Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy (ARIA) novel Chapter 627

Chapter 627

ARIA

"That was—"

"Very reasonable," she said. "Your exact words, I believe. Or close to them."

"I was trying to—"

"To ensure adequate preparation time," she said. "Which I respect. Preparation is important. I, for instance, prepared three days ago when the window was optimal. And then the window closed. And then Hale activated the root. And here we are." She turned another page. "Three days."

"Ivory," Nina said.

"Nina," Ivory said pleasantly.

"He's injured," Nina said.

"I can see that," Ivory said. "He'll be fine for three days. The left side is significant but not critical. I can see it from here." She looked at the book. "I would have treated it three days ago if the removal had happened on schedule. The injury wouldn't have occurred if the removal had happened on schedule. But here we are."

"The moon goddess loves you," Jordan said, in the tone of a man accepting a fundamental truth of the universe.

"She really does," Ivory agreed.

"She's always right in the end," Jordan said.

"I usually am," Ivory said.

"Ivory," Kael said.

"Kael," she said.

They held this for a moment.

Silver, in my chest, said: *She's going to treat him.*

*I know,* I said.

*She's making the point first,* Silver said.

*I know,* I said.

*But she's going to treat him,* Silver said. *She's already looking at the injuries while she's looking at the book. She's been assessing since we came in.*

I looked at Ivory.

At the hand holding the book — the specific quality of someone who was performing reading while their attention was elsewhere. At the eyes, which had been doing the inventory since we walked in and had not stopped, which was doing the thing healers' eyes did when they were working even while the rest of them was doing something else.

She was going to treat him.

She was going to make the point first.

Then she was going to treat him.

"Fine," Kael said. "I accept the point."

Ivory turned a page.

"The point being," Kael said, "that you were right about the timing and I was wrong about the timing and the consequence is that we were in a field tonight instead of having resolved the root situation three days ago." He paused. "You were right. I accept it."

Ivory looked at the book.

"And?" she said.

"And I should have listened to your assessment," he said.

"And?" she said.

"And—" he stopped. "What's the and."

"Think about it," she said.

"Ivory—"

"Take your time," she said. "We have three days, after all."

The room held the specific tension of people who were watching a negotiation they couldn't participate in.

"I'm sorry," Kael said.

Ivory closed the book.

She stood up.

She put the bowl down and the blanket and she crossed the room to where Kael was standing with the injured left side and she looked at it with the full clinical attention that had been running since we arrived.

"Sit down," she said.

He sat.

She started working.

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