Syn’s gaze doubted that confidence.
“Can I see him?” Nero asked.
“He won’t be awake for a while.”
Nero refused to be daunted. “But can I see him?”
“Sure.”
When Syn went to show him the way, Nero stopped him. “I got it. You stay here with the others.”
Syn frowned, but didn’t argue as Nero left them in the waiting room and vanished through the doors. “Damn. I should have grabbed his flask again.”
Fain handed him his. “My shit’s better, anyway. Nero’s a cheap bastard who has no taste buds.”
Syn saluted him with the flask.
Caillen tsked as Syn took a deep drink. “You wouldn’t be doing that if Shahara was here.”
“Damn straight. She’d kick my ass sideways and you better not tell her I did this. I will kick yours if you do.”
“Don’t make it a habit and I won’t.”
Zarya glanced at Maris who’d been eerily quiet through everything. “How long before Darling wakes up?” she asked Syn.
He shrugged. “There’s no telling. His metabolism is faster than most so he burns through medication like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s why it’s so hard to put him out medically and why you never want to try and drink him under the table… After we rescued him from the Resistance, I went through most of the pharmacy in one week alone just to keep him in a coma so he could heal.”
His gaze touched on everyone who stood around him. “There’s no need for you guys to hang. I’ve got him under tight observation and he’s not going to want to talk to anyone when he wakes.” He jerked his head toward the hallway. “In fact I’m going to crash in my office for a while.”
Lise walked over to Fain. “Are you staying, or heading home?”
“Why?”
“If you’re staying, I’d like to sleep and shower on your ship.”
“Sure.”
Drake cleared his throat. “You’re not going there alone, little girl. Not with Fain’s reputation where women are concerned.”
She rolled her eyes at her brother, then looked at Zarya. “I’ll pay you money to kill him.”
Chayden laughed. “Well, if you want your brother killed, you’re in the right place, but asking the wrong person. I think everyone here, but Zarya, is a trained assassin.”
“Drake’s not trained,” Lise said flippantly.
Zarya saw a nervous light flash in Drake’s eyes before he caught himself.
Frowning, she wondered what he was hiding from the rest of his family. Obviously, he’d been trained by someone. But the three of them were gone before she could ask about it.
The others followed suit.
Syn yawned before he looked at her and Maris. “I’m going to bet that you two aren’t leaving.”
“No,” they said in unison.
He scratched at the back of his neck. “C’mon. I’ll have a cot brought into Darling’s room for you to sleep on,” he said to her. “And I’ll send your sister down to the empty office next to mine that has a couch she can crash on.”
“Thank you.”
He inclined his head to her as he led her toward the doors. “Should I have one brought for you, too, Mari?”
“No, thanks. But I will go back for the drinks I left when I saw you come in.” Maris touched her elbow. “I won’t be long.” He squeezed her lightly before he took his leave.
Once they were alone, she pulled Syn to a stop. “What aren’t you saying about Darling?”
“Really nothing. I’m just worried.”
Which worried her. “About his dying?”
“Partly, but that’s not my biggest fear.” There was a haunted, chilling light in his black eyes. “You weren’t here when I took the bandages off his face and he saw the scars your people gave him. He didn’t cope well, Zarya. Not at all.”
That she could believe. Who would have? “He’s still not coping well.”
Syn snorted. “Do you blame him?”
“No.” Her throat tightened as she thought about the constant pain Darling lived in, and all the damage that had been done by his own allies. “I’m not sure I would cope as well as he has, all things considered.”
“Yeah,” Syn breathed. “So I’m nervous as hell about what we might find this time and how he’s going to react if there’s little, or gods forbid, no change.”
Honestly, so was she. But she refused to consider that. If it happened, they’d deal with it. “I don’t care what he looks like.”
“Yeah, but he does.” Syn sighed in disgust. “You know why he grew his hair over the scar?”