Leaving Sivadia by Mia McKimmy Read Free Book Online Page B

He glanced toward the back where two wheelchairs leaned against the
shelf. Cy grabbed one, rolled it out of the room and over to his mother.
    The privacy curtain had been retracted around his
father. His eyes were closed and tubes of blood poured into him from numerous
bags. His mother sat on the side of her cot and two doctors talked to her as
she wept.
    Cy stopped beside her and she eased over into the chair.
“May I sit beside him in case he wakes?”
    The doctor nodded, and Cy rolled her over to his father.
She leaned over and placed a tender kiss on the back of his hand. It was the
most heartbreaking thing Cy had ever seen. Tears stung his eyes and he fought
the lump in his throat. “Mother, do you want me to go get Vind? I’m not sure he
knows what happened.”
    She mindlessly stroked her husband’s hand. “That would
be good, darling,” she said, her tone flat. Cy wasn’t sure she knew what he had
asked.
    Cy hurried through the ship to the room he shared with
his brother. He opened the door and found Vind reading a book about war. “Where
did you go when we were attacked?”
    Vind glanced up from his book. “You didn’t expect me to
hang around and get eaten by those monsters, did you?”
    “You’re the one who’s been complaining since the
Haagon’s landed about wanting to fight, so yes, I expected you to stick around
for more than a few seconds.”
    “What do you want?” Vind snapped.
    “Father was badly injured. He’s in the infirmary, and
Mother wants you to join us there.”
    “There’s nothing I can do for him,” Vind said with his gaze
still on the book.
    “Vind, Father might not make it. You could at least
pretend to care. If for nothing else, do it for Mother.”
    Vind’s penetrating gaze landed on him, and they stared
for several intense moments. “I’ll be there in a minute,” he finally said.
    Cy left and went back to the infirmary.
     Oz waited outside the door. “He’s awake. I spoke
with him for a moment, and he asked to speak to your mother alone.”
    “He’s not going to make it, is he?” Cy asked Oz.
    “I won’t lie to you, Cy. The doctor said there’s too
much damage for his heart to regenerate.”A muscle ticked in Oz’s jaw. “I don’t
remember a time when we weren’t friends. He’s the brother I never had.”
    Cy glanced at Oz as his voice broke and tears wet his
eyes. He was the mightiest warrior their race had ever known. Those tears were
genuine…a testament to his love for his friend and king.
    “How will we survive on a new planet without him?” Cy
asked.
    “His purpose and hard work has always been for our race
to continue. We owe it to him to survive in spite of the odds, in spite of
everything.”
    Oz glanced at his watch, and then back at Cy. “Will you
be all right? I have to make sure everyone is ready to leave. We only have
thirty minutes until take-off.”
    Cy started to answer when the infirmary door opened and
his mother came through. Her eyes were red and her hands shook. A knot formed
in Cy’s throat. Something was different about her. She no longer walked with
the elegance of a queen. She walked as someone who had been deflated, as if her
joy had been sucked from every cell and replaced with misery. What if she gave
up and died too, like so many of their people did after losing their
life-mates? Fear shot through Cy at the thought of losing them both.
    He stood and hugged her, wanting his comfort to be
enough to help, but knowing it was like putting a bandage on a mortal wound.
    His mother returned the embrace. “Darling, he wants to
see you, but you need to hurry. He has very little time left with us.”
    Cy went into the infirmary. His father lay on a bed with
his eyes closed and his breath shallow. Blood infusions were draining into both
arms at a high rate of speed. “Father?”
    His eyes opened, startled at first and then softening to
a blue so light they were almost silver. He reached for Cy’s hand and grimaced
as he brought