Page 53 of Tragic Empire

ChapterEighteen

Ana

My heart is racing so fast, like a high-powered drum pounding in my chest. My trainers slap against the cement tile floors, my steps echoing through the secret hospital’s walls. Several guards send cautious looks my way but I ignore them all, rushing to the room where my stepbrother is meant to be.

Cassio tries to get me to slow down—there’s no need to hurry, he insists. But there is. I need to see this with my own two eyes. I can’t believe the news that Killian is out of his coma until I see him. I can feel my husband following behind me, and though he makes no move to stop me, he doesn’t match my pace either.

His words from nearly twenty minutes ago ring in my head on a loop.Killian is awake.

Killian is awake.

Killian.

Is.

Awake.

When we pulled into the secret facility’s parking lot, I jumped out of the car so fast that I almost forgot to ask where to go. Cassio indulged me by giving me quick directions and escorting me from behind. I didn’t even bother to take in the sunset, or the fresh air around us. I’d been cooped up in the penthouse for the entire month, and still held no interest in the outdoors. It felt entirely unimportant, as my mind was on one thing alone.

Hell, the entire car ride here was a messy blur.

I nearly trip over my own feet as I swing into the proper room. My eyes snap to the medical bed and the biggest wave of relief hits me like lightning. There he is, sitting up with his eyes open—rather than lying down unconscious and bleeding like last time I saw him. Emotion consumes me and my eyes pool with tears. Tears of joy, for a change.

A sob bursts from my lips.“Oh thank God.”

My brother is alive. The coma didn’t kill him.

He fought through his injuries and he resisted the sweet call of death. I practically fling myself across the room, barreling right into the man’s bed. He grunts as we slam together, my arms surrounding his shoulders, fingers digging into the skin of his neck.

“Fuck, Ana,” he hisses in pain. He doesn’t push me away though, he grabs me in return, holding me in a tight embrace. “You didn’t want to take it easy on me, did you?”

“I t-thought you’d n-never wake up,” I confess in a cry. “I h-hoped but?—”

“Hey now, love,” he mumbles softly. “Don’t get so worked up, your old man over there is glaring daggers at me. You’re supposed to be keeping your stress in check.”

Stunned, I pull back to look at him. Up close, I notice how sunken in his eyes are, despite the amused sparkle they currently hold. He’s very obviously still weak from recovery, and throwing myself against him was probably not the smartest move on my part.

“How do you know—” I cut myself off, sputtering.How does he know I’m married to Cassio? How does he know about my stress?

“What?” Killian asks, lips quirking. “You didn’t think your husband would explain himself to me? He chatted my ear off more than once while I was knocked out. Apparently the rumors are true, some brains don’t turn off when your body does.”

“I knew you could hear me,” Cassio says, folding his arms as he leans a shoulder against the doorway. “I swear your fist twitched when I said I was your brother-in-law now.”

“You visited him?” I ask, throat clogging with emotion. “And spoke with him?”

Cassio shrugs, but his soft gaze isn’t nonchalant. “The doctors said it could help. Spent a few hours a week here, but didn’t want to be away from you for much longer.”

“Ouch,” Killian drawls, sarcasm dripping from the word. “A decade long friendship, thwarted by an arranged marriage. Some best mate you are, I’m putting in a complaint.”

Decade long friendship?

Best mate?

Cassio and Killian are friends?

“Complaint denied,” Cassio replies with an eye roll. “I’ve been dealing with the children you call soldiers for weeks on end. I’ve been thoroughly punished enough, thank you.”

“Oh?” Killian hikes a brow. “Has my time in a coma after nearly bleeding to death been difficult for you? You poor thing.”