Kailani

"Uh.... uh...." I groaned.

I didn't know where I was, but I knew where I wasn't: I wasn't underwater surrounded by mermaids and I wasn't in bed in my room. But I was in a bed though, or at least, I was fairly sure I was.

I opened my eyes, still groggy. Everything was blurred and my entire body was in pain. I heard a sound like breathing. Mechanical breathing.

What...?

Something was strapped around my face, or my mouth specifically. I was hearing myself breathing. It was filtering my air.

"What's going on?" I tried to say, but the device muffled my voice, sounding closer to, "Wha owing aw?"

I reached my hands up to rub the sleep from my eyes, running instead into something cool and smooth.

My eyes popped.

I was trapped inside a medical tube.

"Eh meh ow!" I screamed, tearing off the breathing filter. My shoulder roared, but I had to escape. "Get me out!" I banged my fists against the glass, somehow thinking I could break it.

I need to get out of here... I need to get out!

A figure ran up, too blurry to identify, but I was fairly sure he was carrying a tablet. "Don't be alarmed. Everything's okay. You're in the Hospital Wing of the castle." I heard him pressing some buttons on the podium to my right and the tube tilted forward, popping open. I drew in a breath, realizing I had been holding it. "Are you alright?"

I shook my head. "Why so bright?" I rasped. My voice felt like I hadn't used it in decades and the longer I kept my eyes open, the more dizzy and nauseous I felt.

"That's just your light sensitivity," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It was probably aggravated by the concussion. Concussions," he corrected, then chuckled, "You gave us all quite the scare, Ms. Firebrand."

"Firebrand?" I croaked.

He nodded. Setting the tablet down, he detached the rest of the breathing tube from my face. "What you did to save your grandmother and those hostages..." he trailed off. "You're a hero, Your Highness. No burn scars either." He shook his head, chuckling again. "It was quite the surprise, after the fall you took, I mean."

"Fall?"

He frowned. "Do you remember? The fall you took?"

"What fall?"

He looked back down at his tablet, typing something in. "It's nothing to worry about for the time being. You've been in and out of consciousness for a while now, so we'll take it slow."

Looking down, I inspected myself. I could feel the bruising on my back and my tailbone. I ran my fingers over the bruises on my legs and feet, barely registering Doctor Hara crossing the room to grab a dark strip of plastic. Though I had no burns, there were small gashes on one of my heels and on both my elbows and there was also a tube poking out of my stomach,.

"You're very lucky, but I'm sure the name'll stick, even if you aren't actually, well, branded." Walking forward again, he set the plastic on my nose and I realized they were like sunglasses. At least a tenth of my headache was alleviated.

I reached for my face, but other than the soft spot—spots—on the back of my head, all I had were a few light scratches on my cheek.

"What happened, uh, to the Queen Mother?"

"You saved her life."

"I did?"

"Do you remember?"

"I think so."

"The twin Princes hacked the security feeds on the different levels and saw everything. They posted all of it under Kailani the Firebrand and then..." he shrugged. "The rest took off from there." Raising his tube, he typed something into the screen. "I'm just alerting the King and the Princes. They're all waiting for you to make a full recovery."

I looked around, realizing we were alone in the Hospital Wing.

"Where is everyone?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, castle was just under attack, wasn't it?"

He nodded. "I really think you should try to relax."

"But there shouldn't be..." my voice trailed off. I gulped, my body convulsing. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Only about three days."

Leaning forward, I vomited on his shoes. He jumped back. "Sorry," I mumbled, pushing the plastic back up on my face.

He shook his head, pouring some water from a pitcher on the table beside me. "No, no, it's alright. Expected even."

Three days? I thought, almost puking again.

Just as I leaned back with the water, the doors burst open and the twins ran inside, followed shortly by Chip. Seeing a tall blond man with them, I thought Dad was there, but this figure was thinner and scrawnier. When my vision cleared enough, I recognized him, gawking in surprise.

It was Liam.

"Where is it?" Blayne shouted, practically jumping on top of me.

"Oof!"

"Careful, careful." Doctor Hara held his hand back for them. "You don't want to hurt her."

Blayne scoffed. "Like she's fragile." He turned back to me, looking disappointed. "Where's your scar?"

"Scar?"

"Y'know..." He trailed a finger across his face. "The burns from the fire. We saw you fall in from the cameras."

Before I could answer, Doctor Hara stepped up. "I would avoid asking any questions, at the moment. Her Highness has some memory loss. After suffering two head injuries in the same week, it'll take some time to recover."

Blayne slumped back but Cowen leaned forward to hug me. "I love you, sis."

I winced, but hugged him back. "I love you, too."

Blayne leaned in, hugging harder than Cowen, and I cried out unintentionally.

"Careful, careful," Doctor Hara forced them back with his tablet. I wished he wouldn't. "She has three broken ribs."

I lifted up my shirt, seeing blue, black, and purple spots stretching across the left side of my chest. "Is that it?" I asked.

He shook his head, referring back to the tablet. "You also damaged your hip, spine, bruised one of your lungs, and hit your head again. Luckily, we've yet to witness any brain damage. But if your brothers want to see a scar, you have a nasty pair on your shoulder from where the bullet went through, and the stitches are still in your hip from your surgery, but no burns."

"Surgery?" I tugged my pant leg down enough for the twins to marvel at it.

"Once we remove that tube from your stomach, you'll also have one there. We would've stuck a tube down your nose, but you were having too much trouble breathing, so we had to give you the breathing mask." He winced, looking apologetic.

It was funny coming from someone who probably saved my life. "It's fine," I said.

"I'm glad you think so, Your Highness, but if you ever change your mind, the best plastic surgeons in the Eight Kingdoms will be standing by."

It was then Chip and Liam ventured forward. I noticed they were keeping their distance from each other.

"Hey," Chip said, though it was hard to focus on him and not on the squirming lump under his shirt, "I owe you an apology. I thought I was protecting you but I realize now I never could have done that by keeping things from you. I know it will take some time for you to forgive me, but... I thought this might help a bit."

Chip pulled Guri out from under his jacket, plopping him down on my lap.

"Guri!" I squealed, hugging him tighter to my chest than I should have.

He licked my cheek.

"Aw... I love you, too." I kissed him, looking back up at Chip. I nodded at him. "Thank you."

He nodded back.

I pressed down on Guri's collar, half expecting his health monitor to display in my contacts, but I wasn't wearing them. Blayne handed me his tube and I synced them up. "Yep, all healthy."

"Actually, we had to take him to a vet," Chip said.

"Why?"

He exchanged glances with Doctor Hara. "He had some smoke inhalation during the fire. Nothing serious. Emperor Dhruv recommended the one who looks after the tigers in his zoo. She was happy to do it—said she had never taken care of a lion before, with them almost extinct and all."

I frowned, hugging Guri closer to my chest.

Turning to Liam, I waited to see if he had anything he wanted to add, and after opening and closing his mouth like a fish he finally—awkwardly—spit out a sentence. "I'm glad you're okay."

I stared at him a moment longer before I remembered we were engaged. So he does know, I thought. "Thank you," I repeated, turning back to Chip. "Where's Dad?"

"Resting in his room, per Grandmother's orders. She won't let anyone in to see him after the attack when he was drugged."

Blayne jumped. "I almost forgot to tell you! You'll never believe what some kid found!"

"What?" I asked, but more to Chip on Dad being drugged.

Blayne thought I was talking to him. "The Talar—"

The doors burst open. Everyone jumped. The Queen Mother stormed in.