Page 75 of Prince of Tides
“She’s back on Earth,” Suh said unhappily. “Gisele took her. She was sick. Violently.”
“Sick? How?”
“Her stomach,” Suh said. “I don’t know any more, sir. I’m sorry.”
“Man the forts, double the guard until I return,” I said, easing away from Suh. “Do whatever you have to do.”
“You’re going to Earthnow?” Suh asked as I spread my wings.
“Absolutely! I must.”
And not just for Laurie, though I wish I could say it were so.
Whatever else Suh said, it was lost in the flap of my wings as I surged forward across the bay, gaining speed before lifting into the air and winging away toward Mount Drakonus and Earth.
Where I had to find Laurie and bring her back as soon as I could.
I was crazy for her, and there was no doubt in my mind that she wastheone for me. Nobody else could replace her. But I had to bring her back and hope she saw the same in me.
We would have to go before the God-King and gain his blessing as a mated couple, soon.
Because time was running out for me to take up the Trident of the Seas and protect my people.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Rip
Ipulled into the hospital parking lot with a screech of tires and the smell of burnt rubber. I didn’t care about such niceties, nor did I bother to turn off my car—which I only realized later. My mind was elsewhere.
Laurie.
She was sick to the point of needing hospitalization. My fear for her well-being had grown with every minute, as had my guilt. My mate was ill and scared, and I wasn’t there for her.
Hatred for the ancient enemy followed. It was their fault I hadn’t been there. Duty came before personal feelings sometimes, as much as I loathed it, and my people had needed me. My people. They truly were becoming that, in spirit and name, the longer I went without my father around. Fewer references to him and more comments about me. It was only natural, I supposed, but it still felt weird.
I wonder, is this what he went through? Did my father suffer from the same feelings of inadequacy? That he might not be good enough to do the job our people deserve from us?
It was hard to imagine. My father had been a stalwart dragon of the old school. Tough, gruff, and with a heart of gold if you got past the exterior. He had kept our people and the other clans safe for a century. Every time he’d gone out to battle, he had come back. Without fail.
I swear I will do my best to do the same to you, Laurie. I will not abandon you.
The flashing lights didn’t catch my attention as I walked to the emergency department, where I assumed they would have taken her. That was three days ago, but I didn’t know where else to go.
It was a nice entrance, with large plants lining a raised stone wall to the left and benches for sitting in front. Off to my right, underneath large leafy trees, a fountain burbled away happily as if in defiance of all that occurred inside the walls.
“Sir,” a uniformed police officer said, moving to intercept me as I strode toward the wide sliding doors. “I’m going to need you to state your purpose here.”
I turned and glared at him, a growl rumbling so deep in my chest it sounded like a lion’s roar. The sound was almost too low for human ears to pick up, and I saw his eyes go wide in panic at the response it evoked in him.
“Out of my way,” I said. “My mate is in there, and she needs me.”
Despite his initial fears, the officer was made of sterner stuff than that. He reached a hand down to his side as he backed toward the door to keep pace with me, his hand coming up as if that could stop me.
“Sir,” he said more forcefully, “I’m going to need you to stop right now.”
More officers were moving my way.
“What is going on here?” I snarled. “Why are you stopping me from going inside?”
