Chapter 154

Aria’s POV

At the hospital, Lucian gave me a final squeeze. “Please help him,” he said.

“I’ll do my best,” I promised. Then, breaking away from him, leaving him with Julia in the waiting room, I rushed to the emergency room to see what was going on.

Fortunately, one of the nurses lent me a hair-tie to pull my wet hair up. Another offered me some clean and dry scrubs. I agreed to change only if they filled me in on what was happening with Harold while I did so.

Through the bathroom stall, the nurse informed me, “It’s mostly his age that is bringing these complications. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do for the underlying cause. We’ve only been able to treat the symptoms.”

If old age is the only problem, then there was a clear solution.

“Has he been offered any of the age-extending medicine?” I asked as I finished righting the scrubs. My dress was soaked through and ruined. Coming out of the stall, I left the dress in the bathroom sink. I had no idea if it could be salvaged, nor did I really have time to think about it.

Harold was my priority at the moment.

The nurse seemed troubled. “He hasn’t?” I surmised.

“When you left, Dr. A… Aria, the reserves of the medicine were eventually used up. The Healers ordered more of the ingredients you mentioned were in the medicine, even the more rare ingredients. But as of yet, they’d been able to duplicate the formula.”

My heart dropped like a lead weight down into my stomach. Had Harold been suffering all this time because I hadn’t been here to develop more medicine?

“Why didn’t anyone call me?” I said. “Everyone knew I was moving to Moonglow.”

I still wasn’t eager to give out the formula for the medicine, knowing how dangerous the knowledge was, but I would have found a way to get more medicine to the pack, even if I had to travel back as Dr. A to do so.

“Did no one tell Lucian the reserves were low?” I asked.

The nurse gave me a face that told me she had been fighting this fight for a long while. “The older Healers are a stubborn, prideful bunch. Even with their acceptance of you, they insisted they could develop the formula themselves without you. They had even made some concoctions on their own that seemed to have helped… for a while.”

Gods. “I’ll deal with them later. For now, please see to it that the ingredients are ready in the lab. I’m going to speak with Harold first, and obtain his consent.”

Relief eased some of the harsh edges to the nurse’s face. “At once, Dr. Aria.”

Dr. Aria. I still liked hearing that.

There was no time to deal with that right now. Gathering myself, I nodded at the nurse, and then, leaving the bathroom, we went our separate ways.

I rushed to Harold’s bedside, arriving just in time to hear the end of an argument.

“I don’t want to hear that,” Harold gruffly said before he started coughing. “I need answers! Don’t tell me there’s nothing you can do!”

“Sir, with your advanced age –”

“To hell with that! I’m as sturdy as an ox. I have grandchildren now, don’t you understand? You are ready to send me off, but I’m not ready to go. I want to fight, dammit!” More coughing.

“At this point, we must face the inevitable –”

“I’m not ready to die!”

“And you won’t,” I said, approaching. “Not yet. Not if I can help it.”

“Aria, thank the Gods,” Harold said. His heart monitor was beating way too fast. All of his vitals were in danger zones.

“There’s nothing we can do, Dr. A,” the Healer said to me. “We’ve exhausted all options.”

“Including the medicine that extends life?” I asked him point blank, remembering the nurse’s ire about this.

He paled a little. “There’s reason we haven’t…”

“Because you are too prideful to ask for my help in making more of it?” I asked. I wondered what happened to surplus I had left behind. Did it go to those who actually needed it, or had it instead been sold to the highest bidder as I always feared would happen.

That they had the money to buy more ingredients – including the extremely rare ones – didn’t bode well. Where did they get all that money?

“Harold,” I said, looking at him. “Do you consent to receiving the life-extending medicine?”

“If it allows me to have more time with my grandkids, then yes. Please,” Harold replied.

“He has minutes at best,” the Healer argued. “You are giving him false hope!”

“I’ll hold on as long as I need to,” Harold countered, but then started coughing again. “Take as long as you need…”

The Healer glared at us both before saying, “Do it fast, Dr. A.”

Then, I turned and ran.

Piper must have also been made aware of the situation as she was already in the lab, helping to prepare the ingredients. I was relieved to see her. She had helped me with this in the past, and already knew what was needed of her. I wouldn’t have to waste time explaining anything. We could just work.

Which we did.

“Not much time,” I told her.

“We got this,” she replied, ever the optimist.

I hurried as much as I could, moving swiftly and efficiently, but not so quickly that I would make mistakes.

It hadn’t surprised me to hear the Healers here hadn’t been able to replicate the medicine. It was exceedingly difficult to make. Not only were some of the ingredients incredibly rare, but also the measurements needed to be exact. There was no wiggle room. Either it was perfect or it was a failure, no in between.

Piper and I didn’t have time for failures here.

Just as we needed a third pair of hands, Lucian appeared at the door to the lab. “The Healer told me what’s happening. I don’t want to get in the way,” he said, his voice tight. “But if there’s anything I could do.”

I waved him forward. All he had to do was hold a vial still and steady, warming it with his hands.

He performed admirably.

The vial was temperature tested, then poured into the concoction. After stirring, it was finished.

“Is that it?” Lucian asked, hope in his voice.

“That’s it,” I said

“I’ll take the medicine,” I said, grabbing it. “Piper, grab a sterile needle kit and meet me in ER. Hurry.”

“Yes, Dr. Aria!” Piper said and rushed from the room.

Lucian and I glanced at each other and then both hurried from the room.

When we reached where Harold was, his heart monitor was frantic. He could no longer talk, as the other Healers covered his face with an oxygen mask. His IV was dripping medicine, but it wasn’t enough.

This could very well be the end.

I wanted to tell Lucian to hold back, not wanting him to witness these final moments, but I didn’t think he’d listen to me even if I had time to waste.

Instead, he rushed forward and took his father’s hand.

I moved around him as Piper brought the needle. With haste, we filled the needle, then, moving to Harold’s arm, I injected it straight into his bloodstream.

Everyone in the room held their breath.