Celine pins me there, her brown eyes glazed. She’s staring right through me. I grunt as my collarbone gives way under the extreme pressure of her strength.
“Celine,” I gasp. “I-It’s me. I won’t hurt you.” With no sign that she hears me at all, Celine moves her right hand to my throat and squeezes.
I hiss at the white-hot pain the pressure puts on the fractured bone. My basilisk stirs, rattling angrily in my chest, then freezes in confusion as it recognizes who’s attacking us.
Celine increases the pressure, and I see spots—closing my eyes in case my instincts decide to override my brain and try to protect me.
“It’s me,” I wheeze. “I w-would never hurt you. Never.” Thewords are jagged and thin. Getting them out burns up the little air I have left.
“Angel, snap out of it.” Alistair’s voice is tight and threaded with tension, but the pressure on my throat eases.
I suck in a heaving lungful of oxygen as Celine’s hand drops. “What’s going on?” she asks.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” I whisper. There’s a new rasp in my voice. I crack my eyes open, but keep them on the floor as my adrenaline levels off.
Celine hisses. “Shit, Luca, I thought I was dreaming. I swear on my life I didn’t mean to hurt you.” With my eyes on the floor, I see her truth rune glowing on the top of her bare foot.
“You don’t have to prove—” I cough, then clear my throat. “I believe you, baby, you don’t have to go all billboard of truth to make me understand.”
“But you came in here for a reason, Luca,” Alistair prods gently, bringing the frantic conversation with Harry back to the front of my mind.
“Harry called,” I tell them. “She had an unexpected delivery overnight. Three new angels abandoned... inside her locked house.”
“But the wards,” Alistair snarls. “I oversaw their installation myself.”
“Angels operate on a different plane of magic,” Celine whispers, her voice shattered.
“I told her we’d come help,” I say. “Do you want to jump in the shower first?”
“Yeah. I can do that.” Celine’s foot disappears from my limited field of vision, and I glance up in time to see her run into the bathroom and close the door behind her. I wait until the water turns on, then level Alistair with a serious look.
“I need you to pop it back into place before it heals wrong,” I say, pointing at my broken collarbone. There’s a visible lumpwhere the end of the bone is trying to push through my skin. Thankfully, it’s dark enough in here with the blackout curtains that Celine didn’t notice.
“Fuck,” Alistair says, dipping his head to get a closer look. “Do you want some whiskey first?”
I consider the offer and drop my head back against the wall. This is going to hurt like a bitch, but if I drink enough to dull the pain, I won’t be alert when we go to Harry’s.
“No,” I decide. “Let’s go down the hall, though.”In case I end up whimpering...
Alistair follows me out of the bedroom silently. The hallway is cool and dark, not a single thread of early morning sunlight slipping past Celine’s meticulously installed blackout shades.
“I’ve never done this before,” Alistair admits, a frown in his eyes.
“You’re not inspiring a lot of confidence,” I mutter, glancing at my bare chest and moving my shoulders experimentally. It fucking hurts. “I don’t think the pieces are overlapping, you just need to poke them back together.” I suck in a deep breath and tell myself to be tough.
“I can do it.” Ciprian’s voice startles me. I turn my head toward the living room, then hiss in agony from the sudden movement. His white blond hair is standing up in all directions, those eerie black eyes blending in perfectly with the gloomy surroundings.
“Look,” I snap. “Someone do it before it heals wrong or Celine gets out of the shower.” I need to get this over with before I lose my nerve.
Ciprian steps in front of me. He examines the break closely, then gently prods the skin around it. Alistair hovers at my side, his brows drawn tightly together as if he can’t decide if he wants to shove Ciprian away or let him take over.
“Distract him, okay?” Ciprian says, his voice uncharacteristically serious when he addresses Ali.
Confusion flickers in Alistair’s blue eyes—then he drops his mouth to mine, kissing me hard. His fingers graze my abs, a barely there touch that makes my skin pebble.
Shocked, it only takes me a few seconds to kiss him back. He moves his lips to the hollow beneath my ear, scattering biting kisses along the sensitive curve. It’s good. Better than good. I bet it would feel even better if his fangs broke the skin.
Sharp pressure replaces my pleasure, then blinding pain sears through me. I bite the back of my own hand to keep from screaming.
