

T he anesthesia wore off in layers. First, I became aware of sound: machines beeped nearby, indistinct voices murmured in the distance, and a television blared further away. Then came smell—disinfectant, metal, plastic, chocolate, strawberries, iron, and Consort Mia’s light perfume. Finally, pain arrived. I shuddered as it overwhelmed all my senses at once. It was relentless, digging like sharp talons into my chest and back, tearing and ripping. Sweat broke out on my brow, and my stomach churned.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to retreat—to hide from the pain and sleep again. But I couldn’t. My lieges needed protection, and I would not abandon my post.

The rapid breaths sawing in and out of my lungs felt like fire. I held my breath for a moment, fighting to shove the pain down to a place deep within me. But my head was spinning, and I couldn’t focus enough to push it away.

I gritted my teeth. You will not win.

“Mes?” Consort Mia said. “You okay?”

Her hand touched my arm, but I couldn’t open my eyes yet. I was struggling to regain control. I could hear a monitor beeping frantically nearby, making my sensitive hearing ring and my aching head pound.

An irritated sigh sounded near me, and someone reached over my pain-locked body to push a button beside me. Liquid entered my veins, and the pain immediately began to soften enough for me to unclench my muscles. My breathing leveled off.

“Stop being the asinine macho guy who doesn’t show pain,” a female voice growled.

I almost laughed before I opened my eyes, already recognizing that voice. She’d used nearly the same tone when expressing her displeasure over Mia and Draven snuggling and kissing. I wondered what she had against what seemed to be a pleasant activity. I’d never experienced it myself, but it looked nice to snuggle on a couch with someone who loved you, holding them close to your double hearts.

Though she seemed grouchy and oddly uncomfortable around two people in love for a cupid, I was grateful for her because she was trying to find my mate.

She’d first appeared a little less than a year ago, silently observing me and trying to gauge where my mate might be. I had worried that the events of the past year would affect her, given all the assassination attempts, but I later learned that a cupid nestled in the ether was essentially untouchable. It shielded them while they did their jobs.

My cupid stood at the foot of my bed, her pink wings drooping, her clothing rumpled as if she’d slept in it. She looked exhausted, both in body and mind. Her face was unnaturally beautiful, even for a fae. I wondered if that was the reason for her grouchiness. If I were constantly being propositioned because of my looks, I would probably stab someone. I preferred my rugged, gargoyle handsomeness to the beauty that vampires, fae, and elves possessed.

I gently craned my head towards my lieges. Consort Mia had a hand resting on my arm. She was seated on King Draven’s lap and appeared to be in pain herself. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, her lips trembled, and her skin was alabaster pale. Much of her appearance was likely due to what had happened to me—Consort Mia and I were good friends, even though I worked for them—but some of it was probably a result of being in a hospital filled with paranormals in various states of pain, illness, and distress. I was surprised that King Draven had allowed her to come. A hospital was a terrible place for an empath.

I met the King’s gaze, and he dipped his head, relief washing over his expression. “Good to see you among the living. That was too close a call.”

“How close?”

“You went code blue several times,” the cupid said, picking up the remote for the TV, studying it, then setting it back down. I wondered absently whether the technology among the fae was more advanced than ours. I didn’t know many fae; they tended to stay isolated among their own kind. And since cupids were kissing cousins to the fae, they naturally shared technology and scientific advancements with one another.

I nodded gravely at my king. I’d known the instant it happened that I might not survive the experience. I think that was why I wanted my cupid with me. I knew my king and Consort Mia wouldn’t be able to leave the villa so soon after the assassination attempt. I suppose I wanted someone who knew me, however distantly, to be with me if I crossed the great barrier last night. It had comforted me.

Remembering my decision now made me wince. It had been incredibly selfish of me and probably made her wildly uncomfortable. I stared at her, taking in everything about her. I absorbed information and assessments of people nearly without thought or intent; by now, it came naturally.

“What is your name?”

“Indie Valentine.” Her gaze was direct, and despite her obvious fatigue, she rose to her full diminutive height and managed—since I was laid flat on my back—to look down at me as though she were a disapproving friend who thought my intelligence was lacking.

Indie.

It was a beautiful name. And Valentine, well, that was adorable considering she was a cupid. But the look on her face assured me I would die painfully if I mentioned that.

“You disapprove of my actions last night?” I asked it as a question, but I knew full well she did. I remembered flashes of her scolding me as she tried to keep me from bleeding out by using her shirt to apply pressure to my wounds.

