"Because I am afraid of falling."
"Oh."
"Grant hates it too," Nigel volunteered.
Grant shrugged. "Because I can't float, so I have to have an escort to go everywhere."
Neil blinked. "Oh yeah, that would so suck."
Ellie had to hide a grin at Grant's sour expression.
Once the reached Level One, the twins waved and headed off to the left.
"Where are they going?"
"Prince Magnus set up a communications hub to get the city Wi-Fi. Meryn took it over. They must be working on another project." He shuddered. "I'm afraid to even ask," Grant muttered under his breath.
"Why?" Ellie asked, intrigued.
"Those two and the Unit Commander's mate are nothing but trouble," he paused. "Entertaining trouble, but trouble nonetheless."
Ellie watched as the twins disappeared down a long hall. She already missed their smiling faces. Grant strode forward and knocked on the door. It opened moments later, and a man bowed at them. Grant nodded at the man before walking in. Ellie hesitated, unsure of what to do. The man smiled gently at her. "Hello, my name is Sebastian Hearthstone. I'm the squire for the House Rioux."
She gulped. "This is the prince's home?" she exclaimed.
Sebastian smiled. "Yes, he has been waiting for you. We understand that you went to see the children first. He is very appreciative. Come this way, you are more than welcome here." He opened the door and indicated for her to step inside.
CHAPTER THREE
She walked into the prince's home and looked around in wonder. It was one of the most beautiful rooms she had ever seen. It was elegantly decorated but not ostentatious. In the antechamber, a group of people sat with notebooks, legal pads, or clipboards in front of them, pens in hand.
"Can I interest you in tea or coffee?" Sebastian asked.
"Coffee would be great, thank you."
"Grant, is this the doctor?" a man asked as he and the other men in the room stood.
Grant nodded. The man waited. "Are you going to introduce her?" the dark haired man asked. Grant growled at him. "Dr. Eleanor Kimball, Adriel Aristaios." Grant waved his hand back and forth between the two. Ellie waited for him to announce that were mates, but he stayed quiet.
Adriel gave him a sardonic expression. "That had to be the worst introduction I have ever heard." Adriel turned to her and smiled. "Welcome to Noctem Falls. I am the Unit Leader here, and this is my mate, Eva Mae Miller." He smiled down at the gorgeous blonde before looking back up at her. "She came in with the refugees from Wolftown. Over there is the Unit Commander, Aiden McKenzie, and his second-in-command, Gavriel Ambrosios. Beside Gavriel is his mate, Elizabeth Monroe, who is niece to our prince. In the corner on the two-seater is my second in command, Declan Lionhart, and his mate, Kari Delaney, whom I assume you know, and last, but certainly not least, our Prince, Magnus Rioux."
"It's nice to meet me, I mean you, I mean..." Ellie stammered.
Prince Magnus walked over and took her hand in his, patting it gently. "No need to be nervous here. Come sit down. We have lots of questions for you." He steered her toward the chair. She sat down, feeling overwhelmed. Around her, the men resumed their seats.
"How are the children?" Magnus asked.
"When I arrived, two began to have fits. I've never seen anything like that even among humans. I can understand them not feeling well and lashing out, but for all of them to exhibit this type of aggression, I'm treating it as a symptom. Unfortunately, nothing I've seen so far explains them acting that way. From what I heard from Dr. St. John, the fevers have elevated almost overnight, and the children are complaining of pain in their limbs. There seems to be no correlation between the patients; they are different ages and from different households. My grandmother, Marjoram Johanson, who is also a trained nurse, is gathering some more information from the parents and will be collecting blood samples. We will be reviewing all factors such as recent foods or drinks that they may have ingested."
"You think this may be an allergic reaction?" Aiden asked, interrupting.
She shrugged. "It could be. It would make a lot more sense than them being sick; shifters just don't get sick. That's why I'm leaning toward an outside cause like a food allergy or a reaction to some type to foreign plant."
Magnus inhaled sharply. "What type of plant?"
"I have no idea. It could be anything. Since most of the children are wolves, it could be something specific that just affects canines. I won't know more without doing additional research. But right now, they're resting. I gave them a very low dosage of pain reliever, fever reducer, and sedative. So far, it seems to be working."
Magnus nodded. "I am glad to hear they are feeling better. I will provide anything you need to treat them. Children are treasures, and their care has the highest priority. If you need any supplies, let Kari or me know, and we will take care of it," Magnus offered.