Raine’s amber eyes brightened at their arrival, making my chest warm, despite the sharp pain that still told me her life was in danger.
Locke scowled, and his eyes hardened when he noticed the gash on Raine’s leg.
Darian stepped up on Asher’s other side, and his fingers trailed down Raine’s cheek before he pulled his hand away. “You all right, lovely?”
She grinned at him, but the smile was forced, and the color continued to drain from her face. “I didn’t die.”
He smiled back at her, his eyes sparkling. “And thank the devils for that.”
I hadn’t known Darian to smile at any female the way he was smiling at Raine then, and I resisted the urge to point it out to him.
“We just need to get her back to the rooms and fix her up. She’ll be all right,” Asher said. “Glad to see you in one piece too. Should have let us know about the party.”
Darian’s hand clapped over Asher’s shoulder and squeezed. “Next time, I’ll be sure to send you an invite. We could have used the help.”
“I’m betting those gargoyles were a welcome sight,” he replied.
“Like seeing a blue sky after the rain,” Darian agreed dramatically and smiled wider.
Slowing my steps, I fell into line with Locke, who was now striding behind us. His expression was dark, and his own weariness was plain on his face.
“You shouldn’t have taken them out during the day,” I said, my voice a rumbling growl as I stared straight ahead at Asher’s broad back. “You know you’re weaker in the sunlight.”
Locke didn’t peer at me. “We needed to get her to change, and taking her at night would have been riskier,” he responded in a clinical voice.
I struggled to contain my anger. “It still wasn’t worth it. We know the occurrence of outliers is becoming more frequent.”
He was silent as if he was contemplating my words. Moments passed, and I was surprised when he finally said, “I know.” His black gaze fixed on where Raine’s bandaged leg bobbed in time to Asher’s steps. “She’ll have to compete in the Week of Orash as a human and hope no one discovers her secret.”
As grim as it was, I was about to agree when Raine’s muffled voice said, “There must be something else we can try.” Of course, she’d been listening. There wasn’t much the human missed. “We still have one night left,” she added.
A growl rumbled from my chest as I prepared myself to argue. After what had happened with the outlier in the ocean, I wasn’t about to let Locke put her through anything else. It had only been two nights since I’d promised to help protect her, and I’d already almost fucking failed. But when I went to open my mouth to speak, I found I didn’t need to.
“No,” Locke said coldly.
Raine stretched her neck, peering past Asher’s body to stare at him. “What do you mean ‘no’? I can still—”
“No, we’re done,” Locke said again, and this time, his voice was frosty as he stared her down.
Her eyes narrowed as she glared back at him, but he didn’t let her protest. He stopped walking, and the moment I was far enough away, he stretched out his wings and launched himself into the air, flying to the mountain ahead of us.
CHAPTER 11
~ Raine ~
Whenwemadeitback to the rooms, there was a moment when Asher’s steps faltered. For a beat, he stared at the bedroom doors as if he wasn’t sure where to take me, but then he was striding purposefully into Kade’s room. Carefully, he lowered me, placing me on Kade’s bed while being mindful not to jostle my injured leg.
I gave him an awkward smile. “Thanks.” I’d wanted to protest when he’d taken me into his arms back on the beach, but with the gash in my leg and my exhaustion, I’d known I couldn’t have walked. I hadn’t expected the warmth that went through me when his strong arms curled around me, his scents of musk and leather making my heart race. Kade had walked beside us, and as his scents of sandalwood and coffee mixed with the leather and musk, my head had grown light.
“Anytime, Sharachi,” Asher said, giving me a lopsided smile, and my body heated at the way his violet eyes peered down at me. Goddess, I had to be feverish. It was the only explanation for how the monster was making me feel. I lifted an arm, pressing the back of my hand to my forehead to check if I had a temperature, but I wasn’t warm at all. If anything, I was cold. Way colder than I should have been. As if the very thought had set off a chain reaction, my body began trembling violently, and my teeth started to chatter.
Asher’s smile fell, concern twisting his features as he pressed a hand to my cheek. “Fucking hell, she’s freezing,” he said to Darian, who had crouched beside the bed.
The siren worked quickly to unravel the rough bandage Asher had placed on my leg, and I heard him suck in a small breath of air as he inspected the wound.
I stared at the ceiling, not looking down. I already knew my leg was a mess. I didn’t need to look at the ruined flesh. Adrenaline had mostly kept the pain manageable while I was in the ocean, but sometime on the walk back to the mountain, it began to feel as if my leg was on fire. I ground my teeth and focused on breathing steadily as I let the pain wash over me.
The bed dipped as Kade crawled over the mattress, taking a position behind me, and he lifted me until I was resting against his chest. The bond between us sparked, and the warmth of his body against mine had the pain lessening. Closing my eyes, I leaned into his touch, focusing on his intoxicating scents.
