Warrior of Fire
Page 22
Probably not. The headline would probably read: Out of Control playboy’s final joyride.
He’d survived the unsurvivable. Screw them all. He’d have fun proving them wrong once again. The ambulance stopped and he sighed. He hated hospitals.
* * * *
After three days Finley was bored. The bruising to his back and spine was going. According to the doctors he was healing very well. He’d slowed down the amount of magic he was using so that it didn’t look miraculous. He was up and walking and ever so glad that the car was a real race car complete with all the safety bits, a street car would’ve never survived. He’d already seen the news reports about his brush with death.
It had all been caught on camera, of course. However, it was very unsettling to see the car disintegrate around him on impact.
The accident had felt slower when it was happening. If he looked closely at the footage on the news, or the web as it was everywhere, he could make out the air shield. There was a slight ripple, and anyone who knew what they were looking for would see it.
He should’ve done a better job with the magic, then the car would’ve survived and he wouldn’t be here, although that would’ve raised some eyebrows. He stretched as he got of the bed. Why they made hospital beds so uncomfortable he didn’t know. But if he stayed in one position too long his back ached.
Must be time for another little walk—he wasn’t supposed to be overdoing it.
He shoved a cap onto hide his hair as he could do without being recognized. He didn’t really be wanting to be smiling at people when all he wanted to do was get released so he could finish recovering at home, and get back to filming next week. They’d be doing all the bits they could without him. He’d put money down that he wouldn’t be allowed to drive again.
What no one had given him yet was an answer on what had gone wrong with the car. Not that there was much car to analyze.
He shuffled toward the door of his room trying to find the usual spring to his step, but his hamstrings were still hurting. What he needed was a swim, a stretch and a massage. He needed to be moving not lying around.
Keep moving.
The cafeteria was three floors down and while he could’ve ordered anything he wanted to his room the whole point was to get up and get out of that little bland box. There was only so much TV he could watch.
A nurse smiled as he walked by. “Can I get you anything?”
“Just taking my morning stroll like the doctor ordered.” The doc had told him to slow down, but he didn’t know the difference between a human and an Albah so Finley wasn’t putting too much weight in his recommendation. He’d called his half-brother though. Julian had asked to see his charts and scans and then told him he was lucky, he wasn’t sure any amount of magic could fix a severed spinal cord. Good thing it wasn’t severed, just bruised. He was an expert in reducing swelling and bruising, but that was about as far as his healing skills went. Julian could heal burns and fix bones and bullet wounds too now. He was a real doctor.
Because he’d spoken to Julian he was sure that their father was now aware of the details of his injury. Finley hadn’t called his father yet. He wasn’t well enough for that. Some bruises he couldn’t heal.
Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle. He felt a hundred. Not thirty-six.
Hopefully they wouldn’t kill his character off, although if they ever decided too he’d given them some excellent footage. The thought made him smile as he stabbed the elevator button.
Could he be bothered heading to the cafeteria?
He glanced back toward his room and his skin crawled at the idea of going back so soon. He’d made the effort to get up and get dressed and he was going to buy himself a coffee. His hand slid to his pocket. He hadn’t forgotten his wallet.
The doors opened and he got in. He leaned against the wall as the elevator made its way down to the next floor. A few of people got in. Two in scrubs, and a woman with bright red hair who was holding her arm across her body. Her gaze flicked over him finishing on his face. He should look away, but couldn’t, so he smiled.
Her lips turned up. “What are you in for?”
Truth or lie? “Car accident.”
She nodded. The elevator stopped and the two nurses got out. No one else got in. The elevator trundled its way toward the next floor and the cafeteria.
“You?” He asked mostly to be polite. She was pretty, but he was in no shape to be doing anything more than wash down painkillers. This walk to get coffee might’ve been ambitious.
“Broken arm…waiting to see the doctor this afternoon and then I get a cast.”
“So how come you are escaping?”
“I’m need of cake.” She said as if it were the most logical thing. Who he was he to judge?
“Coffee.” He sighed as the doors opened and he realized there was still a long walk to the cafeteria. “I should’ve ordered room service.”
She offered him her good arm. “Come on.”
He should go back to his room, but his pride wouldn’t let him. He gritted his teeth and smiled.
“I’m Alina.”
“Finely.” Now she’d know him. She didn’t break step. Maybe she didn’t know him. He relaxed a little. “So how did you break your arm?”
“Ice skating. Triple axel, missed the landing. Broke my arm to save my face.”
“Good trade.”
“I thought so until the doctor decided to fill my arm full of titanium plates and screws. Today’s the first day I felt like getting up, so I’m making the most of it. You don’t look injured.”
He gave a dark laugh. “Bruised my spine. Lucky to have walked away from it.” The weightlessness was with him for a moment. The spin. Now he could put it together with the footage he’d seen. It made him ill. If he hadn’t realized, or he hadn’t have forced everything he had into the magic. He drew in a sharp breath.
She glanced at him again.
This time he noticed the blue of her eyes. Blue with that tell-tale ring of silver. She was Albah. Had to be. While her hair was obviously dyed, it suited her, and she wouldn’t be the first Albah to hide their most obvious trait of pale blond hair. He glanced at her ears, but her ears were uncurled. She couldn’t be Albah. He knew humans could have blue eyes, but the silver…he looked away before she thought he was staring.
“Your accident wouldn’t happen to have been on the news, would it?” This time there was pointed curiosity in her tone.
His heart sank. He didn’t want people seeing him like this. His reputation would never recover if he was seen shuffling around the hospital like an old man. He considered lying but thought better of it, if she’d seen the footage then she’d also seen his picture and he wasn’t that well-disguised. “Yeah.”
“They made it sound like your injuries were severe and that you’d be in hospital for weeks and here you are sneaking out of your room for coffee.”
The bruising had been severe. He hadn’t been able to move his legs for the first twenty-four hours. If he hadn’t spent hours inside of himself working magic, he wouldn’t be up and about now. The effort of healing himself has left him exhausted, and with a rather deeper graze that it had been to start with. He’d needed blood for the spell and he’d have killed for some silver. He was so out of practice that even little things took more effort than they should.
“They got you on good painkillers?”
“Apparently not as good as yours.” She was acting like she wasn’t in pain at all. He knew how bad broken bones hurt.
She grinned. “Room 2014, I’ll hook you up.” She winked, but he wasn’t entirely sure she was joking. He wasn’t sure about her at all and yet he’d accepted her offered arm as though they were old friends.
Sitting down in the cafeteria was sweet relief. Alina ordered and then somehow managed to convince someone to bring it to the table. He didn’t know if he was up to carrying anything, and she certainly wasn’t. He was pretty much useless. Yet she sat with
him anyway.
“So, you actually drive the car in the TV show?”
She wasn’t acting like a fan, but it was the last thing he wanted to talk about and the memory made the room turn and his stomach bounce. “Yeah.”
He wished he’d stayed in his room.
Meet the Author
Shona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Blessed with a lively imagination she spent most of her childhood making up stories. As an adult she discovered romance novels and hasn’t looked back. With over forty published stories, ranging from sensual to scorching, she writes contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, and sci-fi romance.
You can find out more at:
www.shonahusk.com
www.twitter.com/ShonaHusk
www.facebook.com/shonahusk
Newsletter http://mad.ly/signups/119074/join
Table of Contents
Cover Copy
Books by Shona Husk
Warrior of Fire
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
MAID OF ICE
Chapter 1
Meet the Author