Without another word I dove through the door and threw up a shield to block the entrance behind me. The cave wound around to the left, but I found V in another natural opening right around the corner.
He lay on an actual bed, a solar powered lamp emitting a soft glow from where it was set on a table in the corner. An IV ran into his right arm, a bag of saline hanging from a hook drilled into the wall. I approached him shakily, falling to my knees next to the bed as I saw him take a breath.
“Thank the goddess, V,” I whispered, my hand pushing a stray lock of hair away from his forehead, the relief at seeing him alive making another wave of dizziness wash through me. He seemed to be sleeping easily. I laid my hand on his forehead, half expecting to find him fevered but his skin seemed a normal temperature.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand gripped my shoulder. Without thought, I turned and pulled, jerking the blond giant over my head and to the floor. I was used to fighting people larger than myself, but how had I not heard him approach? How had he gotten through my fucking shield?
He rolled across the ground almost silently and was back on his feet faster than I would have thought possible. He stopped my gasp with a finger to his lips, then gestured toward another door I hadn’t seen when I entered the room. Fuck me, I hadn’t even noticed the second entryway.
Suspicion warred with relief within me. Finally, I figured that if he was going to kill us, he could have done so already. Plus, I owed him for saving V’s life.
With great reluctance, I followed him out of the room after a final backward glance at my sleeping brother. He led me back to the room I had woken in. As we got to the doorway, I had blocked with an Air shield he just raised an eyebrow at me expectantly. I narrowed my eyes at him, but dropped the shield so we could re-enter the room.
He resumed his seat on the far side of the fire, but I stood. No way was I letting him get the drop on me again. A small part of me, though, was curious. I had so many questions rattling around in my brain, but I figured the only way I was going to get any answers was to talk with him.
“You!” I said accusingly. “You’re the one I ran into in the subbasement. Who are you?”
The corner of his mouth twitched, and I got the distinct impression that, somehow, I…amused him?Asshat.
“Helios,” he muttered. “Friends call me Hel.”
“Why did you help us, Helios?” I asked, emphasizing his name, because I sure as fuck wasn’t his friend.
Chapter 13
Helios
The little Mageia in front of me looked like nothing so much as a wet, spitting kitten, back arched, ready to bite and claw if I rubbed his fur the wrong way. Andeveryway was the wrong way.
He was a good deal smaller than me. I would guess he was only about five foot four or five. I figured he might come up to my chin, though tip toes might have to be involved. Despite his height, there was nothing remotely childlike about him, and nothing weak. His magic had thrummed through me when I had carried him and his friend here after he collapsed. I’d been too worried about them to pay close attention, but there was no mistaking the zing of power when I lifted him to bring him to my lair. The hair on my arms stood on end when I approached the shield he had placed on the door, even weakened as he was from lack of food and the power it must have taken to keep his friend alive.
His body was well-muscled. His dark hair hung in ragged hanks around his face, the white streak disheveled. He’d obviously taken a dunking sometime before his friend was bitten. Their clothes had both still been somewhat damp when I’d found them.
His beautiful blue eyes flashed at me in anger and suspicion, and the look on his face when I had touched his shoulder? Well, if looks could kill, I’d be pushing up daisies.
All told, he was just…adorable. So fierce! And so protective of his friend. Boyfriend, maybe? I felt my eyes narrow as a small part of me reacted negatively to the idea that these two might be partners. I’d never been good with friendships except with Ri. What we’d had had been more than friendship, but we’d never been lovers.
Forcing my thoughts away from the way the man’s pants had hugged his ass as he knelt by his friend’s bedside, I focused on my patient.
I’d seen the venom from that snake kill men much larger than his friend, but somehow this man had managed to keep him alive. I could sense he was an Air Mageia, but if he wasn’t Bonded (which seemed unlikely, since he was Alexandrian according to the logo on his shirt.) I couldn’t figure out how he could have managed to save his friend. The physician in me wanted answers.
He also seemed oddly familiar. I felt like I knew him from somewhere, which was impossible, since he was from Alexandria, so I let it go for the moment.
I realized I’d been silent for too long, so I answered, “I helped you because you needed help.”
He snorted as if he thought I was lying. Maybe he did. Legion Mageia were always so difficult to figure out. Give me an Illyrian Mageia any day, few though they were.
I pulled a pot from a side cupboard and emptied the contents of some stew cans into it, then placed it over the fire. The little Mageia was obviously exhausted, and his friend should be coming around sometime soon. He’d need more food to heal.
“What do you want?” he demanded suspiciously.
“Steak would be nice, but we’ll have to settle for stew,” I quipped, gesturing to the pan.
He looked at the food skeptically for a moment, then his anger seemed to go up a notch.
“I’m not talking about food, asshole. I mean, what do you want—from us?” he gestured from himself to the hallway leading to his friend’s room.
I sighed.