She sighed. “Less disapproval and more resignation. It’s natural for you big, strong hero types to jump into the fray when things go sideways.”

“It is his job,” King Draven said, sounding amused.

“ And he did save us,” Consort Mia said, her voice strained.

My cupid nodded. “Then I suppose he did well. But for a few moments, I was worried that my hinge would get himself killed.”

“Your what?” I frowned. Had she said hinge?

She waved my question away. “Never mind.”

When she failed to elaborate, I smiled gently at her. “Thank you for being here with me. Feel free to go home at any time. You must be exhausted and have a million other things you’d rather be doing than being in a hospital with a gargoyle you hardly know.”

Indie frowned and glanced at Consort Mia and King Draven. “As to that...”

I nearly groaned at the looks they exchanged. It didn’t bode well for me returning home and getting back to work.

“Tell me.”

Consort Mia snorted in laughter that sounded like a hiccuping crackle, likely from the emotional overload she was experiencing. Her husband looked at her with concern and insisted she lean back against him for support, then he squeezed her gently. She looked up at him, tender love and trust shimmering in her eyes. I swallowed the emotions welling within me, keeping my stoic expression in place. I wanted to insist that Consort Mia return to the villa, but I couldn’t, as the villa probably wasn’t safe yet, depending on how long I’d been in surgery. The hospital was likely safer for her.

“I love how he tries to order us around,” Consort Mia said with a small smile.

“It’s a complicated employee/employer relationship. I try to accommodate his little quirks. He tends to get grouchy if I don’t,” King Draven replied, a sardonic twist to his lips.

Consort Mia laughed, sounding a bit less unhinged. “He’s bossy, but we love him, in other words.”

I scowled at both of them. “You should go home when the villa is clear, Consort Mia. A hospital is a terrible place for an empath, and you weren’t feeling well before you came.”

Consort Mia winced and closed her eyes. “It’s not... pleasant.”

“Please go home.”

King Draven kissed the top of his wife’s head and then fixed his steely gaze on me. “We will in a moment, after Mia has been checked out by a medical professional.”

“What? Why?” Consort Mia said, sitting up in surprise.

“Umm, because you passed out, that’s why,” Indie said.

Consort Mia sighed and leaned back against her husband’s chest. “People pass out all the time. I’ve just had the flu and haven’t eaten much. It’ll pass in a few days.”

King Draven gave his wife a look. She stared back at him stubbornly, and I almost laughed. When you guarded a family, you got to know them fairly well. I could honestly say the couple in front of me was perfect for each other. They balanced each other in ways that other couples rarely did, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have disagreements. Those disagreements usually involved Consort Mia not taking proper care of herself.

Consort Mia sighed in defeat, turning away from her husband’s worried, pleading expression. “Fine, I give in. I’ll see someone.”

King Draven kissed her nose, and I could see the tension in his body relax. Then he focused his intense gaze on me, which was a very different expression than the one he’d just given his wife. I nearly winced at the tremendous force of will behind that look. “As for you, Mia and I know that you won’t take the proper time to heal from your injuries with us still here in Moonhaven, so we’ve decided to go on vacation for two weeks. Sebastian Solace assures me he has the perfect cruise for us.”

Many protests sprang to my lips, but King Draven silenced them with a single lift of his eyebrow that dared me to contradict him. I valued living, so I kept my mouth shut. “Fortunately, gargoyles have accelerated healing. It was the only thing that saved you. Your doctor wants to keep you for another 24 hours; then he’ll release you into Miss Valentine’s tender care.”

Here, Indie snorted, and I fought back a smile.

King Draven ignored her. “She will do her best to ensure you stay down for 48 hours after that, and then in the following week, you will be confined to a fae wheelchair for getting around. After two weeks, you can walk around some, but not much. You will likely have a full recovery time of six to eight weeks until your doctor lifts all your restrictions.”

I understood his point; I really did, but I was needed at the villa to spearhead the investigation, and I couldn't abandon my post. I could read the investigation reports and direct my security daily from my bed. That’s what technology was for.

“Respectfully, my liege, I would like to remain at the villa and work from my bed.”

“You will not,” King Draven growled. “If you stay, you won’t rest.” He gently set his wife onto her feet and leaned over until his face was directly above mine. His eyes turned blood red, practically singeing my skin. “And if you think that I’m going to lose a man closer to me than a brother because of his own stubbornness, I would ask you to reflect again on who I am and the power I have at my disposal.”

Brother.

