ASHER
A second later,Baelfire Decimus darts into the entry room naked as the day he was born.
He looks around frantically for somewhere to set the cut-up, bloodied keeper he's holding tightly in his arms. She's covered in enough gore that I'm actually worried for a second.
Until Amato's daughter squirms a little in his arms. "We're here. You can set me down now."
From her tone, she clearly thinks they're being dramatic. Knowing these guys, I'm inclined to believe her over them—but when I motion at the wood floor, and Baelfire sets her down like she's made of fucking glass, I see why he's quietly panicking.
Aside from dozens of little cuts she's covered in, Maven's organs are trying to spill out of a deep gash in her side. She's pressing a piece of ripped fabric against herself to slow the bleeding. She grimaces ever so slightly, like she just stubbed her toe and wasn't damn near getting disemboweled.
I swear at the sight of the injury. For the millionth time, I'm glad that, thanks to the Legacy Curse being lifted now, I won't have to feel all the agony of what I'm about to heal.
"It looks worse than it is," the demigoddess assures me.
"I can see your guts."
"Right, you see them still inside me where they belong. So I'll be fine," she emphasizes, looking at her dragon shifter like she's reminding him of this.
"Your pain tolerance is fucking disturbing," I grumble, cracking my neck and summoning holy magic to my fingertips.
"Stop all the jabbering andheal her,"Crypt snarls from the doorway.
Ignoring the murderous freak, I hover my hands over the injured demigoddess to get the full scope of her injuries. I can sense that she's lost a lot of blood, but aside from the cuts and the gaping wound in her side, she's not bleeding internally or concussed or anything else.
Baelfire's jaw is clenched, blue fire swirling in warning under the surface of his skin as he watches, crowding in on my space. "Tell me she's going to be okay."
"She is."
I hear Jada gasp in surprise when she enters the entry to see what's going on, but I don't look up from healing Amato's daughter. Jada quickly invites Crypt inside, and a second later, he's crouched beside Maven, face pinched with worry.
He's also up in my space.
"All right, darling?" he checks, his voice a harsh rasp.
"I'm great," she promises, finally removing the cloth she was pressing to her side since I've started healing the gash. She's not as convincing as she's trying to be, since she's still pale from blood loss.
Crypt looks tortured. "Gods above, you shouldn't have followed me like that. If I hadn't woken up?—"
"Stop.Don't even go there," Baelfire growls in warning, shutting his eyes as his breath shudders.
Everett enters the house next, supporting a limping Silas. They're a lot less covered in blood than Crypt and Maven are.Everett helps the necromancer sit on one of the couches, and a second later, I sense more of the necromancer's powerful magic at work as he begins healing whatever is wrong with his leg.
"Is she okay?" Everett demands, swearing at the sight of his keeper.
When the ice elemental steps closer, bumping into my arm by accident, it's the final straw for the focus I need to heal damage like this. I pause healing and huff, looking at them.
"I get that you're all worried and pissed that your keeper is hurt. I swear she'll be good as new soon, but I'll work faster and better without a horde of panicked, obsessive assholes breathing over my shoulder. Unless you're fine with me messing something up just because you're all too fucking clingy, all of you need to step out of here, take a beat, and give me room to work."
"I'm not leaving my mate," Baelfire protests immediately, his voice an anguished, guttural sound.
Maven gives him a gentle yet firm look. He openly pouts before Silas audibly scowls on the couch. Everett shakes his head, looking irritated, before Maven rolls her eyes.
Clearly, they're having one of their telepathic conversations. The Amato quintet's never bothered hiding that they can do that around me. For once, I'm grateful for it because I can go back to healing without their chatter and worry stabbing into my focus.
After another second of Maven telepathically putting her foot down with her quintet, they back off like I requested. Jada happily welcomes them into her house and leads them to her kitchen in another room, offering water, tea, and food if they're hungry, and saying her quintet will be down soon to say hello. When Silas is done healing, he goes with them, muttering something about a spell ingredient.
Crypt DeLune just disappears. Pretty sure that means he's still observing from Limbo, sharing all the updates with hisquintet members through their telepathic bond. Must be their version of a compromise.
