“How bad is it?”
Vas shuddered against me. Then he buried his head in my shoulder and just held on. “Your body was so broken. You were barely breathing, no one thought you’d walk again. It was Virtus who saved you.”
“Virtus?”
Vas leaned back, grinning at the shock in my voice and glancing at the griffin, who placed his paw on me. I stroked his soft fur in thanks.
“How did that happen?”
“Griffins have a single feather which can be used to restore human life. He gave it to you. With Eldan’s help, they were able to use it to heal you. Everyone thought it was a myth. We need to be careful who knows about this.”
I tensed. “Because they’d come for Virtus?”
Vas nodded. “It’s a one-and-done kind of deal, but people won’t believe that. If people find out, they’ll hunt him.”
I shuddered at the thought. Then I looked into Virtus’s wise eyes. “You put yourself in danger for me.” I sniffed.
He didn’t want me to cry. He was happy he’d been there and could help. And he thought he should probably leave so Vas and I could mate. I burst out laughing at the last part, and he nuzzled my hand, then strolled to the door, opening it with his paw.
“I knew you’d come for me,” I told Vas, and he brushed a kiss against my lips.
“You were so fucking brave. You must’ve been terrified, but you did everything right.”
“Tell me what happened.”
He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close, and then he filled me in. Everyone had gotten my message at the same time. I hadn’t just sent out a group text. In my terror, I’d somehow hacked the emergency alert system, usually used by the government. Phones hadn’t just vibrated. They’d wailed.
My friends had descended on redcap territory. The demons, wolves, and witches had shown up, but Vas had beaten them all there, killing Daimonion where he stood.
From the way Vas described it, finally killing the man who’d murdered so many people he loved had been anticlimactic. He hadn’t even watched him burn. He’d been too busy attempting to keep me breathing.
“I’ve been a ghost since Ag died, Mere. Until you. You brought me back to life. When I saw you, lying on that cold, hard ground, I didn’t give a shit about Daimonion. About my revenge. All I cared about was seeing you open your eyes.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Right before Bael messaged you, I was going to tell you…”
“I know.”
“I was stupid for even hesitating. If you’re dumb enough to want to tie your life to mine, I’m going to take you up on that before you change your mind.”
He laughed. “About time you saw things my way, baby.”
“So, let’s do it.”
“Now?” He shook his head. “You’re too weak.”
I raised one eyebrow. He pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose. “No. We only get to do this once. I want it to be special.” He gave me his shy smile, and I sighed. I’d give Vas anything he wanted for that smile.
“Knock, knock,” a voice said. “Hope you’re decent.”
The door opened, and Kyla, Evie, and Danica strolled in.
Vas kissed me again. “I’ll leave you to catch up.”
I didn’t want to be parted from him. He must’ve seen it on my face, because he pressed another kiss to my cheek. “As soon as these guys leave, we’re watching bad TV and ordering from that Italian place you like.”
He wandered out, and Danica and Evie made themselves at home on my bed. Kyla strolled around the room, restless as always.
“You stabbed Daimonion,” Danica said. “Nice work, Mere.”
