Page 76 of A Valiant Prince

“Hi, Logan. I’m Dr. Lasson. I think we met before. I’m going to examine you, and then Nurse Hilda will get you some water. Try not to speak yet. We had to intubate you when you arrived, so your throat is going to be sore,” the doctor explains as he begins to check me over. After a thorough checking, he hands me water. “Slow sips,” he urges.

I take a sip, and it’s like heaven. The liquid is cool and takes away some of the stinging in my throat.

“How’s that?” he asks.

“Good,” I barely croak.

“It’ll take a few days for your voice to get back to normal. Try whispering until then. Do you remember what happened?” he asks me. I look around the room. Everyone looks so worried.

“Yes,” I whisper.

“You were lucky. The bullet didn’t hit your heart. We did have to do some artery work, but you’re fortunate because your Uncle Sten was a perfect match to donate blood for you,” he says. “You lost quite a bit of blood. We managed to repair all the internal damage. You’ll have a nice scar there, but after a few weeks of physical therapy, I think you’ll be as good as new.”

“Thank you,” I murmur. He nods.

“Well, if you need anything, you just press that call button,” he urges me. I nod as he turns with Nurse Hilda and heads out, leaving me alone with everyone.

“What happened?” I ask no one in particular, looking from person to person.

My father sits down on the edge of my bed. “What do you remember?” he asks me.

“Hans was on the roof. He had a gun. Anna was cornered. I went to block her from him. I remember hearing a gun go off, and then another shot…I don’t remember anything after that,” I say as I try to remember, but nothing comes to mind.

“Hans fired the gun. Pete came through the door and fired at Hans. He was able to radio for help immediately. You probably would have bled out if you hadn’t been at the hospital already,” my father explains with a pained look on his face. He reaches out and puts his hand on mine.

“Hans?” I ask.

My father shakes his head. “It was a kill shot,” my father says.

I feel a splash on my other hand and look over to see tears streaking down Anna’s face. I reach up and brush them away.

“I-it’s my f-fault,” she stammers as she lets the tears fall down her cheeks. “I should have stayed put in Lara’s room. I shouldn’t have gone after him. I’m so sorry, Logan,” she says. King Michael puts a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

“This is not your fault, sweet pea,” her father says.

“I agree with your father,” I say to her.

“What day is it?” I ask, realizing that I have no idea how long I’ve been unconscious.

“It’s Thursday. It’s been three days,” my father says.

“Lara?” I ask.

“She’s breathing on her own and continuing to show signs of improvement. She’s fighting to regain full consciousness. The doctors are hopeful that she’ll regain it in the coming days. She’s opened her eyes and moved her limbs on command. She’s struggled with speaking though, but we’ll see how she progresses in the coming day,” King Michael explains.

“Does she know?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “We haven’t told her yet,” he says, his voice laced with pain. I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to explain to my sibling that their husband had been shot and killed and was responsible for trying to kill their whole family.

Slowly, the events of that day start to come back to me as we talk. “The palace? Hans said there was a bomb or something,” I say, remembering Hans’s words on the roof.

“Jack was able to call in a bomb squad. It was dismantled just in time. No one was injured,” King Michael says.

“The others?” I ask.

My father puts a hand on my shoulder. “Everything is fine. The others involved were arrested. Anna shared all of her findings with Jack, who worked with her to find a few more players in this plot. Various staff and security members, who have all been arrested and charged with treason and attempted murder, among other things,” my father says.

“It’s who we thought it was. Victor was the one who moved my computer but he heard me coming and didn’t get another chance to get it,” Anna adds quietly, affirming our suspicions of Marcus, Gregor, and Victor.

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