Ellie looked at the quirky human. "Please, don't be joking."
"In fact, I can get you a doctor, nurse, extra warrior for patrol, and an extremely powerful witch. It would be like buy two get two free," Meryn said.
Aiden frowned. "They may not want to come; Rheia is pregnant."
Meryn tapped the table. "It's not airborne or the whole city would be sick. Just give her a call; she'll come." Grumbling, Aiden stood, phone in hand, and walked out of the dining room.
Ellie stared at Meryn in wonder. "You're not joking. But why would this woman come if she's pregnant?"
Meryn held up a finger. "One, she's a super doctor like you. She actually likes helping people." She held up a second finger. "Reason numero dos, she has a daughter, Penny, who is a shifter. She would want to find out everything she can about this virus if for no other reason to ensure that it never reaches Penny."
"Who is the witch you're speaking of?" Law asked.
"Kendrick Ashwood. His mate is a very, very good nurse. If Rheia comes, so will Anne," Meryn informed him.
Law looked a bit stunned. "I had heard that Kendrick Ashwood left Storm Keep to be with his brother Keelan. He almost never leaves the city. He's one of the few witches who have studied ways to incorporate magic into medicine." He turned to Ellie. "You couldn't ask for better help."
Aiden walked back in scowling. "They're coming." He looked down at his mate. "How'd you know she'd agree?"
"Duh, it's Rheia. We have an impossible shifter virus. Where else would she be?" Meryn quipped.
Sebastian stepped forward. "With Master Avery moving in with Warrick, we have guest rooms available here." He turned to Ryuu. "If you could handle tonight's dinner, I can get the rooms prepared."
Ryuu nodded. "Of course." Sebastian left without saying a word to get everything sorted for their new guests.
Aiden sat down beside his mate. "Darian will be bringing them directly to Level Six."
Magnus leaned forward. "He can do that?"
Aiden nodded. "Yes, you could say that it's a family perk."
Stefan turned to Aiden. "Can he go anywhere?"
Aiden shrugged. "I believe so."
Ellie collapsed forward, laying her cheek against the table, her forehead on her arm. "Thank the gods!" she whispered. Grant rubbed her back soothingly.
"You take too much on your shoulders young Eleanor. This is a crisis for us all to bear," Magnus said gently.
"Let us go get ready," Kari said.
Everyone stood and began to make preparations for their new arrivals.
*****
Ellie watched as the air shimmered and the fae portal opened. Unlike most portals, this one shined with a golden light. A tall blond warrior stepped through then stood off to one side. She noticed that Stefan went to him almost immediately. He spoke with the warrior who nodded then Stefan ran off back toward the houses.
The first ones to come through were two women, followed by two men. The taller of the two men stood on the opposite side of the portal and raised his hand. Seconds later, a stream of medical supply cases floated through. Ellie had never been so glad to see anything in her life.
The women walked over to where she stood. Ellie smiled at them. "Thank you so much for coming. I'm afraid I'm at my wits end trying to figure this out." She held out her hand and both women shook it firmly. Ellie tilted her head. Usually, only humans did that, shifters were used to holding back their strength, which resulted in less than firm handshakes.
"You're both human."
The shorter one with gray eyes smiled. "It was the handshake that gave it away, wasn't it? I'm Rheia Albright, and this is Anne Ashwood. We're mated to Colton Albright and Kendrick Ashwood." Rheia pointed to the handsome smiling blond and the sarcastic looking witch floating through the supplies.
Anne looked past her, and her eyes widened. "You have a hospital built right into the wall; how cool is that?"
Ellie suddenly felt like she had been in the city years instead of days. "It was built last night. Prior to this morning, the children were on cots in an empty courtyard. When the patient load doubled, we knew we had to allocate a larger area to treat the sick."
Rheia's eyes bugged out. "Doubled? How long have you been here?"
"Three days." Ellie met Rheia's eyes. A thread of fear appeared that wasn't there when she first arrived.
"Is everything okay?" Colton asked, coming up behind his mate.
Ellie was impressed. He'd had his back to his mate and couldn't see her face, but he could tell the instant she became uneasy. A sharp pinch had her yelping. She rubbed her neck where her mate had given her a love bite and stared up at her mate. Smiling, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back. She was rewarded with a gentle kiss.