“You all right?” Rowan was in front of me a half second later.
“Y-Yeah. I’m…” My throat clamped shut, and the room started spinning.
And then my knees buckled.
“Evan?” Rowan caught me and held my full weight.
I was aware of other noises in the room but had trouble processing any of it. My thoughts jumbled together, and I couldn’t talk or breathe. Each attempt for air came out like a sharp gasp.
“Breathe, little treasure.” Rowan cradled the back of my head, a raspy growl building in his throat. “Come on. In, then out.”
Lungs burning, I finally sucked in a breath. The scent of black cardamom infiltrated my nose, providing some clarity to my fuzzy mind. My vision gradually returned to normal, though my breaths still moved like air through wet concrete, sluggish and catching.
I hadn’t had a panic attack in ages. Almost forgot how terrifying they were.
Maddox slipped his arms around me from behind and kissed the back of my head.
“You should sit.” A trace of peaches joined the fray. Lake smoothed his hand across my brow. “I’ll make you another cup of tea. It’ll help.”
Maddox and Rowan guided me to the table, while Lake and Briar moved around the kitchen, putting a kettle on the stove. Callum dropped down in front of my chair and rested his head against my arm, his hand finding mine and linking our fingers.
“You truly are special.” Reign offered me a soft smile. “Powers or not, you have so many hearts entwined with yours. Your men and all your knights.”
“And you?” Rowan regarded him.
The dark-haired spy lightly chuckled. “Well, I am quite fond of his brownies. As the lieutenant said, his food tastes like pure magic. Not even V can resist, despite his many protests claiming otherwise.”
I expected Draven to spout off and deny it, but when our gazes met, I was taken aback. The man who showed very little emotion and always seemed to be annoyed by me looked worried.
“Are you all right, boy?” he asked.
I nodded. “Just a lot to process. Forgot how to breathe for a sec, but I’m okay now.”
A sudden ache tore through his baby blue eyes. “My father has those episodes. Usually when he dreams of the war.”
“The war?”
“With Haran in years past,” he said. “Some days he looks at me and doesn’t even see me. All he sees are ghosts. Ghosts of all the soldiers and friends he lost. Of the soldiers he killed. There are times when the memories overwhelm him, taking his breath and strength. Much like what happened to you.”
“Your concern for Evan is touching, V,” Reign said. “Going soft on me?”
“Piss off,” Draven grumbled, averting his gaze.
He didn’t see the small smile Reign gave him a beat later. The two of them had been childhood friends and were basically inseparable, from what I’d gathered. Reign said when they were kids, he could never remember Draven’s name, only knew there was a V in it, so the nickname had stuck.
Once the tea was ready, Lake brought over a cup and sat to my left. Rowan leaned against the wall beside him, one leg kicked up in his familiar pose. Callum continued to kneel beside my chair, resting his head against my arm and holding my hand.
“Should we speak to the Royal Order about this?” Draven asked Reign. “As of now, they believe Prince Sawyer to be the one at risk. Should they be told the truth, more guards could be assigned to the boy and better protect him.”
“No,” Maddox growled. “We will keep it between those of us in this room.”
“My question wasn’t aimed at you.”
“Yet, I answered it all the same.” Maddox returned Draven’s hard stare. “It’s too dangerous for Evan.”
“I agree,” Reign said. “Given the rumors circulating about him summoning demons, telling anyone he might possess magic could backfire and place him even more in harm’s way. Until we know more, we should do as Maddox said and keep it between us.”
“Then we’ll protect him.” Draven nodded.
