Chapter Three #2
“Yeah, that’s not necessary. I haven’t been fertile lately, but even if I had been, I’d need a partner to get pregnant. I’ll come back in three days, though,” Twig said, taking the paper. He stood up, looking more relaxed than when he’d arrived. “Thank you, Palmer. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course. Take care of yourself, Twig.”
Twig smiled, then hesitated at the entrance. “Rune talks about you, you know. He thinks you’re impressive.”
Before Palmer could respond, Twig was gone, leaving Palmer standing there with his notepad and a strange flutter in his chest that he absolutely did not want to examine too closely.
He shook his head and returned to his desk, flipping to a fresh page in his notepad.
He wrote down everything Twig had told him about his symptoms and the fatigue, nausea, and muscle aches.
It seemed minor, but Palmer had learned early in his career that minor symptoms could sometimes be the first sign of something more serious.
He didn’t want to overlook anything, especially not with a dragon patient.
There was still so much he didn’t know about their physiology.
There was a chance that Twig might be pregnant, but Palmer would have to trust Twig that he wasn’t.
If that was the problem, they’d find out soon enough.
Palmer felt he could dismiss that possibility, though.
He’d need to go back to the library, maybe ask Rune for help finding books on common dragon ailments.
The thought of working with Rune again didn’t bother him as much as it had a few days ago.
In fact, he found himself almost looking forward to it.
But first, he had research to do. He owed it to Twig—and to all his patients.
* * * *
RUNE CHECKED HIS PHONE again. He’d been texting on and off with Twig, and he was a little worried because his brother was sick. He’d told him to go to the infirmary and see a healer, but Twig was stubborn. Rune wasn’t sure he’d gone, and he wanted to be sure that his brother would be okay.
He was relieved when he saw a text from Twig on his screen, but that relief went right out the window when he read what his brother had written.
I went to the infirmary, but I actually feel even worse now. I thought you said your boyfriend was a good healer?
Rune frowned. You talked to Palmer? he texted back.
Twig was quick to answer. Yeah, he looked me over. He gave me some meds to take and told me to rest.
Did you follow his orders?
To the letter.
Really?
It took Twig a moment longer to answer this time. When he did, Rune could almost hear his sheepish tone.
Okay, maybe I didn’t rest enough.
What did you do?
My friend wanted to go flying.
That’s the opposite of resting, Twig. Rune huffed at his brother. If he was going to scold him, he wanted to make sure that Twig was listening to him. He hit the call button.
“Okay, maybe going flying wasn’t a good idea,” Twig said when he answered.
“You don’t say? Palmer told you to rest, and you went flying instead. Of course you’re not feeling better.”
“I didn’t think I was going to feel worse.”
“There’s a reason he told you to rest, you idiot. What are you doing now?”
“I’m on my couch. I promise I am resting this time.”
“You better be, and don’t complain about Palmer because it’s your own fault that you’re still feeling sick.”
“I know,” Twig muttered.
Rune resisted the urge to roll his eyes, mostly because he was in the dining hall and he didn’t want people to see him. They didn’t need to know that he was dealing with his idiot brother. “And let me know if you start feeling even worse. Actually, you should probably tell Palmer.”
“I’m not going to tell him I went flying even though he told me to rest. He’ll think I’m an idiot. I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow. I took the meds he gave me, and I’m not getting off my couch anytime soon.”
“What did Palmer say when he examined you?”
“Just that he wasn’t worried and that I should get better with some rest.”
“So of course you took that as him telling you to go exert yourself.”
“I was bored,” Twig complained. “But I learned my lesson. I’m going to stay here and wait until I feel better to do anything else, I promise.”
“Good.” The last thing Rune wanted was for Twig to get worse, or for someone to say that Palmer was a bad doctor because of it. It wasn’t Palmer’s fault. Twig was stubborn and didn’t think about his health.
“You know, I get the appeal,” Twig said with a hum. “He’s really cute. A little bit too nerdy for me, but the two of you fit right together.”
Rune briefly closed his eyes. Sometimes, he wondered why he so desperately wanted to build a relationship with his siblings. “What are you talking about?”
“Palmer, your doctor. I can see why you’re interested in him.”
“Who said I was interested in him?”
Twig laughed, and while he was interrupted by a bout of coughing, he still sounded amused when he next spoke. “You didn’t have to say anything. It’s kind of obvious.”
Rune wasn’t sure he liked that. “You think it’s obvious to him, too?”
“Ah, so you do admit that you’re interested in him.”
“I’m admitting nothing. I just don’t want him to feel uncomfortable with me since we have to work together.”
“I wouldn’t worry if I were you. I don’t think it’s obvious to anyone else. I was just teasing you, but you do know there’s nothing wrong with you having a crush on the attractive human doctor, right?”
“I don’t have a crush on him. I can’t deny he’s attractive, but that’s all there is to it.”
“If you say so.”
Rune knew better than to insist. Twig would believe what he wanted to believe, and right now, he wanted to believe that Rune had a crush on Palmer.
He wasn’t wrong.
Rune wasn’t about to tell him that, though.
Nothing good would come of it, and he didn’t want Twig to blurt it out in front of Palmer or anything like that.
He knew his brother wouldn’t do it on purpose, but Twig wasn’t known for being able to keep secrets.
“So, what are you going to do tonight since you’re not feeling well? ” he asked.
Twig groaned. “I actually have plans.”
Of course he did. “Do you need me to come sit on your back to keep you at home?”
“No, you don’t have to worry. I promise I’m not going anywhere.”
So Twig really wasn’t feeling well. Rune was worried, but he felt a little bit better at the thought that Palmer had looked his brother over. If Palmer didn’t think that Twig had anything to worry about, that meant he didn’t, and neither did Rune.
