Queen of My Immortal Heart

Chapter 22: Valtar

Gabriel opened one of the doors and Ara and Valtar stepped into a large bedroom. Immediately, their attention was drawn to the tiny form laying in the huge king-size bed and the tall, thin man standing next to her in a long white coat. The man turned to face them when he heard Gabriel shut the door and gave them a warm smile. Ara sighed to herself. Vanessa had been right, Dr. Christian Blood-Raine was indeed a very handsome young man. He would never be as stunning as her husband was, however he was still handsome. “Ah, you must be King Valtar and Queen Ara,” he said, walking to stand before them and bowing at the waist. “I am Dr. Christian BloodRaine, at your service, your majesties.” He bowed before Valtar again and kissed Ara’s palm. “We have heard wonderful things about you, Dr. Blood-Raine.” Ara said, smiling up at him. “You are to kind, your highness, but I thank you for your gracious compliment.” Christian said humbly. “How is our daughter?” Valtar asked sharply, causing Christian to take a cautious step back. Ara lightly touched Valtar’s arm and sent him a stern look that told him he was being too harsh. “Forgive my husband, Dr. Blood-Raine. We are just very concerned about our daughter.” Ara said gently. “It is alright, your highness.” Christian said carefully. “I understand. Queen Nicoleta is doing better than expected now, but it has been very touch and go the past few days.” Dr. Blood-Raine explained and stepped out of the way for them to walk to her side. Ara sat next to Nicole on the bed and gently touched her cheek. She'd never seen her daughter so pale and she worried if she was truly on Gabriel opened one of the doors and Ara and Valtar stepped into a large bedroom. Immediately, their attention was drawn to the tiny form laying in the huge king-size bed and the tall, thin man standing next to her in a long white coat. The man turned to face them when he heard Gabriel shut the door and gave them a warm smile. Ara sighed to herself. Vanessa had been right, Dr. Christian Blood-Raine was indeed a very handsome young man. He would never be as stunning as her husband was, however he was still handsome. “Ah, you must be King Valtar and Queen Ara,” he said, walking to stand before them and bowing at the waist. “I am Dr. Christian BloodRaine, at your service, your majesties.” He bowed before Valtar again and kissed Ara’s palm. “We have heard wonderful things about you, Dr. Blood-Raine.” Ara said, smiling up at him. “You are to kind, your highness, but I thank you for your gracious compliment.” Christian said humbly. “How is our daughter?” Valtar asked sharply, causing Christian to take a cautious step back. Ara lightly touched Valtar’s arm and sent him a stern look that told him he was being too harsh. “Forgive my husband, Dr. Blood-Raine. We are just very concerned about our daughter.” Ara said gently. “It is alright, your highness.” Christian said carefully. “I understand. Queen Nicoleta is doing better than expected now, but it has been very touch and go the past few days.” Dr. Blood-Raine explained and stepped out of the way for them to walk to her side. Ara sat next to Nicole on the bed and gently touched her cheek. She'd never seen her daughter so pale and she worried if she was truly on the mend as Dr. Blood-Raine had said. Valtar put his arm around his wife's shoulders and looked down at his precious daughter. For a moment, emotions overwhelmed them both and they couldn't speak. Relief that their daughter was finally safe with them, fear over her condition and how bad her injuries were, and hope that now things would settle down and return to normal. After a long silence, Valtar turned to the doctor. “What happened to her? I want to know how bad this really is,” he said, his voice thick with the emotions he still felt. Dr. Blood-Raine sat back down in his chair beside the bed so he could face them as he spoke. “When King Gabriel brought her in to me, she had been stabbed in the shoulder by the Immortal Silver Blade.” Ara gasped, cutting him off. Her poor daughter. That could have meant death to her had it of struck her heart. Ara felt tears sting her eyes and she began to cry silently. Valtar was tense at her side, his hand resting on her back. They had both thought the Blade had been destroyed many years ago when Nicole had taken it to Kalgan. Obviously, he had not destroyed it as promised and it had somehow gotten back into Lucard's hands. Valtar simmered inside. He would have to speak with Kalgan about this. If the man had done as ordered, his daughter would not be in this mess right now. Dr. Blood-Raine cleared his throat and continued, “I removed it from her shoulder and gave it to King Gabriel for you. Her shoulder will heal, in time. She had lost a lot of blood, but Luke had allowed her to drink from him until the blood I ordered could arrive, but he was in bad shape too and could only give her a little, but it helped. She'd just woken a few minutes before you came in, but her pain was so great that I gave her a shot of morphine to help her so I could inspect the wound. It is doing much better than I had hoped at this point.” He stood and rested his hand on Valtar's shoulder. “She is a fighter, your highness. She will be just fine in a day or so and then you can return home with her.” he assured them both, then walked over to check on Luke while they spent time with their daughter. “Oh Valtar, how could this have happened? Kalgan had assured us that the Blade had been destroyed,” Ara cried, her pain thick in her voice. “I know, dear,” Valtar replied, holding his wife tight against his chest. “I'll talk to him and demand an explanation for this. Our daughter could have been killed because of his negligence and he needs to answer for it.” Ara sniffed and rubbed Nicole's hand. How could so much have happened to her in such a short time? They still hadn't been told what exactly happened in Egypt. Malkar had been very vague, stating that Luke knew more of the details. All he had told them was that Nicole had been hurt there too, but was fine when she and Luke had boarded the plane for home. At least there, they did have some answers. The plane had had an engine fail while going through some high winds which is why it had gone down. Thank God Luke and her daughter had survived. Ara leaned down toward Nicole and whispered in her ear, “Nicoleta, darling. It's mother. We're here now, my love. Rest and we'll be here when you wake back up. We love you so much, our dear Nicoleta.” She kissed Nicole's forehead and ran her hand down her cheek. She was the most beautiful girl in the world and very precious to them, as she had been their only child. Now, it was her time to rule the kingdom and make her own mark on this world. She would give birth to the next true Immortal, so long as she still married and bore a child with Luke. As if sensing her thoughts, she and Valtar turned when they heard a deep groaning from the other side of the bed. Luke was waking up. “Good evening, Mr. Sangre. How are you feeling?” Dr. BloodRaine asked him while pouring him a glass of water from the bedside pitcher. Luke shook his head and groaned again, apparently trying to shake off the last effects of the morphine the doctor had given him. Ara held her breath and waited. If Luke woke up and was well, maybe they could finally get some answers about what happened in Egypt.