Caged With The Alien Warrior

36.

Aanya

"Somehow, you survived irod poisoning." Dr. Krono stared at Ronan, dumbfounded. "That's unheard of. We need to–"

"We'll figure that out later. I survived, so maybe it wasn't irod." Ronan shrugged, sending the Dr. Krono guy a look that said shut up and move on.

Dr. Krono pursed his lips but didn't say anything.

I glanced between the two, curious. What did it mean if Ronan survived this irod stuff?

Ronan turned back to me, eyes soft. "What happened after that, Aanya?"

I pulled the sheets up, chilly remembering what happened. Lani shifted, so I rubbed her back gently. I took a breath before going on.

"I didn't have any medical supplies on the ship, so I only knew one way to stop the bleeding. I–I cauterised the wound." I stumbled over my words remembering the metallic taste of fear in my mouth, the smell of Ronan's burning flesh, his slippery purple blood. I fought the bile in my throat.

"You what?" Dr. Krono said, almost dropping his datapad. "That's– that's barbaric!"

"I'm sorry, alright!" I struggled to sit up more, rustling Lani. She just snuggled closer in her sleep. "I didn't have any other choice! I heated up a kitchen knife and–and pressed it on the wound." I covered my mouth, remembering the sickening experience. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Talion quickly dumped out a bowl of bandages and passed me it, which I promptly puked into. He handed me a cloth to wipe my face with.

"Thanks," I mumbled, fighting the embarrassment rising in my chest.

Ronan's eyes were devastated, hands fisted at his sides. Was he mad at me? I just did the only thing I could think of. It worked, didn't it? But it probably hurt a lot. Did he remember and hate me and–

"But you could have–" Dr. Krono started.

"Shut the fuck up, Krono," Ronan all but growled, eyes flashing. "Aanya saved my life. There were no other medical supplies aboard, she did the best she could. Drop it, now."

"Alright, alright." Dr. Krono raised his hands. "You'll have a scar forever now, though."

Ronan raised a brow. "Since when have I cared about scars? Another to add to the collection."

I hadn't noticed Ronan's scars before? He just had those black tattoos.

He turned back to me. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

I surprisingly wasn't hungry any more for some reason. "No, no, I'm fine."

Ronan nodded at me. "What happened after that?"

"You were in some sort of coma. CARREN piloted us to your home planet but the ship didn't have any food and it's taken us three weeks to get here. That's why the scan shows I'm malnourished." I frowned. "And it didn't help that when we got here they thought that I hurt you and separated us."

Ronan seethed. "Three weeks without food?"

"Well, that isn't that long." Dr. Krono piped up. "She should be–"

"She's not Rhodinian. Obviously." Ronan motioned at me. "Humans eat three times a day."

His brows shot up. "Every day?"

"Every day," Ronan confirmed.

"Stars, we need to get you on nutrition infusions immediately." Dr. Krono tapped on his tablet.

Ronan scrubbed a hand over his face. "How could they think that you'd harmed me? And with Lani?"

"Well, I didn't tell them I had her with me. There wasn't time and I didn't want her to get hurt and–" I cut myself off. I didn't need to make excuses for my actions. I did what I thought was best.