“Just text me if you need anything,” Rune said. “And actually rest this time.”
“I will, I will. Stop worrying so much.”
“Someone has to,” Rune muttered, but even though he was exasperated, he wouldn’t change his brother even if he could.
After they hung up, Rune set his phone down and tried to focus on his meal, but his thoughts kept drifting back to what Twig had said. Was his crush really that obvious? He’d tried to keep things professional with Palmer, but maybe he hadn’t been as subtle as he thought.
He shook his head. There was no point in worrying about it now. He had work to do, and Twig needed to rest. Everything else could wait.
* * * *
THE DINNER INVITATION had come as a surprise, and Palmer wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
It wasn’t every day one had dinner with the king, but then, the situation was a bit odd.
Palmer wouldn’t say he considered Killian a friend, but they were friendly, and he was definitely close to Hedley.
That might be because they were both human, but Hedley had wanted Palmer to be a part of their children’s health team, and things had snowballed from there.
And now, here Palmer was, in the king’s private quarters, eating delicious food.
Killian had two babies in his arms, and Hedley was watching them with a fond smile.
Palmer couldn’t help but do the same. Those babies really were precious.
He’d never seen a baby dragon before, and these two were incredibly beautiful and loved.
“So, how’s everything going?” Hedley asked, taking a sip of his wine. “And I mean really, not the answer you’d give the king or his consort.”
“Well, I am giving my answer to the king’s consort.”
“Don’t be a smartass. I just wanted to make sure that no one’s bothering you and that you have everything you need.”
Palmer leaned back in his seat. “Nothing’s bothering me, and I do have everything I need. Really, I have more than I used to have at the hospital. The infirmary is up-to-date, and working with dragon healers is fascinating. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
“And you’re not running into any kind of trouble, right?”
“No one said anything when you were in the library?” Killian asked.
Palmer blinked. He hadn’t realized that the king was following the conversation so closely. “Why should someone have bothered me in the library?”
“I was hoping no one would, but I still wanted Rune to be there just in case. Our father didn’t really like anyone going through the medical books.”
Palmer thought about what Rune had told him. “Rune mentioned that. He wanted that knowledge to be kept to only a few people.”
“Exactly. I didn’t think anyone would bother you since my father’s dead and doesn’t really have any supporters anymore, but we do have some clan members who are as old-fashioned as he was.”
“If someone was bothered, I didn’t notice, but then, I was busy.”
Killian nodded. “Good. Please let me know if anyone does. I’ll nip it in the bud. And yes, I’m serious. You’re here because I want you to be, and I’m the king. What I say goes, and if someone has a problem with that, they need to come to me.”
“I’m sure someone has a problem with my presence here, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.
” Palmer hoped so, anyway. He couldn’t help but think of Pearl, though.
He knew she didn’t like him because he was human and had access to the books and to the healers, and he couldn’t help but wonder if one day, she’d confront him.
He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she did. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be alone when it happened. She scared him.
“I was surprised that you asked Rune of all people to help me with this,” Palmer said, still curious about the reason behind it.
Killian smiled. “I thought it would be for the best. I didn’t want you to be alone in the library with those books, just in case, and Rune’s been reaching out.
He wants to fix things between us, and I want that to happen.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be close to my siblings, but I want to be, and he’s one of those who are actually making the effort. ”
“We didn’t really have the opportunity to talk, but he seems nice.”
“He is. Most of my siblings are. The way we were raised to work against each other isn’t great, but it’s in the past. Things are changing for the better, mostly. I like that.”
“So you trust him?”
Killian hummed as he fed one of the babies a piece of meat. “Well, he hasn’t done anything to convince me I shouldn’t. In fact, he’s been working hard and following all my orders as if he’s afraid that if he doesn’t, I’m going to kick him out.”
“I think he’s as eager as you are to fix things between the two of you,” Hedley pointed out. “And while he’s not the only one, he’s certainly the most eager. It’s cute.”
“I don’t know that I would call it that, but I appreciate it.”
Listening to these two talk about Rune made Palmer feel a little guilty about being wary of him.
Rune hadn’t done anything to deserve it, and it had all come from the way Pearl treated Palmer and every other human in the clan.
Palmer had let her behavior taint the way he’d behaved with Rune, but he shouldn’t have.
If Killian and Hedley trusted Rune, then Palmer should, too.
That went for all of Killian’s siblings and people in the clan.
“I’ve met another one of your brothers,” he commented. “Twig. He came to the infirmary.”
“Oh?”
“He wasn’t feeling well.” That was all Palmer was going to say.
Thankfully, Killian didn’t push. He was frowning now, but he nodded. “I’m sure you took care of him.”
“I did. I’m not worried.”
“Good. Maybe I should pay him a visit, just to check on him.”
“I’m sure he’d like that.” Palmer didn’t know if Twig was as eager as Rune to fix things with his siblings, but a visit from his brother wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Even if that brother was the king.
Killian was incredibly down-to-earth, though, and he wouldn’t be going as the king.
He’d be going as Twig’s brother, something he was clearly eager to be.
Palmer’s relationship with his own brother was very close, and he wanted Killian and the others to have that if there was a chance that they could.
He’d been told about the way they’d been raised, and he’d been horrified, but there was still time for them to fix things.
Hopefully, they would.
“You know,” Hedley said, interrupting Palmer’s thoughts, “I think it’s good that you’re here. Not just for the medical expertise, but because you’re an outside perspective. Sometimes that’s what a family needs.”
Palmer smiled. “I hope I can help.”
“You already are,” Killian said, and there was a warmth in his voice that made Palmer feel truly welcome.