“Excuse me?”

“What are his chances of surviving this? Of waking up and recognizing his sons?”

Her light green eyes turned shrewd. “Right now, we’re keeping him under. I just healed some of the swelling in his brain, but the damage is severe. Attempting to heal too much at once can lead to a long-term coma that he may not wake up from.”

I swallowed. Healing came with side effects. When Samael’s healer had healed me, he’d fixed a bad head injury and a compound fracture. I hadn’t been close to as hurt as Gary, and it had still taken days before I could leave Samael’s bed. The healer had told me he’d used a light touch so I wouldn’t be unconscious for too long. He’d instructed me to return for another healing.

“What are his injuries?”

“Fractured skull, nose, collarbone, ribs, and wrist. His arm was torn almost out of its socket, but it’s the internal injuries and bleeding we were most concerned with. So far, we’ve got that under control, but the swelling on his brain requires a gentle touch.”

I couldn’t speak. I still hadn’t been able to bring myself to look at the figure in the bed. A lump formed in my throat as I stared wordlessly at the healer. Her eyes glinted with sympathy. “I’ll give you a few minutes.”

My hands shook. How was it that after being worked on by the healers, Gary looked worse? I approached his bed and stared down at him. Maybe it was because they’d cleaned him up, and without all the blood, I could now see exactly how broken he was.

Gary was tough. Gnomes weren’t exactly helpless, and I’d seen him throw pushy customers out on the streets when they pissed him off.

He’d get through this. I had to believe that.

“I’ve got the kids,” I told him. “They’ll probably wake my sister up at the crack of dawn, and I bet she’ll take them for pancakes at her favorite place. She’s always been convinced that pancakes are the best comfort food.”

He didn’t say anything. The tube pushing air into his lungs continued to wheeze.

“I’m going to kill whoever did this to you. All you have to do is recover. By the time you’re back on your feet, this will all be fixed. I promise.”

My lower lip trembled and I bit down on it hard. The last time I’d seen Gary before he was attacked, I’d lost control of my power and terrified his kids. But that power was exactly why he’d told me to keep them safe. “I’ve got this, Gary. No one will hurt them.”