The Edge (Book 5 of The Claiming Series)

Chapter Eight

One of Dr. Reeve's nurses wraps my left wrist in a strong material to keep it stable. Then he gives me ice to help with the throbbing. "Thank you," I say to him.

He nods and then disappears back into the office area.

After having to dismiss the old royal physician, I asked Dr. Reeve if she would take his place. With Eli gone, I didn't know who else to trust. She's been phenomenal, and her no-nonsense attitude reassures me that nothing will ever go over her head.

She's currently talking to Eli behind the closed door of the exam room.

Angel sits beside me in the little sitting area that's bathed in calming green seating and off-white walls and flooring. "He seemed a little off from the second he got back, but I didn't think... I never imagined he'd hurt you," she says.

I shake my head. "It wasn't voluntary for him. Something came over him. It was like he was a totally different person."

She wrings her hands together in her lap. Then she smooths out her grey pencil skirt. "My poor baby..."

The medical wing of the palace is just off the corridor that is more or less dedicated to the kitchen and the ballroom. When Eli and I were kids, I never came to this part of the palace because the antiseptic smell scared me and made me think of broken bones and needles. It's a vast part of the palace, complete with the small sitting area we wait in, the exam room, an office space, and a set of double French doors that lead to the greenhouse attached to the back of the palace.

When the door to the exam room opens up, Eli steps out. I feel my heart plummet when I see his eyes red and cheeks puffy. Dr. Reeve follows him out and immediately heads into the greenhouse, shutting the door behind her.

Angel rises and wraps Eli in a hug. He just stands there, arms limp at his sides, eyes covered with a glistening film.

"What's going on, sweetie?" she asks him.

He shakes his head. "She's going to make something for me to take at night. Please, don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"You know I don't believe you when you say you're fine," she says, rubbing his arms.

Eli's hollow eyes rest on me and then my wrist. A light surges back into his hazel gaze. "Your arm."

"I'm fine," I say.

He strides past his mother and sits down beside me, taking the hand of my injured wrist and turning my arm over. I hold the icepack out to the side to allow him to examine my injury. "I did this to you," he says.

"You didn't mean to."

"But I did this to you." He sniffs and rubs at his eyes with his free hand.

I've never seen Eli this fragile before. It makes me want to shatter alongside him.

The door to the greenhouse cracks open and Dr. Reeve pokes her head out. "Mave. I'd like to talk with you. Come with me while I gather the plants."

I blink at her. "Oh, um. All right." I get to my feet as I place the icepack back on my wrist, but Eli jumps up as well.

"Wait, I don't want—"

Dr. Reeve glares at him. "This isn't about you. It's about the baby. Calm yourself."

Eli opens his mouth to respond, but he's stumped. Dr. Reeve is probably the only one who can get away with snapping at the king. "But I... If it's about the baby, shouldn't I come, too?"