I swallowed the emotion clogging my throat and nodded, letting him know I felt the same.

Right. Moving on. “How long will I be in the ether with Indie?”

“Two weeks, and then you can come home, where you will be placed on light duty from your bed if you choose, but only for a few hours a day.”

I nodded, disappointed. I loved my work, and secretly, even though the rest of my team were all professionals and excellent at their jobs, I felt that I was the best at protecting the king and consort. What if something went horribly wrong and I wasn’t there to protect them? Despite my fears, I needed to accept that this was happening because King Draven would not yield. I recognized that expression on his face well.

King Draven’s eyes reverted to their normal brown, and he sat again, pulling his wife back onto his lap. “I’m only forcing this on you for two weeks because I know that if I leave you in the ether beyond that, you will escape and somehow find your way to the middle of the ocean and infiltrate my nice, happy cruise.” His raised eyebrows dared me to disagree, but I had no rebuttal. I would find a way. I had hundreds of resources across the globe that I could call on at a moment’s notice.

Consort Mia lifted a duffel bag high enough for me to see from my prone position. “I raided your home and packed some things for you.” She wrinkled her nose and made a face. “I think you need to add some color to your wardrobe. Everything you have is black.”

“Black makes sense, given my job and my duties,” I said, gently disagreeing with her. Truly, she looked terrible. I wondered if I could suggest she see a medical professional sooner rather than later. She was mostly human. What if something serious was happening to her frail, human body?

Consort Mia made a face of disagreement, then she and King Draven turned to each other and seemed to have a conversation that nobody else in the room could hear. Over the last several months, I’d noticed that their soul bond had solidified. I didn’t think they could communicate mind to mind as shifters could, but with Consort Mia being an empath and their strong connection through the bond, they seemed to come very close to that.

King Draven nodded at Consort Mia, then turned back to me. “We’ll have our own personal security, and Sebastian has promised us some of his security as well. Your second-in-command is in charge of the villa and the investigation into the assassin.”

He sounded weary of being shot at, and I didn’t blame him. It was an unfortunate side effect of his rise to power. We’d thwarted more assassins in the last several months than in my entire career combined.

“Dante will do a good job, Your Highness,” I assured him reluctantly. There was a very good reason he was my second-in-command. He was as sharp as a sword and had excellent instincts.

Consort Mia hissed, rubbing her temples, an obvious migraine building. Her husband rubbed her back and looked ready to demand she lie in a hospital bed next to me but managed to remain silent.

“I have told you countless times to call me Mia. And Draven has asked you to call him by his name as well. If you do not call me by my name the next time you speak to me, I will find new and inventive ways to torture you,” she snarled at me, still rubbing her temples vigorously. When she opened her eyes, she glared at me.

Indie chuckled. She was looking out the hospital window, trying to give us at least the appearance of privacy. “Stubborn,” she said to absolutely no one. “Called it.”

A nurse came in to check on me, taking my vitals, and everyone stopped speaking, allowing her to do her job. “Looks good,” she said. “We’re glad to see you awake.” She checked something else and noted it on a computer attached to a rolling cart loaded with supplies. She then checked the bandages on my chest, first having me roll onto my side so she could examine my back. My chest was bare except for the white medical gauze and tape. Gargoyles had no hair on their chests, so at least they hadn’t had to shave me before surgery, which I considered a blessing.

She lingered for several long minutes, particularly inspecting my chest wounds, her fingers pulling up the gauze, lingering, then re-taping. After she was done, her fingers kept lightly stroking my chest as she gazed down at me, and I began to feel uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the nurse’s arm was seized in an iron grip and yanked away from my chest. “If you touch him one more time in a non-medical way like that, without his express permission, I will make you regret it,” Indie snarled.

The nurse’s face turned crimson, and she backed away from me and Indie, then hurried off, dragging her rolling cart behind her.

Indie was suddenly hovering over me, fire shooting from her blue eyes. “Why does it not occur to you that they are flirting with you and taking advantage of your niceness?” Her voice rose to a near growl-yell. “No one can be this oblivious!”

Consort Mia snickered, and King Draven suspiciously cleared his throat.

But my cupid was apparently not finished. She moved in closer to my face, and I wanted to back away but could go no further because of the confines of my pillows and the hard hospital bed. “Don’t let people touch you without your permission.”

I nodded immediately, my eyes wide. Agreement seemed the healthiest option for me at the moment.

“Yes, Ma’am,” I said. I nearly saluted but felt that might be detrimental to my continued well-being.