I take a step and hiss, my hand flying to my hip. Now that the shock of seeing a Hellhound turn into Maximus is fading, a sharp, stinging fire radiates from my side.
Ludo stiffens. His mismatched minotaur eyes snap to my waist.
—Blood. Nymph bleeds—
The atmosphere in the tunnel shifts instantly from relief to suffocation.
“You’re hurt?” Donovan is there in a second, his hands hovering over me, terrified to touch in case he makes it worse. “Tee? What happened?”
“I’m fine,” I lie, trying to step back. “I just hit the wall when we were scrambling away from Cujo over there.”
Max goes dead pale. The grin vanishes from his face, replaced by a look of absolute horror. “I hurt you?” His voice drops to a rough, broken whisper. “I did that?”
“No, Max, you didn’t touch me, I just—”
“Show me,” Alexis commands. He doesn't ask. He pushes Donovan’s hands aside and lifts the hem of my hoodie.
A jagged scrape runs along my waist, oozing bright red blood where the unforgiving stone sliced my skin. It’s a graze, nothing more, but the reaction from the men is terrifying.
Cosmo stares at the blood, his upper lip curling. But it’s not disgust at the wound—it’s fury. The air around him starts to crackle with static. “You caused this,” he hisses at Max.
“Sit,” Alexis rumbles. He gently forces me down onto a flat rock.
—I failed. Allowed you to be wounded—
“Lu, no! You didn’t fail, it’s a scratch!”
Maximus drops to his knees next to his cousin. Every bit of his wild, careless energy is gone. “I’m so sorry,” he chokes out.
Ludo growls and Donovan pushes Maximus to one side. “Out of the way, Larsen. You’ve already done enough damage.”
Maximus nods, and shuffles out of the way.
“Stop it, all of you. I’m fine.”
Alexis rips a strip of fabric from the bottom of his tee. “Let me wipe away the blood, take a look.”
Donovan wraps his arms around me from behind, and I lean into his body, resigning myself to the fuss. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.”
I look over at Maximus. He’s standing off by himself looking devastated. Ludo’s minotaur is glaring at him. Even Cosmo looks pissed as all hell.
You’d think I was dying.
It should be overwhelming. Instead, it makes me feel safer, more cared for, than I have in my entire life.
“It’s shallow, just a scratch,” Alexis announces.
That almost makes me smile, but times a-wasting. “Now that’s dealt with, can we please go and find Wes?”
I’m trying not to get impatient, but each second we are not trying to track him down is a second squandered.
“Are you alright to walk? I can carry you,” Donovan offers.
Good Gods!
I spring up, hiding the wince from where I know bruises are forming. “Let’s go!”
I’m about to take point when a giant arm bars the way.
