Magus studied the data, his brow furrowing. "What about pain management?Anesthesia?"
Vethra shook her head slowly. "The same problem. Our basic anaesthetics could have unpredictable effects on her. She might metabolize them too quickly, rendering them useless. Or she might have a severe reaction. We cannot know without testing, and testing carries its own risks."
Magus was quiet for a long moment. "So we have a woman carrying the prince's child, with a biology that is essentially incompatible with our medical systems."
"Correct." Vethra's voice was tired. "We will have to create custom medicines for her. Tailored specifically to her unique biology. That takes time. Time we may not have."
She pulled up another screen, this one showing a countdown.
"She goes into labor two days from now. Two days, Magus. If she has complications during birth, if she needs anesthesia or emergency intervention..." She trailed off, but the implication hung heavy in the air.
Magus stared at the countdown. "Can you do it? Create what she needs in time?"
Vethra leaned against the terminal, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I do not know. I will try. I will work through the night if necessary. But I cannot make promises. Her biology is too different from anything we have encountered. Every step forward reveals new complications."
She looked toward the door through which Uriel and Lin Yue had departed.
"The prince seems determined to protect her," Magus observed.
"He does." Vethra's voice was thoughtful. "But determination alone cannot solve biological incompatibility. We need time and resources and probably a miracle."
She pushed off from the terminal and began gathering supplies.
"We need more data. Non-invasive tests while she is stable. Blood work, cellular analysis, metabolic mapping. Everything we can safely do without stressing her or the baby."
Magus nodded. "I will begin researching human biology. There must be records somewhere in the galactic databases. Old medical texts, research papers, anything that might help us understand her better."
Vethra looked at him, her fox ears drooping slightly with exhaustion. "Two days, Magus. That is all we have."
"I am aware." He moved toward the door, then paused. "The prince should be informed. He has a right to know the risks."
"He will be." Vethra turned back to her data. "After she rests. After he has had time with her. Tonight, I will tell him."
Magus nodded and left.
Vethra stood alone in the medical room, staring at the screens, at the unfamiliar biology, at the countdown that would not stop.
Two days.
She hoped it would be enough.
The garden was nothing like the one where she had encountered Varn.
This place was smaller, more intimate.
Walled on three sides with climbing vines covered in small white flowers that released a gentle fragrance into the air.
A fountain trickled softly in the center, its water catching the light of the setting sun. Benches were placed in strategic spots, clearly meant for quiet contemplation rather than social gatherings.
Lin Yue let out a breath she had not realized she was holding.
"This is nice." she said quietly.
Uriel released her arm once they were inside, giving her space to move freely.
He walked beside her at a slow pace, matching her steps, his hands clasped loosely behind his back.
"It is one of the few places in the castle that remains private. I come here when I need to think."
Lin Yue glanced at him. "What do you think about?"
He was quiet for a moment, considering the question. "Strategy. Politics. The usual burdens of being an heir. Lately I have been thinking about what kind of ruler I want to be. Someone feared or someone respected. They are not always the same thing."
She looked at him with surprise. "That's surprisingly philosophical for someone who looks like he spends most of his time training to hit things."
His lips twitched. "I do spend most of my time training to hit things. But even soldiers think occasionally."
"I'm glad to hear it."
They walked past a row of flowering bushes, their petals a deep shade of purple that seemed to glow in the fading light.
"What do you think about?" he asked."When you have time to think?"
Lin Yue considered the question. "Honestly? Lately I have been thinking about food. Specifically why I suddenly want to eat nothing but meat when I used to be a perfectly normal person who enjoyed vegetables."
"The baby needs protein. You will likely crave meat until the birth."
"So I have been told. Multiple times. By multiple people. It does not make the craving for vegetables any less painful."
Uriel glanced at her with something that might have been amusement. "You miss vegetables that much?"
"I miss them so much. I never thought I would say that. I took them for granted. Every carrot, every leaf of lettuce, every perfectly ordinary tomato. Gone. Replaced by an endless parade of dead animals."
He made a sound low in his throat. It took her a moment to realize it was a laugh. A quiet one, barely there, but genuine.
"You find this funny?"
"I find you funny." He caught himself. "Not in a mocking way. You simply have a different perspective than anyone I have met."
Lin Yue snorted. "I should hope so. I'm the only human on this entire planet."
"That is true." He paused. "What was your planet like? Earth..."
They stopped near the fountain, and she watched the tiny fish swimming in circles while she gathered her thoughts.
"Loud. Crowded. There are so many people, billions of us, all just existing together. Some places are beautiful, really beautiful. Oceans that go on forever, mountains that touch the clouds, forests so deep you can get lost for days. Other places are ugly. Cities where the air is thick with smoke and you cannot see the stars at night."
"No stars?"
"Too many lights on the ground. They drown out the lights in the sky."
Uriel looked up at the darkening sky above them. The first stars were beginning to appear, faint pinpricks of light against the deepening blue.
"That sounds sad. To lose the stars."
"I guess it is. But you can't miss what you never had." She looked at him. "What about Primus? What is it like beyond the palace?"