Chapter 222: THE NEWS
Keisha’s POV
When I woke up, I didn’t immediately know where I was. My eyes opened slowly, but everything around me looked unfamiliar enough that I stayed still for a moment, staring at the ceiling while I tried to make sense of the room.
Oh fuck, what the hell had happened?
My head was throbbing and I felt bile rush up my throat.
I turned my head toward the window and saw the pale light coming through the curtains, then looked around again.
The faint smell of medicine finally gave me the answer.
The clinic. I was in the clinic.
The memory of why I was there came back gradually. I remembered trying to hold myself together because of the babies, and then I remembered nothing.
"Oh my God." A voice gasped.
I turned toward the voice.
Nadia had been sitting beside the bed, apparently half-asleep in the chair with her arms folded, but she was wide awake now.
She leaned forward so quickly that the chair creaked beneath her, her eyes fixed on me as though she needed to make absolutely certain I was actually awake before reacting. "You’re awake."
I managed a small smile. "Looks like it."
For a second, Nadia simply stared at me. Then her entire expression changed, relief spreading over her expression and she reached over to squeeze my hand. "You scared me so badly. Do you know how long you’ve been asleep?"
"I don’t."
"Goddess, you had me thinking something very terrible would happen." She shook her head, but there was no real anger in her voice. "The doctor kept telling me you were stable, but it was hard to believe that."
A quiet laugh escaped me. "Thank you."
She rolled her eyes, although the corners of her mouth lifted. "Klein called too."
That caught my attention. "He did?"
"Yes. He was worried. Apparently, he has developed a habit of calling whenever something happens to you."
"Ah well, I suppose he’s just worried about his niece." I shrugged.
" Yeah, his niece sure likes to give everyone a heart attack for sure."
I smiled. "Did you tell Lyra?"
Nadia immediately shook her head. "No."
"Good."
"I knew you’d say that." She adjusted herself in the chair. "I didn’t think it was necessary to have her panicking from wherever she is, especially when you were already being monitored. She doesn’t know anything."
I relaxed slightly. "Thank you."
"You can thank me properly by not doing anything stupid for the next few hours."
"I only fainted." I laughed as I looked down at myself, then placed a hand over my stomach. "The babies?"
Nadia’s expression softened immediately. "They’re fine. The doctor checked them. He said everything looks fine, but you need to avoid stress. So before you start thinking about everything that happened, remember that."
I nodded, rubbing my palm slowly over my stomach. "Okay."
For a few moments, neither of us said anything. Nadia watched me while I adjusted the blanket, and I could tell she was waiting for me to start asking questions.
"What happened after I passed out?" I finally broke the silence.
Nadia let out a breath through her nose. "I knew that was coming."
"What happened?" I asked again.
"You were brought here. The doctor checked you immediately and said you were unconscious but stable. Callum stayed until he had to deal with everything outside. Dane went after the person who shot Orin, and he actually managed to catch him."
I frowned. "He caught the assassin?"
"Yes." She nodded frantically.
"What happened to him? Did he say anything?" I asked, my brows furrowed.
Nadia’s expression changed. "He died this morning."
I stared at her for a moment, trying to absorb it. "He died?"
"The guards found him dead in the prison this morning. Callum and Dane went to investigate. From what I heard, there wasn’t any obvious sign that someone broke in or attacked him. The doctor thought he’d taken something before he died."
I looked away from Nadia and toward the window.
That couldn’t have been a coincidence.
Orin had been ready to speak. The assassin had been captured before he could disappear. Then, before anyone could question him properly, he was dead too.
The timing bothered me.
"We can’t accuse the people in the journal," I said eventually. "At least not yet. I think they’re planning an uprising."
Nadia frowned. "Oh fuck. Why not? Why not use it?"
"Because they’re still not the head." I shifted against the pillow, thinking through what we’d found.
She was silent.
I looked back at her. "The elders can investigate the people named in the journal, but they can’t simply accuse them of everything without knowing who their leader is. If we get that wrong, whoever is actually behind all of this gets another chance to disappear."
Nadia stared at me for a moment before standing." Okay, that’s enough."
I blinked. "Wait, what— I’m still—"
"No." She picked up her phone from the table and slipped it into her pocket. "You’ve been awake for five minutes and you’re launching another investigation. I’m getting you food."
The door closed behind her, leaving me alone.
I picked up my phone from the bedside table and saw the number of missed calls and messages waiting for me.
Most of them were from people checking in, and I didn’t have the energy to answer everyone individually. My thumb stopped over Lyra’s name instead and I called her.
She picked up after a few rings. "Keisha? Where have you been?"
"Sleeping." I said vaguely.
"For how long? I’ve been calling."
I smiled faintly. "I don’t know. Just been busy."
She sighed. "How are you? And the babies?"
My hand rested over my stomach. "We’re all good. The babies are fine and so am I."
She hummed. "That’s great to hear. You weren’t updating me constantly, so I had to check in. But well— now that I know you’re fine, I’ll leave you be then. Talk to you later, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Bye.".
Finally.
I lowered the phone and glanced at the time.
I set the phone down and leaned back against the pillow, finally allowing myself to relax.
Then the door opened and I looked up.
Dane stepped inside and my expression changed immediately.
My eyes went straight to the bandage around his arm before returning to his face. "Dane?"
He closed the door behind him and looked at me. "Hey."
I immediately sat up. "What happened?"